Blackwell Reference Online

Extract

The Hapsburg Empire emerging in 1526 with the acceptance of Hapsburg rule by the Bohemian and Hungarian estates and by the Croatian estates the following year was a collection of territories formed in a piecemeal fashion rather than as an integrated state. At no time in its nearly 400-year history was this far-flung Empire united ethnically, culturally, economically, or linguistically. The Empire was the only multinational state in the early modern era and by far the most diverse. None of the ethnic groups represented a majority and some territories had nearly a half-dozen languages. Although unifying forces existed throughout this period, such as the military, the Church, and the bureaucracy, the forces of disintegration were stronger. One of the most powerful of these was ethnic jealousy, a constant theme in the history of the Empire. Bohemians' efforts to throw off German domination in the eighteenth century and Hungarian attempts to make Magyar the official language of the territories in the Danube Basin in the nineteenth century are only two of the dozens of examples that might be cited. Another was economic conflict between the various parts of the Empire, such as the efforts of both Croatia and Hungary to obtain access to the Adriatic. The heart of the Empire was the House of Austria . The Austrians and the Magyars of Hungary were the Empire's two privileged ethnic groups. ... log in or subscribe to read full text