Successful and Unsuccessful Paths to Power

(1686-1740)

 

In late 16^th/early 17^th centuries, Great Britain, France, Austria, Russia, and Prussia emerged as powers that would dominate Europe until WWI

à Spain, the United Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, and the Ottoman Empire began to decline (and Holy Roman Empire was weakened by Treaty of Westphalia)

 

The states that dominated international relations were those that created strong central governments (strong monarch, standing army, efficient tax system, bureaucracy, loyal nobles)

à Oftentimes the character, personality, and energy of the monarch determined a country’s success in establishing a central political authority

 

THE MARITIME POWERS

 

Britain and France became dominant powers in Western Europe at the expense of Spain and the United Netherlands

 

Spain

- Spain had become dependent on the gold/silver it imported from its New World empire

à It developed few domestic industries to produce its own exports

 

- Spain was politically weak due to strong provincial nobility which became stronger during reigns of Charles II (r. 1665-1700) and Philip V (r. 1700-1746)

à Charles III (r. 1759-1788) tried to improve administration of Spanish govt., but by this time Spain was already unable to compete with great powers

 

Netherlands

- 1702 William III of Britain dies

à Provinces prevent emergence of another strong state holder who would have given country central political leadership

 

- Naval supremacy had passed to British

- Fishing industry declined

- Edge in shipbuilding technology was lost

- Dutch trading vessels no longer dominated trade

 

- Domestic industries (textile finishing, paper making, glass blowing) stagnated

 

- Dutch still dominated Europe financially, providing loans and financing trade

 

France After Louis XIV

- France still strong despite losses and costs of War of Spanish Succession

- Largest population

- Advanced economy

- Strong administrative structure

 

- Louis XV (r. 1715-1774)

- Louis’s uncle, the duke of Orleans, ruled France as regent until 1720

- Duke of Orleans allowed Scottish mathematician John Law (1621-1729) to run French finances

                                    - Created bank to Increase supply of paper money

-         “Mississippi Bubble”: Law organized Mississippi Company, a

monopoly on trading privileges w/ French colony of Louisiana

à Law attempted to manage national debt by selling shares in company, but bank was unable to exchange gold for paper money

à French government disgraced

 

- Duke of Orleans attempted to draw French nobility back into government decision-making by allowing them to serve on councils

à Experiment failed because nobles lacked talent and desire to govern

- French nobility attempted to limit power of monarch through the courts (parlements) that they dominated

à Duke of Orleans restored power of parlements to approve/disapprove laws made by the king

 

- Cardinal Fleury served as chief minister of Louis XV from 1726-1743

                                    - Worked to block influence of nobility

- Attempted to solve France’s financial problems (repudiated part of national debt, established new industries, built bridges and roads) but was never able to acquire enough tax revenues from nobles and Church

 

-         Louis XV an ineffective leader

à  Wanted absolute power but was unwilling to work hard to exercise it

- France still a great power

                        - Largest/strongest army on continent

                        - Expanding trade and industry

                        - Wealthy colonies

                        - Prosperous cities

 

Great Britain: The Age of Walpole

 

1714 – Hanoverian dynasty assumes throne of England under George I (r. 1714-17270

 

Two main political factions in England:

- Tories: Wanted strong monarchy, low taxes for landowners, strong support for Anglican Church

           

- Whigs: Wanted Parliament to be supreme over monarch, protection of urban commercial interests, toleration of Protestant non-conformists

 

Because Whigs had supported George I’s accession to the throne, they received most of the patronage and public offices during his reign

 

Leadership of Robert Walpole

- 1720: Robert Walpole took leadership in honoring the national debt when the stock of the South Sea Company collapsed

à He made a reputation as a skilled administrator and politician

           

- Walpole often regarded as first prime minister of Great Britain and originator of cabinet system

à Power came from support of king, his management of House of Commons, and his control of government patronage (jobs, favors, contracts)

 

            - Walpole sought to keep peace and maintain the status quo at home

 

Structure of Parliament

            - Each British county elected 2 members

à Not very democratic, for a few powerful, wealthy families often controlled the process

 

- Property owners dominated English govt.

à Members of Parliament represented economic interests, not the people

 

            - Parliament’s supremacy gave England the political unity provided by absolute monarchy elsewhere

 

            - Strong system of finance

                        - Parliaments raised large sums of money to finance wars

- No exemptions from taxes

à All Englishmen paid

                        - Bank of England was regulated and provided credit

 

Freedom of Political Life

            - English political life more free than on the Continent à Popular political pressure, independent views of members of Parliament, newspapers, freedom of speech, no large standing army

 

Under Walpole Great Britain grew stronger, more stable, and prosperous

 

CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE

 

Central and Eastern Europe differed from Western Europe

- Primarily agrarian economies

- Fewer cities

- Serfs continued to work large estates

- No overseas empires

- Military conflicts were fought at home, not overseas – Wars changed borders and changed rulers of particular areas

- “Soft” political structure

à Political loyalties frequently shifted, and princes were unwilling to submit to a central monarchical authority

 

In last half of 17^th century, new political structure emerged in Eastern Europe

- Austrian Hapsburgs and Prussia began to compete for domination of Germany

- Russia became a major military power

- Power of Sweden, Poland, and Ottoman Empire declined

 

Sweden: The Ambitions of Charles XII

 

Sweden took control of Baltic Sea during 17^th century & possessed powerful army

à Economy, based primarily on export of iron, was weak

 

1697 Charles XII (r. 1697-1718) takes throne (headstrong, sometimes brilliant, and perhaps insane)

-          Fought against Russia in Great Northern War (1700-1721) to deny Russians the foothold on the Baltic that they desired

-          1700 Defeats Russians at Battle of Narva

-          1709 Decisively defeated by Russians at Battle of Poltava

 

1721 – Great Northern War ends

-          As a result, Sweden’s economic and military resources were exhausted

-          Russia & Prussia each had won territory on the Baltic Sea

-          Swedish nobility therafter challenged power of monarch

-          Sweden would thereafter play only a minor role in the affairs of Europe

 

The Ottoman Empire

 

-          Ottoman Empire dominated much of southeastern Europe

 

-          Although an Islamic empire, population religiously/ethnically diverse

-          Millets – Units within Ottoman empire containing all people of a particular religious faith

à Different laws applied to different millets

-          Zimmis – Non-Islamic residents of Ottoman Empire

à Allowed to practice religion but treated as 2^nd-class citizens

 

-    1683 – Ottoman Empire made most ambitious invasion of Europe and were stopped at Vienna

 

-          By 1700, Ottoman Empire had been weakened by constant wars, power rivalries among the nobility, and an underdeveloped economy

à A power vacuum existed that more powerful European states would attempt to fill

 

Poland: Absence of Strong Central Authority

 

-          Nowhere in Europe did the nobility gain as much power as it did in Poland

à No effective central authority existed

 

-          Polish monarch was elected by nobles

à Distrust prevented nobles from electing one of their own members

à They often elected foreigners

 

-          Sejm – Polish legislative body, or Diet

-          Included only nobles

-          Liberum veto – Practice in Diet allowing any noble to disband the entire body (“exploding the Diet”)

à Limited effectiveness of government because unanimity was required for every decision

 

-          Polish nobles jealously guarded their local power (“Polish liberties”) and prevented Poland from becoming a strong state

 

The Hapsburg Empire and the Pragmatic Sanction

 

-          After Thirty Years War ended (1648), the Hapsburg family of Austria gave up hopes of dominating all of Germany and restoring Catholicism

 

-          Hapsburgs would continue to be elected Holy Roman Emperor

à Emperor and Diet regulated life of empire, but power of this central authority was extremely limited

 

-          During 17^th and 18^th centuries, Hapsburgs consolidated their territories within HRE and in rest of Europe (Netherlands, Lombardy, Naples)

à Hapsburgs faced major problems trying to preserve power and keep local nobles from rebelling

 

-          Leopold I (r. 1657-1705) expanded Hapsburg holdings in southeastern Europe at the expense of the Ottoman Empire

 

-          Charles VI (r. 1711-1740) had no male heir and feared that his daughter Maria Theresa would not be accepted as ruler

à He won approval of his family, his nobles, and major foreign powers for a document called the Pragmatic Sanction, which recognized Maria Theresa as the rightful inheritor and ruler of all Hapsburg territories

 

-          1740 Prussian Frederick II invades Hapsburg territory of Silesia, challenging Maria Theresa’s inheritance

 

Prussia and the Hohenzollerns

 

-          Hohenzollern family of Brandenberg-Prussia united many separate territories into a strong country through its army

à “Prussian” became synonymous with strong administration and military discipline

 

-          Hohenzollerns of Brandenburg gradually acquired control of new territories during 17^th and 18^th centuries

à Most did not physically connect w/ Brandenburg

à Eventually the Hohenzollern territories were second only to the Hapsburg’s in size

 

Frederick William (“the Great Elector”) (r. 1640-1688)

-          United Prussian territories by breaking power of local nobles & creating a strong national bureaucracy and army

 

-          Collected taxes by force when necessary to keep army strong and allow him to act without the approval of the nobility

 

-          Junkers: German noble landlords

 

à In exchange submitting to the Hohenzollerns, the Junkers were given almost complete control over the servants on their estates & chose nobles to administer his tax structure (taxes therefore fell most heavily on peasants and urban classes)

 

-          Sons of Junkers came to dominate officer corps of army

à Officers took oath of loyalty directly to Elector

 

Frederick I (First King of Prussia) (r. 1688-1713)

-          1701 Hapsburg Holy Roman Emperor allows Frederick to assume title “King of Prussia” in exchange for his loyal military support during the War of the Spanish Succession

-          Lived luxuriously and patronized arts

 

Frederick William I (r. 1713-1740)

-          Imposed strict financial austerity on his govt., reducing salaries and # of jobs

 

-          Introduced Kabinett government

 

à All documents submitted to him by lower officials, and he made final decisions without input from his ministers

 

-          United all govt. departments under the General Directory

 

-          Imposed taxes on nobility

 

-          Changed feudal dues into money payments

 

-          Tried to instill sense of unquestioning loyalty to the state and the monarch

 

-          The Army

-          More than doubled size of army (3^rd or 4^th largest in Europe)

-          Imposed fanatical discipline

-          Each local district required to supply quota of soldiers

-          Officer corps became highest social class in state, attracting sons of Junkers

-          Military values dominated Prussia

-          Not used in many foreign conflicts

 

Frederick II “the Great” (r. 1740-1786)

-          1740 Upsets Pragmatic Sanction by invading Silesia