This article is about the Habsburg realm between 1804 and 1867. For the Habsburg realms more generally, seeHabsburg monarchy. For the Habsburg realm between 1867 and 1918, seeAustria-Hungary.
TheAustrian Empire,[b] officially known as theEmpire of Austria, was amultinational Europeangreat power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of therealms of the Habsburgs. During its existence, it was the third most populous nation in Europe after theRussian Empire and theUnited Kingdom, while geographically, it was the third-largest empire in Europe after the Russian Empire and theFirst French Empire.
The empire was proclaimed byFrancis II in 1804 in response toNapoleon's declaration of the First French Empire, unifying allHabsburg possessions under one central government. It remained part of theHoly Roman Empire until the latter's dissolution in 1806. It continued fighting against Napoleon throughout theNapoleonic Wars, except for a period between 1809 and 1813, when Austria was first allied with Napoleon during theinvasion of Russia and later neutral during the first few weeks of theSixth Coalition War. Austria and its allies emerged victorious in the war, leading to theCongress of Vienna, which reaffirmed the empire as one of the great powers of the 19th century.
Changes shaping the nature of theHoly Roman Empire took place during conferences inRastatt (1797–1799) andRegensburg (1801–1803). On 24 March 1803, theImperial Recess (German:Reichsdeputationshauptschluss) was declared, which reduced the number ofecclesiastical states from 81 to only 3 and thefree imperial cities from 51 to 6. This measure was aimed at replacing the old constitution of the Holy Roman Empire, but the actual consequence of the Imperial Recess, along with the French occupying theElectorate of Hanover in the same month and various Holy Roman states becoming allied with or against France, was the end of the empire.[2] Taking this significant change into consideration,Holy Roman EmperorFrancis II created the titleEmperor of Austria for himself and his successors, thereby becoming Francis I of Austria. This new title and state were created to safeguard his dynasty's imperial status as he foresaw either the end of the Holy Roman Empire, or the eventual accession ofNapoleon as Holy Roman Emperor, who had earlier that year adopted the titleEmperor of the French and established theFirst French Empire. Initially Francis II/I continued to hold both titles but abdicated the throne of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806.
This new empire or "Kaiserthum" (lit.'Kaiser-dom') comprised all the lands of theHabsburg monarchy, which had until then been legally separate realms inpersonal union (acomposite monarchy) under Francis and his predecessors. By contrast, the Austrian Empire was legally a single state, although the overarching structure and the status of its component lands at first stayed much the same as they had been under the composite monarchy. This was especially demonstrated by the status of theKingdom of Hungary, a country that had never been a part of the Holy Roman Empire and which had always been considered a separate realm – a status that was affirmed by Article X, which was added to Hungary's constitution in 1790 and described the state as aRegnum Independens. Hungary's affairs remained administered by its own institutions (King and Diet) as they had been beforehand; thus no Imperial institutions were involved in its government.[3][4][5]
The fall anddissolution of the Holy Roman Empire was accelerated by French intervention in the Empire in 1805, with the French defeating Austrian armiesat Ulm andAusterlitz, forcing an Austrian-French armistice on 6 December 1806. The Austrian losses encouraged rulers of imperial territories to ally with the French, receive higher titles and assert formal independence in the following days, such asMaximilian IV Joseph of Bavaria,Frederick III of Württemberg andCharles Frederick of Baden.[6] Francis II agreed to the humiliatingTreaty of Pressburg which recognised the rulers' new titles and ceded large territories to Napoleon's German allies and the French satelliteItaly. In practice this meant the dissolution of the long-lived Holy Roman Empire and a reorganization under a Napoleonic model of the German states. Austrian claims on those German states were renounced without exception. On 12 July 1806, theConfederation of the Rhine was established, comprising 16 sovereigns and countries under French influence,de facto put an end to the Holy Roman Empire. On 6 August 1806, Francis proclaimed the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, as he did not want Napoleon to succeed him.
The dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire was not recognized byGeorge III of the United Kingdom who was also the Elector ofHanover (formally Brunswick-Lüneburg) and Duke ofSaxe-Lauenburg; Hanover and Lauenburg were incorporated into the French satelliteKingdom of Westphalia in 1807, having been occupied several times since 1801, but Britain remained at war with France and no treaty was signed recognising their annexation. His claims were later settled by the creation of theKingdom of Hanover which was held byGeorge IV andWilliam IV as Kings of Hanover. Succession could only be in the male line, so onQueen Victoria's accession to the British throne, her uncle,Ernest Augustus, succeeded as King of Hanover, thus ending the personal union with Great Britain that dated to 1714.
Klemens von Metternich became Foreign Minister in 1809. He also held the post of Chancellor of State from 1821 until 1848, under bothFrancis I and his sonFerdinand I. The period of 1815–1848 is also referred to as the "Age of Metternich",[7] with Metternich controlling Habsburg monarchy's foreign policy and had a major influence in European politics. He was known for his strong conservative views and approach in politics, with policies strongly against revolution and liberalism.[8] In his opinion, liberalism was a form of legalized revolution.[9] Metternich believed thatabsolute monarchy was the only proper system of government.[7] This notion influenced his anti-revolutionary policy to ensure the continuation of the Habsburg monarchy in Europe. Metternich was a practitioner of balance-of-power diplomacy.[10] His foreign policy aimed to maintain international political equilibrium to preserve the Habsburgs' power and influence in international affairs. Following theNapoleonic Wars, Metternich was the chief architect of theCongress of Vienna in 1815.[10] The Austrian Empire was the main beneficiary from the Congress of Vienna and it established an alliance with Britain,Prussia, andRussia forming theQuadruple Alliance.[8] The Austrian Empire also gained new territories from the Congress of Vienna, and its influence expanded to the north through theGerman Confederation and also into Italy.[8] Due to the Congress of Vienna in 1815, Austria was the leading member of the German Confederation.[11] Following the Congress, the major European powers agreed to meet and discuss resolutions in the event of future disputes or revolutions. Because of Metternich's main role in the architecture of the Congress, these meetings are also referred to as the "Metternich congress" or "Metternich system". Under Metternich as the Austrian foreign minister, other congresses would meet to resolve European foreign affairs. These included the Congresses of Aix-la-Chapelle (1818), Carlsbad (1819), Troppau (1820), Laibach (1821), and Verona (1822).[7] The Metternich congresses aimed to maintain the political equilibrium among the European powers and prevent revolutionary efforts. These meetings also aimed to resolve foreign issues and disputes without resorting to violence. By means of these meetings and by allying the Austrian Empire with other European powers whose monarchs had a similar interest in preserving conservative political direction, Metternich was able to establish the Austrian Empire's influence on European politics. Also, because Metternich used the fear of revolutions among European powers, which he also shared, he was able to establish security and predominance of the Habsburgs in Europe.[8]
Under Metternich,nationalist revolts in Austrian north Italy and in the German states were forcibly crushed. At home, he pursued a similar policy to suppress revolutionary and liberal ideals. He employed the Carlsbad Decrees of 1819, which used strict censorship of education, press and speech to repress revolutionary and liberal concepts.[7] Metternich also used a wide-ranging spy network to dampen down unrest.
Metternich operated very freely with regard to foreign policy under Emperor Francis I's reign. Francis died in 1835. This date marks the decline of Metternich's influence in the Austrian Empire. Francis' heir was his son Ferdinand I, but he suffered from health issues. Ferdinand's accession preserved the Habsburg dynastic succession, but he was not capable of ruling.[8] The leadership of the Austrian Empire was transferred to a state council composed of Metternich, Francis I's brother Archduke Louis, andCount Franz Anton Kolowrat, who later became thefirst Minister-President of the Austrian Empire. The liberalRevolutions of 1848 in the Austrian Empire forced Metternich's resignation. Metternich is remembered for his success in maintaining the status quo and the Habsburg influence in international affairs.[7] No Habsburg foreign minister following Metternich held a similar position within the empire for such a long time nor held such a vast influence on European foreign affairs.[8]
Historians generally consider the Metternich era as aperiod of stability: the Austrian Empire fought no wars nor did it undergo any radical internal reforms.[12] However, it was also thought of as a period of economic growth and prosperity in the Austrian Empire.[12] The population of Austria rose to 37.5 million by 1843. Urban expansion also occurred and the population of Vienna reached 400,000. During the Metternich era, the Austrian Empire also maintained a stable economy and reached an almost balanced budget, despite having a major deficit following the Napoleonic Wars.[13]
From March 1848 through November 1849, the Empire was threatened by revolutionary movements, most of which were of a nationalist character. Besides that, liberal and even socialist currents resisted the empire's longstanding conservatism. Although most of the revolution plans failed, some changes were made; significant lasting reforms included the abolition ofserfdom, cancellation of censorship and a promise made byFerdinand I of Austria said to implement a constitution throughout the whole Empire.[14]
After the death ofPrince Felix of Schwarzenberg in 1852, the Minister of the InteriorBaron Alexander von Bach largely dictated policy in Austria and Hungary. Bach centralized administrative authority for the Austrian Empire, but he also endorsedreactionary policies that reducedfreedom of the press and abandoned public trials. He later represented theAbsolutist (orKlerikalabsolutist) party, which culminated in the concordat of August 1855 that gave theRoman Catholic Church control over education and family life. This period in the history of the Austrian Empire would become known as the era of neo-absolutism, or Bach's absolutism.
The pillars of the so-called Bach system (Bachsches System) were, in the words ofAdolf Fischhof, four "armies":a standing army of soldiers, a sitting army of office holders, a kneeling army of priests and a fawning army of sneaks.[citation needed] Prisons were full of political prisoners, likeCzech nationalist journalist and writerKarel Havlíček Borovský who was forcibly expatriated (1851–1855) toBrixen. This exile undermined Borovský's health and he died soon afterwards. This affair earned Bach a very bad reputation among Czechs and subsequently led to the strengthening of theCzech national movement.[citation needed]
However, Bach's relaxed ideological views (apart from the neo-absolutism) led to a great rise in the 1850s ofeconomic freedom. Internalcustoms duties were abolished, and peasants were emancipated from their feudal obligations.[15]
In its capacity as leader of the German Confederation, Austria participated with volunteers in theFirst War of Schleswig (1848–1850).[11]
Sardinia allied itself with France for the conquest ofLombardy–Venetia. Austria was defeated in the 1859 armed conflict. The Treaties ofVillafranca andZürich removed Lombardy, except for the part east of the Mincio river, the so-calledMantovano.[16]
TheConstitution of 1861 (the "February Patent"), created a House of Lords (Herrenhaus) and a House of Deputies (Abgeordnetenhaus). But most nationalities of the monarchy remained dissatisfied.[17]
After thesecond war with Denmark in 1864, Holstein came under Austrian administration, and Schleswig and Lauenburg under Prussian administration. But the internal difficulties continued.[18] Diets replaced the parliament in 17 provinces, the Hungarians pressed for autonomy, and Venetia was attracted by the now unified Italy.
After theAustrian army was defeated in theAustro-Prussian War of 1866 and the German Confederation was dissolved, theAustro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 was adopted. By this act, the Kingdom of Hungary and the Empire of Austria as two separate entities joined on an equal basis to form the Dual Monarchy of Austria-Hungary.
Imperial standard of the Austrian Empire with the lesser coat of arms (used until 1915 for Austria-Hungary)
Imperial standard of the Austrian Empire with the medium coat of arms (used until 1915 for Austria-Hungary)
Merchant ensign from 1786 until 1869 and naval and war ensign from 1786 until 1915 (de jure,de facto until 1918)
TheNapoleonic Wars dominated Austrian foreign policy from 1804 to 1815. The Austrian army was one of the most formidable forces the French had to face. AfterPrussia signed a peace treaty with France on 5 April 1795, Austria was forced to carry the main burden of war withNapoleonic France for almost ten years. This severely overburdened the Austrian economy, making the war greatly unpopular. Emperor Francis I therefore refused to join any further war against Napoleon for a long time. On the other hand, Francis I continued to intrigue for the possibility of revenge against France, entering into a secret military agreement with the Russian Empire in November 1804. This convention was to assure mutual cooperation in the case of a new war against France.[19]
Austrian unwillingness to join the Third Coalition was overcome by British subsidies, but the Austrians withdrew from the war yet again after a decisive defeat at the Battle of Austerlitz. Although the Austrianbudget suffered from wartime expenditures and its international position was significantly undermined, the humiliating Treaty of Pressburg provided plenty of time to strengthen the army and economy. Moreover, the ambitiousArchduke Charles andJohann Philipp von Stadion never abandoned the goal of further war with France.[citation needed]
The Austrian Empire in 1812
Archduke Charles of Austria served as the Head of theCouncil of War and Commander in Chief of the Austrian army. Endowed with the enlarged powers, he reformed the Austrian Army to preparedness for another war. Johann Philipp von Stadion, the foreign minister, personally hated Napoleon due to an experience of confiscation of his possessions in France by Napoleon. In addition, the third wife of Francis I,Maria Ludovika of Austria-Este, agreed with Stadion's efforts to begin a new war.Klemens Wenzel von Metternich, located in Paris, called for careful advance in the case of the war against France. The defeat of French army at theBattle of Bailén in Spain on 27 July 1808 triggered the war. On 9 April 1809, an Austrian force of 170,000 men attackedBavaria.[20]
Despite military defeats of theAustrian army—especially the Battles ofMarengo,Ulm, Austerlitz andWagram—and consequently lost territory throughout the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars (the Treaties ofCampo Formio in 1797,Luneville in 1801,Pressburg in 1806, andSchönbrunn in 1809), Austria played a decisive part in the overthrow of Napoleon in the campaigns of 1813–14. It participated in a second invasion of France in 1815, and put an end to Murat's regime in south Italy.[citation needed]
The latter period of Napoleonic Wars featuredMetternich exerting a large degree of influence over foreign policy in the Austrian Empire, a matter nominally decided by the Emperor. Metternich initially supported an alliance with France, arranging the marriage between Napoleon and Francis I's daughter, Marie-Louise; however, by the 1812 campaign, he had realised the inevitability of Napoleon's downfall and took Austria to war against France. Metternich's influence at theCongress of Vienna was remarkable, and he became not only the premier statesman in Europe but the virtual ruler of the Empire until 1848—theYear of revolutions—and the rise of liberalism equated to his political downfall. The result was that the Austrian Empire was seen as one of the great powers after 1815, but also as a reactionary force and an obstacle to national aspirations in Italy and Germany.[21]
During this time, Metternich was able to maintain an elaborate balance between Prussia, the lesser German states, and Austria in theGerman Confederation. Thanks to his efforts, Austria was seen as the senior partner with Prussia keeping watch over Germany as a whole. Further, Metternich opposed the weakening of France in the years after Napoleon, and viewed the new monarchy in Paris as an effective tool in keeping Russia at bay. From 1815 to 1848,Metternich steered Austria Imperial foreign policy, and indeed the mood of Europe, and managed to keep peace on the continent despite the growing liberal and radical movements inside most major powers. His resignation in 1848, forced by moderates in the court, andrevolutionaries in the streets, may have caused the spread of the revolutions throughout the monarchy. It is stipulated that Metternich's departure emboldened liberal factions in Austria and Hungary, but this cannot be confirmed for certain.
During theCrimean War, Austria maintained a policy ofhostile neutrality towardsRussia, and, while not going to war, was supportive of the Anglo-French coalition. Having abandoned its alliance with Russia, Austria was diplomatically isolated following the war, which contributed to Russia's non-intervention in the 1859Franco-Austrian War, which meant the end of Austrian influence in Italy; and in the 1866Austro-Prussian War, with the loss of its influence in most German-speaking land.[22]
The Austrian Empire, between 1816 and 1859 (theMilitary Frontier is not shown)The Austrian Empire, in 1866 and 1867Ethnographic composition of the Austrian Empire in 1855
The old Habsburg possessions ofFurther Austria (in today's France, Germany and Switzerland) had already been lost in the 1805 Peace of Pressburg.
From 1850,Croatia,Slavonia, and theMilitary Frontier constituted a single land with disaggregated provincial and military administration, and representation.[23]
Administratively, most of the crown lands excluding Hungary, Croatia, Slavonia, Transylvania, Lombardy–Venetia and the Military Frontier were divided intoKreise ('circles'), an administrative division introduced underMaria Theresa in the 18th century. Following therevolutions of 1848 a brief attempt was made to introduce modern-style political districts (in addition to theKreise),[24] but the reforms ofBach in 1853/54[25] instead instituted a system which delegated the responsibilities of theKreise among subordinateAmtsbezirke [de] ('office districts'), a system which persisted until 1867.
In the course of the post-1848 reforms Transylvania was also divided intoKreise in 1851[26] (re-divided in 1854[27]); the Voivodeship of Serbia and Banat of Temeschwar was also divided intoKreise.[28]
The war drained the Austrian economy.[30] The Austrian foreign trade was one-third of that of France and one-fifth of Great Britain based on 1823–37 numbers.[30] Direct tax netto was 47,159,168 of which 37,599,496 were land-tax (1842).[31]
The Austrian Empire was multi-national and multi-ethnic, with Germans, Hungarians (constituent in the Kingdom of Hungary), Slavs (Czechs, Poles, Ruthenians, Croats, Slovaks, Serbs, Slovenes) and Romanians, with smaller numbers of other ethnic groups. According to Dr. Becher's statistics, the population number was 36,950,401 in 1840.[32] An estimation made in 1842 gives 35,500,000.[32] Slavs made up an estimated 16 million, roughly 12 million north of the Danube and 4 million south of it.[33] Germans made up an estimated 6,5 million, of which 3 million in Upper and Lower Austria, Tyrol and one-half of Styra, and the rest scattered in the other provinces.[34] The Hungarians made up an estimated 5,5 million.[34] Italians made up an estimated 4,6 million, in Lombardy, Venice, south Tyrol, south Illyria.[34] Wallachians made up an estimated 1,560,000 in Hungary and Transylvania.[34]
In the mid-19th-century ethnographic works used the termnationalität (nationality) as a synonym forvolk (ethnic group).[35] The various terms used for the peoples of the monarchy wereNation,Volk,Völkerschaft and derivationsVolkstamm,Volksgruppe.[36]
TheRevolutions of 1848 in the Austrian Empire included the minorities choosing sides between revolution against the monarchy or supporting the monarchy. When Hungary revolted, the kingdom's Croats, Serbs and Romanians supported the monarchy.
^Laszlo, Péter (2011),Hungary's Long Nineteenth Century: Constitutional and Democratic Traditions, Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, the Netherlands, p. 6,From the perspective of the Court since 1723, regnum Hungariae had been a hereditary province of the dynasty's three main branches on both lines. From the perspective of the ország, Hungary was regnum independens, a separate Land as Article X of 1790 stipulated ... In 1804, Emperor Franz assumed the title of Emperor of Austria for all the Erblande of the dynasty and for the other Lands, including Hungary. Thus Hungary formally became part of the Empire of Austria. The Court reassured the diet, however, that the assumption of the monarch's new title did not in any sense affect the laws and the constitution of Hungary
^"Vor dem Jahr 1848 is[t] das Kaisertum Österreich verfassungsrechtlich als ein monarchischer Einheitsstaat auf differenziert föderalistischer Grundlage zu sehen, wobei die besondere Stel[l]ung Ungarns im Rahmen dieses Gesamtstaates stets offenkundig war. Eine weitere Differenzierung der föderalistischen Grundlage erfolgte ab 1815 durch die Zugehörigkeit eines teiles des Kaisertums zum Deutschen Bund." "Before 1848 the Austrian Empire can be regarded in constitutional law as a unitary monarchy on a differentiated federalistic basis, whereby the special position of Hungary within the framework of this federal entity was always evident. A further differentiation of the federalistic position followed from 1815 through the affiliation of a part of the empire to the German federation."Zeilner, Franz (2008),Verfassung, Verfassungsrecht und Lehre des Öffentlichen Rechts in Österreich bis 1848: Eine Darstellung der materiellen und formellen Verfassungssituation und der Lehre des öffentlichen Rechts, Lang, Frankfurt am Main, p. 45
^Strauss, Johann. "Language and power in the late Ottoman Empire" (Chapter 7). In: Murphey, Rhoads (editor).Imperial Lineages and Legacies in the Eastern Mediterranean: Recording the Imprint of Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman Rule (Vol. 18 of Birmingham Byzantine and Ottoman Studies). Routledge, 2016.ISBN978-1317118442.Google BooksPT196.
Sked, Alan. "Explaining the Habsburg Empire, 1830–90." in Pamela Pilbeam, ed.,Themes in Modern European History 1830–1890 (Routledge, 2002) pp. 141–176.
Sked, Alan (2008).Metternich and Austria: An Evaluation.
Sked, Alan (2001).The Decline and Fall of the Habsburg Empire, 1815–1918 (2nd ed.).
Steed, Henry Wickham.The Hapsburg monarchy (1919)online detailed contemporary account
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