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THE DECLINE OF AUSTRIA-HUNGARY . Problems with the Empire. Austria-Hungary faced problems similar to Russia in 1800s Numerous languages , cultures, no modern government Feudal system still in place, censorship used, arrests of critics
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Problems with the Empire • Austria-Hungary faced problems similar to Russia in 1800s • Numerous languages, cultures, no modern government • Feudal system still in place, censorship used, arrests of critics • Ruled by a royal family for centuries and did not embrace modernization
Revolution • Revolution of 1848 – showed weakness of government … • National assembly and constitution created • Did not last because groups were not united • Minister of Foreign Affairs von Metternich worked to put down ethnic groups, radicals
Francis Joseph • Francis Joseph comes to the throne for 68 year reign • He works to restore the old order – conservative, dissolves revolutionary assembly and rejected the constitution • Austria loses land in 1850s and 1860s in war
Dual Monarchy • 1867 – Franz Joseph grants Hungary some freedoms • Dual Monarchy created – he is king of Austrian Empire and Kingdom of Hungary • Two nations share foreign affairs, money but not internal affairs … each with own constitution, parliament and prime minister • Reliant on each other economically (Austria had manufacturing and Hungary had food products)
Minorities in the Empire • System worked for a while, but problems erupted • 3/5 of people in A-H were Slavs with no rights (Poles, Slovaks, Czechs, Serbs, Montenegrins, Bosnians all wanted a Slav kingdom)
The Balkan Peninsula • The Balkan Region of Europe known as “powder keg of Europe” • Region of ethnic/religious hatred for 100s of years (even war in 1990s) • Where Muslim world meets Christian world … where differing forms of Christianity (Catholic and Orthodox) meet … centuries of war, bloodshed, and massacres.
Revolt • Ottoman Empire (Muslim) had dominated for centuries, but in decline in mid-1800s • Romania, Serbia, Bulgaria rise up … Turks brutally putting down revolts • Russia comes to aid of fellow Slavs against Turks in Serbia • Great Britain wants to contain Russia so joins in on side of Turks (France and others join and beat Russia in Crimean War in 1854)
A-H Empire tries to take advantage of this and take land • Various ethnic groups in this region want independence • Serbia, Bosnia, Croatia (today independent states)
1877 Russia goes to war with Turkey “on behalf of Slavic people” and wins large piece of Bulgaria … Treaty of San Stefano angers many in Europe … particularly Britain who fears Russian expansion • Jingoism (extreme patriotism, usually provoked by perceived foreign threat, comes from British song) became the mood of Europe by late 1800s
Congress of Berlin • Congress of Berlin tries to establish stability, but pleases nobody • By early 1900s … Balkan League of Nations defeats Turkey in 1912 war • Its own members turn on each other by 1913 • France, Britain, Germany all try to contain these conflicts • Fear Russia or A-H getting too powerful
Powder Keg • By the beginning of the 20th century, it is clear that this region of Europe would be the likely place that a huge war would erupt.