The History Of Nations: Australia And Austria's Origins

The first recorded European sightings of Australia were made by Dutch explorers in 1606, when Willem Janszoon landed in Cape York Peninsula. The continent was named New Holland by the Dutch in the 17th century, but it wasn't until 1770 that the east coast was charted by Lieutenant James Cook for Great Britain.

Austria, on the other hand, was occupied by people of the Hallstatt Celtic culture in 800 BC. It was then occupied by the Bavarii, a Germanic people, until the 9th century, when it became part of the Frankish Empire. The name Ostarrîchi (Austria) was first used in 996 AD, when it was a margravate of the Duchy of Bavaria.

The Austrian Empire

The Empire was proclaimed by Francis II in 1804 in response to Napoleon's declaration of the First French Empire. It was part of the Holy Roman Empire until its dissolution in 1806.

During its existence, the Austrian Empire was constantly at war with Napoleon and his forces, except for a period between 1809 and 1813 when Austria was first allied with Napoleon during the invasion of Russia and later neutral during the first few weeks of the Sixth Coalition War.

The Holy Roman Empire

The functioning of the government depended on the harmonious cooperation between the emperor and the princes. The empire reached the apex of its territorial expansion and power under the House of Hohenstaufen in the mid-13th century, but overextension of its power led to a partial collapse.

The power of the Holy Roman Emperor was gradually eroded, starting with the Investiture Controversy in the 11th century. By the 16th century, the empire was so decentralised that it was little more than a loose federation. The Holy Roman Empire came to an end in 1806 when Francis II abdicated his title as Holy Roman Emperor in the face of Napoleon's rise to power.

The Habsburgs

The House of Habsburg, also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most prominent and important dynasties in European history. The house takes its name from the Habsburg Castle, a fortress built in the 1020s in present-day Switzerland by Radbot of Klettgau, who named his fortress Habsburg. In 1273, Count Radbot's seventh-generation descendant, Rudolph of Habsburg, was elected King of the Romans. He then appointed his sons as Dukes of Austria and moved the family's power base to Vienna, where the Habsburg dynasty gained the name of "House of Austria" and ruled until 1918.

The throne of the Holy Roman Empire was continuously occupied by the Habsburgs from 1440 until their extinction in the male line in 1740, and, as the Habsburg-Lorraines, from 1765 until its dissolution in 1806. The house also produced kings of Bohemia, Hungary, Croatia, Slavonia, Dalmatia, Spain, Portugal, Sicily, Lombardy-Venetia and Galicia-Lodomeria, with their respective colonies; rulers of several principalities in the Low Countries and Italy; numerous Prince-Bishoprics in the Holy Roman Empire, and in the 19th century, emperors of Austria and of Austria-Hungary, as well as one emperor of Mexico.

The Holy Roman Emperor

The title of Holy Roman Emperor was first bestowed upon Charlemagne, King of the Franks, by Pope Leo III on Christmas Day, 800. The title lapsed in 924 but was revived in 962 when Otto I was crowned emperor by Pope John XII, fashioning himself as Charlemagne's and the Carolingian Empire's successor.

The Holy Roman Empire was dissolved by Francis II in 1806, after a devastating defeat by Napoleon at the Battle of Austerlitz.

The Austrian Republic

After World War II, Austria regained its sovereignty and declared its perpetual neutrality in 1955. The country became a member of the United Nations in 1955 and of the European Union in 1995.

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