AUSTRIA, PRUSSIA, AND RUSSIA

THE THIRTY YEARS’ WAR

The Holy Roman Emperor was made of small, separate states.

The North was largely Protestant and the South was largely Catholic.

The Thirty Years’ War was caused by religious and political causes.

Ferdinand, the Holy Roman Emperor, tried to assert Catholic authority.

The war led to severe depopulation. In 1648, the Peace of Westphalia ended the Thirty

Years’ War. France emerged as the clear winner. The Netherlands and the Swiss Federation were

independent states.

THE THIRTY YEARS’ WAR

How did the Thirty Years’ War impact Europe?

HAPSBURG AUSTRIA The Hapsburgs wanted to create a strong empire. They added Bohemia Hungary, and parts of Poland

and Italy to their Austrian lands. They never fully centralized government. Maria Theresa became the Empress of Austria. Frederick II of Prussia seized the Hapsburg province

of Silesia. Maria Theresa received help from Britain and Russia to

expel them from Silesia. The War of Austrian Succession went on for eight

years and Maria Theresa was not able to expel Frederick II out of Silesia.

She preserved the Holy Roman Empire and won allegiance.

HAPSBURG AUSTRIA

How did Maria Theresa win the allegiance of the people in the Holy Roman Empire?

THE RISE OF PRUSSIA Prussia emerged as a new Protestant power. The Hohenzollern family united their lands and set up a

central bureaucracy. Prussian rulers like Frederick William I created the best-

trained army in Europe. The Junkers, or nobles, by giving them positions in the

army and government. By 1740, Prussia was strong enough to challenge its rival

Austria. Frederick William I’s son Frederick II became king in 1740.

He seized Silesia from Austria, sparking the War of Austrian Succession. He earned the name Frederick the Great. (The Potato King!)

The powers of Europe in 1750 were Austria, Prussia, France, England and Russia. The Seven Years’ War was fought on four continents.

THE RISE OF PRUSSIA

Why was Frederick II called Frederick the Great?

PETER THE GREAT OF RUSSIA Peter was very educated and learned about the advanced

technology of Western Europe. He returned to Russia, he embarked on a policy of

westernization, or the adoption of western ideas, technology, and culture.

He strengthened the military, expand Russian borders, and centralized royal power.

Russia searched for a warm-water port on the Black Sea. Peter began a long war against the kingdom of Sweden 1700. He built the new capital city called St. Petersberg on land

won from Sweden. Russia signed a treaty with Qing China to define their borders

in the east. In the early 1700s, Peter hired a Danish navigator named

Vitus Bering who explored the Bering Strait between Alaska and Siberia.

PETER THE GREAT OF RUSSIA

How did Peter the Great rule Russia as an absolute monarch?

CATHERINE THE GREAT OF RUSSIA Peter the Great of Russia died without naming a

successor and there was a power struggle in the Romanov royal family.

The monarch that got the crown was Catherine the Great. She was married to Czar Peter III, who was murdered.

Catherine the Great reorganized government, codified laws, and began state-sponsored education for boys and girls.

She expanded Russia’s border by going to war against the Ottoman Empire. She claimed a warm-water port for Russia.

In the 1770s, Catherine the Great, Frederick the Great of Prussia, and Emperor Joseph II of Austria agreed to partition, or divide, the country of Poland.

CATHERINE THE GREAT OF RUSSIA

What did Catherine the Great do to expand Russia’s power?