Austria-Hungary's thoughts on Russia

During the time of the French Revolution and the Congress of Vienna, Austria was distraught over Russia's influence in Poland (Grand Duchy), Central Europe, and Prussia. During the debates in the C.O.V., Russia was Austria's main rival in negoatiations. Russia's strength seemed to grow over the years and the balance of power was tipping gradually in their general direction. Austria-Hungary felt weak in comparison. Furthermore, Russia had somewhat of an influence over King Frederick William III, king of Prussia. Prussia was somewhat of a buffer state between Austria-Hungary and Russia.

Britain's Impact on Austria during Napoleonic Era

The British and Austrian soldiers fought together to try to save the Netherlands from falling under Napoleon's rule. Prussia, Spain, and most of the German states had all backed down from this endeavor. These two countries were prominent members of the Second and Third Coalitions against the French Empire. Overall, Britain and Austria rarely came into close contact with each other on the battlefield. They were both devoutly against Napoleon and his troops, but were often involved in different battles. For instance, Austria was not a main contender at the Battle of Waterloo, while Britain played a major role in it. On the other hand, Austria fought against Napoleon in his invasion of Russia, but Great Britain was not involved at all. At the Congress of Vienna, Metternich of Austria was the host to other statesmen including Castlereagh of Britain. Both countries came out of the wars with nationalism and power.

Prussian Impact on Austria

The major source of friction between Austria/Hungary and Prussia was the establishment of the German Confederation. While Prussia wanted a weak Austro-German alliance, the Austrians wanted to rule Germany on their own. Eventaully, the Austrians got their way and a weak Austrian-led German Confederation was formed. Austria was mostly concerned about the Russian effect on Prussia, while Prussia was worried more about the Confederation itself rather than other parties.

Austria and the French Revolution

As the French Revolution began, French nobility fled their tumultuous homeland. Most of this nobility, known as emigres, went to live in Austria. Furthermore, they prompted Austria to put an end to the revolution at home. Thus, Austria signed the Declaration of Pillnitz in 1791. It stated that if other nations were to invade France that Austria would help these other nations. France, seeing Austria's move as obvious opposition, took the declaration as a sort of declaration of war. Prussia allied with Austria in their quest for a balance of power against Napoleon and his empire.

Napoleon's Impact on Austria

Napoleon had an enormous impact on the Austrian region. In his early years, Napoleon fought and defeated four Austrian armies in a row. He seemed unbeatable and consistently forced the country into submission. Napoleon's offensive campaign on Austria was his first important task as an influential, international figure. Napoleon won all of the battles and Austria always surrendered. In a peace treaty, it was negotiated that Austria would give up the Austrian Netherlands and Lombardy. France, out of pity, gave Austria much land in the Venetian area. While Napoleon's armies were in Austria, they pillaged and stole all the money and valuable goods they could find. This looting left a great deal of Austrian citizens in ruin. Later on, Austria faced Napoleon in several other battles, usually in alliance with Russia and other world powers. The Austrian armies actually played a role in the defeat of Napoleon! Another way that Napoleon influenced Austria was that he married Marie Louise, the daughter of the emperor. Since Napoleon was desperate for a true heir, he divorced Josephine and married Marie Louise. She had a son, and Napoleon declared that his son would be called the "King of Rome".

Even More Chapter Summary (645-655)

In the 18th century, Austria-Hungary along with the rest of Europe experienced a growth in world trade.
The War of Austrian Succession took place from 1740 to 1748. During this time, Frederick the Great of Prussia took over Silesia from Maria Theresa (Maria Antoinette's mother). The conflict blew up into a giant war. During the Seven Years' War (1756-1763), Maria Theresa tried to win back her stolen territory but was unsuccessful.
While Britain prospered tremendously, the rest of Europe hurried to catch up. European states, including Austria-Hungary attempted to implement a cottage industry, mercantilism, and protectionism. To accomplish this, A-H took part in the African slave trade.

More Chapter Summary

pgs 629-637

The area of Austria-Hungary was extremely agrarian. During the 16th and 17th centuries, there was widespread famine and disaster in the farming regions. Approximately every 8-9 years, the harvests would fail altogether. Many people went starving and were forced to eat famine foods, such as bark and grass, just to survive. The farming techniques of Medieval Times were utilized.
The open-field system, a middle age technique, was probably the most commonly used farming system at this time. Although it definitely helped the peasants cultivate crops in these tough times, the problem of exhausting the soil arose. Villages set aside meadows called common lands where animals could graze and not have to work in the fields. To make matters worse than they already were, the nobles and heads-of-state heavily taxed the poor people of Austria-Hungary. The serfs, especially, were treated cruelly and unfairly because there were no existing laws that defined how long a person could legally work. Therefore, the landlords demanded that their serfs work for extremely long periods of time.
It was nearly impossibly for peasants and serfs to rise up in social class. Technology advancements were desperately needed, because individuals began to realize that too many people were poor and starving. The result was the agricultural revolution. Crop rotations became more advanced and useful. The effect of these rotations was that the soil did not become exhausted as frequently as it had in the past. The practice of enclosure was also invented. In conclusion, the agricultural revolution bettered the lives of countless amounts of farmers living in Austria-Hungary. The age of suffering and hardship turned into a time of relative prosperity for these people.

Chapter Summary pgs 673 - 684

One of the major differences to impact the rich and poor were diets. Because the poor could not afford meat, they had to rely on bran in bread to provide them with protein. However, deficiencies in Vitamin C caused scurvy in many people. The rich, however, gorged themselves on meat, candy, and spirits. They were overfed and under exercised and often suffered from Gout. Though medicine did not play a significant role in society, the slow emergence of doctors began during this time. Early, strange practices for dealing with nutrition problems also arose, such as Purging.
Surgeons also began to rise, especially on the medieval battlefield. However, without anesthetics surgery was a very dreadful procedure to undergo. Even the simplest treatments, due to the poor hygiene and procedures, could cause the patient to die of infection or blood loss. Patients were not separated, and fresh air was viewed as a bad thing. Conditions were so bad that many viewed them as a plot at population control.
Despite the rampant spread of Enlightened thinking, many people still remained loyal to the Catholic church. However, many educated elites began to attack and denounce religious practices as unreasonable, foolish, and superstitious. Despite these attacks, religion was tightly woven into the fabric of community life. Protestants were also extremely active at this time, trying to reclaim the core values of Christianity.