The Rule of the Hapsburgs
After they had defeated the Hungarians, the Turks continued to threaten western Europe. By 1683, they were at the gates of Vienna, the capital of Austria. There they were stopped. That defeat was a blow to Turkish rule in Europe. Eventually, the Turks retreated from Hungary. In their place came the Austrians, who took control of the entire country. In 1687, Leopold, the Hapsburg ruler of Austria, became the king of Hungary.
The rule of the Hapsburgs brought a period of peace and prosperity to Hungary, especially under Empress Maria Theresa. She reigned for a long time - from 1740 until 1780. Many Hungarians, however, wanted to be free of foreign rule. In 1848, they tried to push the Austrians out but were not successful.
The Austrians decided to give the Hungarians more of a say in their affairs. In 1867, they created a "dual
monarchy", called Austrian-Hungary. Under this arrangement, the Austrian emperor would also be crowned king of Hungary. However, Hungarians would have more control over their day-to-day lives.
