Austria's Political Evolution: Post-Napoleon Statehood And Sovereignty

The Austrian Empire was formed in 1804 by Francis II, the Holy Roman Emperor and ruler of various Habsburg lands, in response to Napoleon's imperialist ambitions. The Empire was a unification of all Habsburg possessions under one central government. In 1805, Napoleon beat the Austrian and Russian armies at the Battle of Austerlitz, after which Francis ceded several possessions to the French Emperor and his allies. Austria continued to fight against Napoleon throughout the Napoleonic Wars, except for a period between 1809 and 1813, when it was first allied with Napoleon and then remained neutral. In 1815, after Napoleon's defeat, Austria and its allies reorganised borders at the Congress of Vienna, which reaffirmed the Empire as one of the great powers of the 19th century.

In terms of its political structure, the Austrian Empire was a legally single state, but the overarching structure and the status of its component lands remained much the same as they had been under the composite monarchy. The Kingdom of Hungary, for example, was administered separately from the rest of the Empire by its own institutions.

The Austrian Empire ceased to exist in 1867, when it became the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Today, Austria is a federal republic consisting of nine federal states.

The Austrian Empire's response to Napoleon's growing power

The Austrian Empire, which was created in 1804 in response to Napoleon's growing power, continued fighting against Napoleon throughout the Napoleonic Wars, except for a period between 1809 and 1813, when Austria was first allied with Napoleon during the invasion of Russia and later remained neutral during the first few weeks of the Sixth Coalition War.

In 1804, Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor and ruler of various Habsburg lands, proclaimed the Austrian Empire, unifying all Habsburg possessions under one central government. This was done in response to Napoleon's declaration of the First French Empire, as Francis foresaw either the end of the Holy Roman Empire or the eventual accession of Napoleon as Holy Roman Emperor.

The Austrian Empire continued to fight against Napoleon, with notable battles including the Battle of Austerlitz in 1805, where Napoleon beat the Austrians and Russians, and the Battle of Bailén in Spain in 1808, which triggered a new war. Despite military defeats, Austria played a decisive part in the overthrow of Napoleon in the campaigns of 1813-14, participating in a second invasion of France in 1815 and putting an end to Murat's regime in south Italy.

In summary, the Austrian Empire's response to Napoleon's growing power included the unification of Habsburg lands, continued warfare, and the influence of Metternich in shaping foreign policy and European politics to maintain Habsburg power.

The Austrian Empire's military defeats by Napoleon

The Austrian Empire suffered several defeats at the hands of Napoleon's forces. In 1805, Napoleon beat the Austrian and Russian armies at the Battle of Austerlitz. This victory led to the Treaty of Pressburg, in which the Austrian Emperor ceded various possessions to the French Emperor and his allies.

In 1809, Napoleon's forces defeated the Austrians at the Battle of Wagram, which led to the Treaty of Schönbrunn, in which the Austrian monarchy surrendered a considerable amount of territory. The same year, Napoleon occupied Vienna, and the French Emperor married the Austrian Emperor's eldest daughter, Marie Louise.

The Austrian army also suffered defeats at the hands of Napoleon in the Battles of Marengo, Ulm, and Aspern-Essling.

The Austrian Empire's peace treaties with Napoleon

The Austrian Empire was created in 1804 by Francis II, the Holy Roman Emperor, in response to Napoleon's declaration of the First French Empire. The Austrian Empire unified all Habsburg possessions under one central government.

The Napoleonic Wars dominated Austrian foreign policy from 1804 to 1815. The Austrian army was one of the most formidable forces Napoleon faced. However, after Prussia signed a peace treaty with France in 1795, Austria carried the main burden of the war with Napoleonic France for almost ten years, severely overburdening the Austrian economy.

In 1805, Napoleon beat the Austrian and Russian armies at the Battle of Austerlitz. In the aftermath, Francis ceded various possessions to the French Emperor and his allies. In July 1806, Napoleon established the Confederation of the Rhine, a collection of German states under French hegemony. All these German states left the Holy Roman Empire, signalling its end. In August 1806, Francis abdicated as Holy Roman Emperor and dissolved the Holy Roman Empire.

The Austrian Empire continued to face losses to Napoleon's expansionist efforts. The ongoing conflicts with France led to peace treaties that saw more of the Habsburg territories removed from the family's rule. The Treaty of Vienna, signed on 14 October 1809, brought an end to Napoleon's Austrian campaign of 1809. Austria formally ceded huge swathes of territory, including Salzburg, the upper valley of the Inn, Trieste, Carniola, and Croatia. More than a third of Austrian territory was to remain under French control.

The Treaty of Schönbrunn, signed on 14 October 1809, was another agreement that followed Austria's premature war of liberation against Napoleon. Austria lost about 32,000 square miles of territory with approximately 3,500,000 inhabitants. Under the terms of the treaty, France received Fiume, Istria, Trieste, part of Croatia, and most of Carinthia and Carniola. Russia, having backed Napoleon, received the Tarnopol section of East Galicia. The Grand Duchy of Warsaw obtained West Galicia, with Kraków and Lublin, and Bavaria acquired Salzburg, Berchtesgaden, the Innviertel, and half of the Hausruckviertel. Austria also agreed to pay a large indemnity, reduce its army to 150,000 men, and break diplomatic and trade relations with Britain.

The marriage of Napoleon to Francis's eldest daughter, Marie Louise, in 1810, cemented an eventual (short-lived) alliance. The eventual defeat of Napoleon allowed Austria and its allies to reorganise borders more favourably at the famous Congress of Vienna in 1814/1815.

The Austrian Empire's transition to the Austrian-Hungarian Empire

The Austrian Empire, also known as the Empire of Austria, was a multinational European great power from 1804 to 1867. It was created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs and unified all Habsburg possessions under one central government. The empire was proclaimed by Francis II in 1804 in response to Napoleon's declaration of the First French Empire.

The Kingdom of Hungary, as Regnum Independens, was administered by its own institutions separately from the rest of the empire. After Austria was defeated in the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 was adopted, joining the Kingdom of Hungary and the Empire of Austria to form Austria-Hungary. This act turned the Habsburg domains into a real union between the Austrian Empire ("Lands Represented in the Imperial Council", or Cisleithania) in the western and northern half and the Kingdom of Hungary ("Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen", or Transleithania) in the eastern half.

The government of Austria, which had ruled the monarchy until 1867, became the government of the Austrian part, and another government was formed for the Hungarian part. The common government was officially designated the Ministerial Council for Common Affairs and was formed to manage the few matters of common national security, including the Common Army, Navy, foreign policy, and the imperial household, as well as the customs union. Although the two halves shared a common monarch and both foreign relations and defence were managed jointly, all other state functions were handled separately, as there was no common citizenship.

Hungary and Austria maintained separate parliaments, each with its own prime minister: the Diet of Hungary (commonly known as the National Assembly) and the Imperial Council in Cisleithania. Each parliament had its own executive government, appointed by the monarch.

The transition from the Austrian Empire to the Austrian-Hungarian Empire was marked by the Compromise of 1867, which turned the Habsburg domains into a real union between the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary. This compromise was a result of negotiations between the central government in Vienna and Hungarian political leaders, led by Ferenc Deák, following the Austro-Prussian War of 1866. The Hungarians conceded that under the Pragmatic Sanction of 1713, foreign affairs and defence were "common" to Austria and Hungary, while also maintaining that the April Laws were still valid.

The Compromise of 1867 came into force when passed as a constitutional law by the Hungarian parliament in March 1867. The Reichsrat, the Imperial Council, was only permitted to confirm the Compromise without amending it. In return for this, the German liberals, who composed its majority, received certain concessions, including the securing of the rights of the individual and the creation of a genuinely impartial judiciary, as well as guarantees of freedom of belief and education.

The Austrian Empire's individual states

The Austrian Empire, also known as the Empire of Austria, was a multinational European great power from 1804 to 1867. It was created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs, unifying all Habsburg possessions under one central government. The empire was proclaimed by Francis II in 1804 in response to Napoleon's declaration of the First French Empire.

The Austrian Empire was made up of several individual states, which can be traced to the crown lands of Austria-Hungary. These states included:

• Upper Austria and Lower Austria, which formed the historic heartland of the Archduchy of Austria, a principality that was the empire's historic heartland.
• Salzburg, which was coterminous with the former Austro-Hungarian Duchy of Salzburg.
• Carinthia, Styria, and Tyrol, which descended from the Duchy of Carinthia, the Duchy of Styria, and the Princely County of Tyrol, respectively. These three states ceded territories to Czechoslovakia, Italy, and Yugoslavia when Austria emerged in its present form.
• Vorarlberg, which is made up of territories acquired by the House of Habsburg in the 14th and 15th centuries and was a semi-autonomous part of the County of Tyrol from 1861.

The Kingdom of Hungary, as Regnum Independens, was administered separately from the rest of the empire and continued to be governed by its own institutions.

During the Napoleonic Wars, the Austrian Empire lost and gained territories through various treaties and alliances. The Treaty of Pressburg in 1805, for example, resulted in the loss of Venice, Tirol, and other lands to Napoleon and his allies. On the other hand, the Congress of Vienna in 1814-1815 allowed the empire to regain and acquire new territories, including lands on the Adriatic, in Italy, and in present-day Austria.

In 1867, the Austrian Empire became the Austro-Hungarian Empire through the Austro-Hungarian Compromise, joining the Kingdom of Hungary and the Empire of Austria as equal entities in a dual monarchy.

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