18th century Europe, clarification?

Question

I have no idea what countries are what. I'm in the section about Prussian government in my textbook, and all of the sudden, they're talking about German nobles. Are Prussians also Germans?

Is the Habsburg-Austrian Empire part of the Holy Roman Empire? Is the Prussian empire part of it? Thanks.

Answer 1

The main state of Germany wasn't formed until the late 19th century, when Otto van Bismarck of Prussia went out and conquered several nearby states, the largest of which were Saxony and Bavaria. Modern-day Germany is mostly made up of former Prussia. So yes, the Prussians are Germans. So are the Saxons. And the Bavarians. Think of the way that, in the United States, we called the native people of the Americas all "Indians," even though really, there were thousands of totally different tribes, nations, and cultures. Of course, the Germans all had similar cultures and backgrounds, so the term wasn't such a misnomer.

The Habsburg-Austrian Empire is the same thing as the Holy Roman Empire, the Habsburgs being the ruling family of the Holy Roman Empire. The Prussian empire was, IN NAME, part of the Holy Roman Empire, but really, it pretty much ruled itself. Kind of like the way Queen Elizabeth is still the Queen of Australia and Canada, but isn't really in charge of either. Except in her case, this was because England granted those countries freedom, while with the weakening of the Holy Roman Empire, the duke of Prussia seized his chance and declared himself King. Before 1701, Prussia was only a duchy, but after Frederick declared himself King in Prussia, it steadily rose in power and influence.

Hope this helps!

Answer 2

You hit the jackpot, my friend, because I just happen to be a doctoral student and guess what my major is? Eighteenth-century Europe.

Here is the thing: Germany, as we know it, at this time is a variety of different, smaller states and principalities. The Holy Roman Empire was the name of the confederation of Austrian and German states up until 1648, but at that point the Treaty of Westphalia more or less gave all these states independence. So there is no real "Holy Roman Empire" anymore in the 18th century, though some people still referred to the region as such.

Prussia is merely one of the many German states in the 18th century. It just happens, however, to be the biggest, most militant and powerful one. So yes. Prussians are Germans. The Prussian "Empire" merely refers to the German regions that made up Prussia, primarily the northern, eastern portion of what we now know as Germany, Poland, and parts of the Baltics.

The Austrian-Hapsburg empire was its own thing in the 18th century, previously being a the leading region of the Holy Roman Empire up until 1648, mostly consisting of Austria and Hungary and a few other small regions around them.

Ok. Hope that helps.

Answer 3

The Habsburg Empire was a great power in Europe from the late Middle Ages until World War I. It was ruled by the Austrian royal family, the Habsburgs, and its capital city was Vienna. The Habsburg Empire eventually included Hungary, the Czech lands, Slovakia, Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and important parts of Italy, Poland, and Romania. Although its critics sometimes referred to it as "a prison of nations," the Habsburg Empire offered protection to many small national groups and kept them from being absorbed by other cultures. It also laid the foundations for the industrial development of Central Europe. The Empire broke up as a result of World War I, and its territory provided the basis for the new countries of Austria, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia. Some Habsburg territory also was transferred to the country of Yugoslavia, which was created at that time.

Prussia (Germany)


Industrially and politically the most prominent state of Germany prior to World War II, Prussia was partitioned among the four Allied occupation zones after 1945. In 1947 the Allied Control Council for Germany formally abolished the state of Prussia. This action not only confirmed an accomplished fact; it was also intended as a blow against the spirit of German militarism and aggression, long held to be connected with Prussia. Most of the former Prussian provinces became part of the new states of the Federal Republic of Germany and of the German Democratic Republic (now reunified). The USSR annexed the northern part of East Prussia; Poland acquired the rest of East Prussia, as well as all Prussian territory E of the Oder and Neisse rivers.

Answer 4

A national appellation such as "German", is usually applied to any group of people who speak and write the German language.

Prussia use to be a separate and distinct part of the "Germanies": those countries which spoke and wrote German, prior to the unification, consolidation of all of them into a federal, united nation-state: the present day Germany that we all know. The Prussian nobleman, were called "Junkers", and the culture, society they ruled over, was a "patriarchal" one in the extreme.

This. their unification, occurred around 1850, and was not an over-night accomplishment.

The Austrio-Hungarian empire was in essence, the Holy Roman Empire. Although thru marriage, the Hapsburg, its ruling family, at times spread their rule over countries outside the geographical sphere of eastern Europe: Spain and its New World empire; the Netherlands; Burgundy(a Duchy in France), and on and on.

The Emperor - the ruling monarch of that family - held on to the title of "Holy Roman Emperor(Charlemagne though not German, was the first)for close to 1,000 years. An unbelievable achievement.

Prussia, if I remember correctly, was never part of the Holy Roman Empire.

Hope this will at least somewhat be enlightening for you. I know quite well, how intertwined and complex European history can be.
Wotan

Answer 5

I don't know anything about the Habsburg-Austrian Empire, except that it's mentioned in my History textbook, but I do know that Germany (as we know it) didn't exist till 1871, and it was actually a bunch of little states/principalities, and Prussia was the most powerful.
Well, Prussia initiated the forming of Germany and also the economic reforms called Zollveriegn (check the spelling, please). From over 30 different currencies, to around two currencies.
Germany was unified under Otto van Bismark.

Answer 6

Prussia was once a country and they did speak German there. Germany was not a complete nation until 1871 with the Unification of Germany by Otto von Bismarck.

Answer 7

before 1870, Prussia was the major power where Germany is today. Germany is Prussia along with some other smaller places like Saxony. Before it was Prussia, it was called Bradenburg in like the 1600s

Answer 8

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