Central and Eastern European Absolutism

Juxtaposition of Eastern and Western Europe Time Period (AD)

Western Europe Eastern Europe Comparison

High Middle Ages

1000 - 1300

•Economic Expansion

•Rise of Towns and Middle Class

•Declining Serfdom

•Ditto

•Plus, more wilderness out here to reclaim

•Germanic people move in; often see themselves as superior to Slavs

•Basically the same

Black Death and Renaissance

1300-1500

•Peasant Power – end of serfdom

•Nobles are a bit more limited

•Nobles manage to use force to maintain and even greatly enhance serfdom; noble judiciary

•Strong nobles

•Major point of divergence

Renaissance and Wars of Religion

1500-1650

•Renaissance Princes

•Split of the church weakens hierarchy

•Growing wealth/ Atlantic System

•Lords push peasants even further down

•Few cities; nobles export agricultural products directly to wealthier west; almost no middle class

•‘First Among Equals’

Continued Gap… Then, 30 Years’ War Ravages Central and Eastern Europe… from the ruins… Absolutism

Prussia and Austria

• Both turn to Absolutism after the Wars of Religion– Raise Taxes– weaken nobles – Build standing armies

• Both parts of the HRE

• Turn east in search of land for an empire after Wars of Religion

• Austria – Home of Austrian branch of the Habsburg family – fights Ottomans – eventually wins Hungary and Bohemia (and the Tyrol

and Styria and other smaller HRE states)

• Prussia- Brandenburg – Hohenzollern family– Geographic difficulties

• Poor land• Divided land

– Sparta of the North• ‘Usually the state builds an army. In Prussia, the army built

the state’

– Every leader is named Frederick or Frederick Williams- confusing…

• In the long run, the rise of Prussia and Austria is key to the unification of Germany

• Prussia’s militarism is key because they become the central actor in unifying Germany, not Austria – German militarism might be a touch important later

• In fact, Prussian victory in the competition to lead the unification of Germany explains, in part, why Austria is not a part of Germany today