Nationalism in Austria-Hungary & the Ottoman

Empire

In Germany and Italy nationalism led to unfication.

But in the Austrian and Ottoman Empires, it had the opposite effect. It led to disintegration because both empires were multiethnic empires.

Nationalism in Austria-Hungary & the Ottoman Empire

Prince Metternich represented Austria at the Congress of Vienna. He feared nationalism because he knew it could lead to revolution and destroy the empire. So he passed the Carlsbad Decrees, which censored newspapers and created a network of spies to suppress all revolutionary activities. But in 1848 revolutions in France, Italy and the German states set off revolts in the Austrian empire. Metternich was forced to resign, the emperor abdicated and was replaced by Franz Josef. The new emperor had to deal with the Magyars who declared their independence. But the emperor got help from Russia to crush the revolt. But this couldn’t stop the nationalist movement in Austria.

Austria

. First, Austria lost Lombardy to Italy then Austria was defeated by Prussia in 1866. Because Austria had been weakened, it had to come to an agreement with the Hungarians within its empire. The result was the Compromise of 1867 which created the Dual Monarchy known as Austria-Hungary. Under this agreement Austria and Hungary became two separate, yet equal states. They shared some ministries, but each had its own parliament. This was only a temporary solution because it actually made the unrest in Austria-Hungary’s worse because other ethnic groups now wanted self-government like the Hungarians.

Austria cont’d

Franz Josef

By the early 1800s the Ottoman Empire was in severe decline and was often referred to as the sick man of Europe. This caused two problems. The first was called the Eastern Question and referred to European concerns about what would happen to Ottoman territory if/when it collapsed? The European powers didn’t want their rivals to get Ottoman land. In particular, the French and British opposed Russia; so they supported the Ottoman empire to stop Russian expansion.

Ottoman Empire

The Decline of Ottoman Power

This situation led to a short war called the Crimean War which ended in a stalemate. The war is best remembered for its filthy conditions and the efforts of Florence Nightingale , “the Lady with the Lamp,” to try and impose better sanitary conditions in the hospitals.

The Crimean War

The second problem was the region of the Balkans where nationalism created great unrest among the diverse ethnic groups there. As the various ethnic groups rebelled against Ottoman control, it led to a series of wars called the Balkan Wars.

The Balkans

A group of Turkish nationalists called the Young Turks were upset by the decline of the Ottoman Empire and its loss of land and prestige. Therefore, in 1908 they began a revolution to overthrow the sultan, the ruler of the Ottoman Empire. Eventually through their efforts a more liberal democratic Turkey would emerge.

The Young Turks