7.4 Nationalism Threatens Old Empires

Read the following article and answer the questions that follow. Nationalism Threatens Old Empires

When Napoleon invaded the German-speaking states, the Hapsburgs had controlled the Holy Roman Empire for nearly 400 years. Austria’s center of power was now in Eastern Europe. Additional wars resulted in continued loss of territory to Germany and Italy. Why did nationalism bring new strength to some countries and weaken others? In Eastern Europe, the Austrian Hapsburgs and the Ottoman Turks ruled lands that included diverse ethnic groups. Nationalist feelings among these subject people contributed to tensions building across Europe.

The Hapsburg Empire Declines

In 1800, the Hapsburgs were the oldest ruling house in Europe. In addition to their homeland of Austria, over the centuries they had acquired the territories of Bohemia and Hungary, as well as parts of Romania, Poland, Ukraine, and northern Italy.

Austria Faces Change Since the Congress of Vienna, the Aus-trian emperor Francis I and his foreign minister Metternich had upheld conservative goals against liberal forces. “Rule and change nothing,” the emperor told his son. Under Francis and Metternich, newspapers could not even use the word constitution, much less discuss this key demand of liberals. The government also tried to limit industrial development, which would threaten traditional ways of life. Austria, however, could not hold back the changes that were engulfing the rest of Europe. By the 1840s, factories were springing up. Soon, the Hapsburgs found themselves facing the problems of industrial life that had long been familiar in Britain—the growth of cities, worker discontent, and the stirrings of socialism.

A Multinational Empire Equally disturbing to the old order were the urgent demands of nationalists. The Hapsburgs presided over a multinational empire. Of its 50 million people at mid-century, fewer than a quarter were German-speaking Austrians. Almost half belonged to different Slavic groups, including Czechs, Slovaks, Poles, Ukrainians, Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes. Often, rival groups shared the same region. The empire also included large numbers of Hungarians and Italians. The Hapsburgs ignored nationalist demands as long as they could. When nationalist revolts broke out in 1848, the government crushed them.

Francis Joseph Grants Limited Reforms Amid the turmoil, 18-year-old Francis Joseph inherited the Hapsburg throne. He would rule until 1916, presiding over the empire during its fading days into World War I. An early challenge came when Austria suffered its humiliating defeat at the hands of France and Sardinia in 1859. Francis Joseph realized he needed to strengthen the empire at home. Accordingly, he made some limited reforms. He granted a new constitution that set up a legislature. This body, however, was dominated by German-speaking Austrians. The reforms thus satisfied none of the other national groups that populated the empire. The Hungarians, especially, were determined to settle for nothing less than total self-government.

Formation of the Dual Monarchy Austria’s disastrous defeat in the 1866 war with Prussia brought renewed pressure for change from Hungarians within the empire. One year later, Ferenc Deák (DEH ahk), a moderate Hungarian leader, helped work out a compromise that created a new political power known as the Dual Monarchy of Austria-Hungary.

The Austria-Hungary Government Under the agreement, Austria and Hungary were separate states. Each had its own constitution and parliament. Francis Joseph ruled both, as emperor of Austria and king of Hungary. The two states also shared ministries of finance, defense, and foreign affairs, but were independent of each other in all other areas.

Nationalist Unrest Increases Although Hungarians welcomed the compromise, other subject peoples resented it. Restlessness increased among various Slavic groups, especially the Czechs in Bohemia. Some nationalist leaders called on Slavs to unite, insisting that “only through liberty, equality, and fraternal solidarity” could Slavic peoples fulfill their “great mission in the history of mankind.” By the early 1900s, nationalist unrest often left the government paralyzed in the face of pressing political and social problems.

The Ottoman Empire Collapses Like the Hapsburgs, the Ottomans ruled a multinational empire. It stretched from Eastern Europe and the Balkans to North Africa and the Middle East. There, as in Austria, nationalist demands tore at the fabric of the empire.

Balkan Nationalism Erupts In the Balkans, Serbia won autonomy in 1830, and southern Greece won independence during the 1830s. But many Serbs and Greeks still lived in the Balkans under Ottoman rule. The Ottoman empire was also home to other national groups, such as Bulgarians and Romanians. During the 1800s, various subject peoples staged revolts against the Ottomans, hoping to set up their own indepen- dent states.

European Powers Divide Up the Ottoman Empire Such nationalist stirrings became mixed up with the ambitions of the great European

powers. In the mid-1800s, Europeans came to see the Ottoman empire as “the sick man of Europe.” Eagerly, they scrambled to divide up Ottoman lands. Russia pushed south toward the Black Sea and Istanbul, which Russians still called Constantinople. Austria-Hungary took control of the provinces of Bosnia and Herzegovina. This action angered the Serbs, who also had hoped to expand into that area. Meanwhile, Britain and France set their sights on other Ottoman lands in the Middle East and North Africa.

War in the Balkans In the end, a complex web of competing interests contributed to a series of crises and wars in the Balkans. Russia fought several wars against the Ottomans. France and Britain sometimes joined the Russians and sometimes the Ottomans. Germany supported Austrian authority over the discontented national groups. But Germany also encouraged the Ottomans because of their strategic location in the eastern Mediterranean. In between, the subject peoples revolted and then fought among themselves. By the early 1900s, observers were referring to the region as the “Balkan powder keg.” The explosion that came in 1914 helped set off World War I.

(define) Francis Joseph

(define) Ferenc Deák

(define) Dual Monarchy

(checkpoint) What actions did Francis Joseph take to maintain power?

(checkpoint) How did the European powers divide up Ottoman lands?

(assessment) What alternatives did Francis Joseph have in responding to nationalist demands? How might Austrian history have been different if he had chosen a different course of action?

(assessment) Why did the Dual Monarchy fail to end nationalist demands?

(assessment) How did Balkan nationalism contribute to the decline of the Ottoman empire?

(objectives) Describe how nationalism contributed to the decline of the Austrian empire.

(objectives) List the main characteristics of the Dual Monarchy.

(objectives) Explain how the growth of nationalism affected the Ottoman Empire.