Metternich and the Austrian Empire 1815-1848, notes

Metternich and the Austrian Empire 1815-1848
3 Wilmot

Metternich: the arrogance of power

Was the principle statesman of the Austrian Empire between 1815-1848
His arrogance has become legendary
Metternich describes himself as: self confident, narrow in his own conceptions, a great leading figure
1848 Metternich did fall. The revolutions sent him into exile

The Empire in 1815

1804 the Austrian Habsburgs brought their territory together under the name of: Empire of the House of Austria
There were 5 main components:

The Central Portion

The Lands of the Hungarian Crown (contained Croatia, Slavonia & Transylvania)
à Dominated both by the Hereditary Lands (Upper & Lower Austria)

The North (Bohemia, Moravia and Upper Silesia)
à Dominated by the Lands of the Bohemian crown

The North East (region called Galicia)

Lombardy and Venetia (the new south territories)
à 4 & 5 ruled by the Emperor Francis 1st


During the Treaty of Vienna, the vital question was: how to ensure the survival of such a large and uncoordinated empire?
Between 1815 and 1848 the Empire remained unchanged and was seen by other powers as a necessity for the maintenance-of-order-issue
Metternich was aware of the fact that the Empire had difficulties with holding the Empire together, and he recognized that nationalism and liberalism had to be contained









Obstacle to change
It was difficult to transform the Empire into a real unit because:

Lack of unity
- the region was devoid of any national or geographical unity
- all the parts were attached randomly
- the single actual connection existed between Austria and Hungary

Administrative nightmare
-the empire was huge; constructed of 11 national groups; no common language;
- A common ground between such diverse national groups had to be found
- developing an administrative system which catered for all fairly and efficiently was a monumental task

The problem of minorities
- minorities were to be found throughout the Habsburg lands and their existence served to complicate the situation still further
- the challenge was then to persuade the people that their identities were less important then their loyalty to Vienna
- Imperial overhaul (renovation) was another obstacle



3.1 Emperor Francis 1st

Francis 1st, Emperor of Austria (1792-1835)
Became the throne after the premature death of his father, Leopold 2nd
He was then 24 years old
Until 47, he fought with the French permanently. The wars cost Francis a lot (military defeats, territorial losses and personal humiliation)
Despite everything, he was hostile to new ideas (refused the construction of the railway)
From 1810 he followed a strictly form of government, demanding total obedience from his subjects and advisers
He was not interested in what big men like Gentz and Metternich fought, he wished only for their approval in his aims
His only concession to change was: more control (monarchical absolutism)
The first 35 years of the 1800 hundreds, looked like this; a static period;
He rejected Metternich’s plans for improvements

The Metternich System

Metternich faced great difficulties as a State Chancellor
The Metternich System is his efforts to maintain 1815 settlement trough an alliance of European monarchies and to contain nationalism and liberalism
His aim was: to abolish the threat of revolutionary disruption



Metternich’s political ideas

He observed the physical world as being governed by certain fundamental laws which held opposing forces together in a natural state of balance
His aim: to achieve such a balance in the conduct of international relations and between the different classes and interests within particular states
In his own time, he found the balance tipped in the direction of anarchy
The Vienna settlement provided a good solution to the aftermath of the war but failed to solve the underlying problem of moral decay, which Metternich saw as the cause of the French Revolution
He claimed: liberty and equality =evil :=)

Metternich and Revolution

In 1832 Metternich: there is only one serious matter in Europe…and that is revolution
He regarded revolutions as natural developments
The ‘presumptuous man’, were the revolutionaries that started the French Revolution and put Europe in turmoilàMetternich


The presumptuous man

Authority
- he is his won regulator
- sees no need to give in to the rule of others
- he possesses enough wisdom to govern his own actions

Morality
- Sees standards of morality as being flexible
- Constructs his own moral standards and encourages other to do the same

Faith
- has no meaning to him
- is replaced with personal confidence

Laws
- meaningless, because he did not produce them
- does not obey them











Metternich’s principal source of the revolutionary danger


The masses
- largely unaffected by revolutionary ideas
- their aim: supply of food and shelter for family
- they had practically no time to think about new ambitions

The Middle Class
- The main source of trouble (professors, lawyers etc.)
- They were involved to increase their social status
- Their calls for constitutional changes were important to their power, prestige and fortune

The Aristocracy
- most were OPPOSED to disorder


stability was the watchword of Metternich and other conservatives
Change was THEIR responsibility



Metternich’s internal policies

Based on the fear of revolution he adopted: political repression
Secret police was made and a network of informers were established
The informers worked mostly with public services e.g. doormen
Their duties were the unmasking of conspiracies, close observation of target individuals, the inspection of newspaper, books and picture etc.
A latter activity was to open mail, the department was called Logen
Each morning Francis spent hours reading police reports
This was complemented by rigid censorship, freedom of movement
In Saxe-Weimar, a revolt began and was crushed within short. This is a good example of how Metternich worked.
‘The best sequel’ (consequence) as Metternich said that he had given, was actually a counter offensive designed to silence the German liberal movement.
Metternich’s made sure that all the liberal movements ceased, to be incapable of voicing its demands and to fall in decline










Attempts at reform
Although he kept revolutionaries under control, he always cared about restructuring the existing administrative system and to improve relations between Vienna and the outlying provinces of the Empire
He believed in changes, but they have to be proceeded by a proper authority and must be gradual
He made a number of serious attempts to improve the administrative system
He borrowed from Napoleon certain streamlined institutions with clearly defined functions:
EXAMPLES OF SUCH ATTEMPTS:

Imperial Council
In 1811 he suggested the creation of this of all the chief officers of the State
Its task was to advise the Emperor on matters of State raised at the request of the Emperor
It had no executive authority, but it was an attempt on improving the randomly consultations of the Emperor
Results:
· The scheme failed
· The members lacked the ability to cooperate effectively
· Was the attitude of Francis that made the Empire collapse
· He could ignore the proposals without being punished

State Chancelleries
Task: to supervise the interests of the primary ethnic groups within the Empire
2 chancelleries functioned on behalf Hungary and Transylvania and then 4 more
The main figure – a Chancellor in Chief- would protect the interests of the nationalities they represented and believed in the unity of the Empire
Results:
· It was met with bureaucratic opposition and royal indifference
· The scheme was abandoned rapidly by Francis

Council of the Empire
In 1817, was composed of Crown nominees and selected individuals.
Task: forum for discussion on the budget and general legislation
Results:
· Francis promised 1827 that this idea would be taken in consideration, but 8 years later, the Emperor died and no progress had been made



Treatment of the nationalities
· Metternich had no constructive alternative to the policy of repression, so he was compelled (forced) to witness the erosion of Habsburg authority upon which he pinned all his hopes for the survival of the Empire and its values.
· As an excuse he blamed on external forces which he could not affect, e.g. the Emperor and the recalcitrance (rebellion) of the bureaucracy

· There was a calculated attempt to encourage regional contentment (satisfaction), in the hope to maintain Imperial control. Instead of this, unwittingly, he encouraged the revolts 1948

· He had no plans to amalgamate (merge) the nationalities into a more unified Empire. Instead he accepted the differences and hatred between the nationalities and exploited them, through ‘dividing and ruling’

· The attempt to generate local contentment arose initially out of Metternich’s respect for regional traditions. Metternich created institutions such as the local Diets.

· The body was led by local aristocracy, but Metternich did not gain them much power. Instead he held regular meetings, where he replaced body members with new body members. This in order to stimulate regional contentment by offering the appearance of local participation in Imperial affairs.

· He was not aware of the growing nationalism, so the Diets became centre of opposition to Imperial control

· Before this was visible, he made a new attempt to promote provincial identities, now through sponsorship the local cultural traditions
· This scheme was due to divide and rule

· Metternich states: if the Hungarians make revolts, the Bohemian will be set against them, because they hate each other

· What he actually did was to build building blocks in the construction of any national state
· By sponsoring history, language, traditions he awoke the fact that these peoples were not German
· As a consequence, the 1948 revolutions arose


The end of the Metternich System (1835-48)

The emperor Francis opposed Metternich’s reforms
When Francis died, 1835, he was replaced by his eldest son Ferdinand
He was unable and inexperienced to rule. His intelligence capacity was questioned
Metternich calculated that a new leader has to be named, and during this replacement time, Metternich had the opportunity to carry out his reforms that the Empire needed.
Metternich was faced by powerful rivals: the sons of the old Emperor: Archdukes John, Archduke Charles, Count Anton Kolowrat and Archduke Ludwig.
Metternich supported his ally Ludwig because he could not be an obstacle in the pursuit of Empire reforms
What he needed was a strong and capable ally, not the weak indifference offered by Ludwig
In 1836 the opposition (John, Charles and Kolowrat) intimidated Ludwig into submission
Imperial power was transferred to a Council of Regency, consisting of Ludwig, Metternich and Kolowrat. The last 2 could not cooperate à breakdown Austrian executive
Revolutions occurred
Hungary was the only one that gained a degree of independence
The Magyar noblemen defended the Diets
Between 1812 and 1825 Francis ceased to summon the Hungarian Diet and did not accept with the idea of devalue of the Hungarian currency
This encouraged the Magyars to propose to Vienna certain reforms that would give more power to the Hungarian Diet (official language)

Istvan Szechenyi, an enlightened aristocrat that donated one year’s income to establish the Hungarian Academy. He attacked the privileges of the noblemen, arguing that concessions such as tax exemption prevented accumulation of capital which could be used for further development. He founded the national casino for discussions of liberal ideas, and there some proposals were made in order to increase Diet control. He was royal to the Crown, was not a separatist and wished for his plans to be carried out gradually and within the context of the Empire

Metternich was against all kind of liberalism, social or political reformàcaused Magyar nationalism to grow enormously

Another important figure was Kossuth; he agreed with Szechenyi but refused Vienna control. He claimed that the only Hungarian salvation is complete national freedom

Metternich’s failure to resolve problems immediately, gave Kossuth the possibility to cause serious challenge to Vienna in 1948.

Count Istvan Szechenyi (1791-1860)
His contribution to the Magyar identity, caused many to call him as the founder of modern Hungary
Be belonged by birth to aristocracy but was a champion of both nationalism and liberalism
He encouraged economic progress in Hun and made certain ambitious schemes
He made the bridging between Buda and Pestàeconomic unification
He was not s separatist, and wished the development of Hungary to occur within the context of the Habsburg Empire


Lajos Kossuth (1802-1894)

Perhaps the most known Hungarian nationalist and national hero
His support came from the country who wished to maintain and stimulate the Magyar spirit and tradition
He encouraged nationalism and had his own newspaper Pesti Hirlap




Here he expressed his wish his ideas:

the inefficiency of the Magyars, which were caused, according to him, from Vienna
the superiority of the Magyar people
before the revolutions, he secured the Magyar language through a law. The law made Magyar the official language for use in the Hungarian administration, the judiciary and in public education


3.2 Economic and social developments during the Vor März


The population remained chiefly rural and agricultural. In 1845 80% of the population lived in rural districts. 73% were engaged in farming, forestry or fishing
A huge movement to the towns was evident by 1845
This process caused urban housing problems
The pace of building did not keep up with the urbanization (Vienna- 45% population increase and housing increase 11, 5%)
Property owners charged high rated (1/3 of the salary)
Bettgeher- a bed for a few hours
Some workers remained in the factories during the night

Communications were improving. Lines were opening between major cities
1792-1843 40% rise in population (many peasants were entirely landless)
Improved communications assisted the development of industry by bringing in raw materials and transporting away finished products. The cotton industry was especially important.

The coal productions gave working places to children and women
Children 12, 5 hours/day, adults 13-16 hours/dayà adult over 12 years
Serious outbreaks of machine breaking arose 1842, 1843 and 1844