11.3: The Great Powers--First Four

During the 18th Century, five monarchy-based states emerged, that would eventually be referred to as the Great Powers. Each one had a strong ruling dynasty, a large and powerful army, and relative political stability. Over the next two centuries, they jockeyed for position and power in Europe and overseas. Indeed, whole wars were fought between the Great Powers thousands of miles from Europe itself.

France

Historically, France had the largest population, the biggest armies, the richest economy, and the greatest international prestige. Despite the fact that the crown was hugely debt-ridden, following Louis XIV’s wars and the mismanagement of the next two kings, the French monarchy was admired across Europe for its sophistication and power. By the 18th century, French was the international language. When a Russian nobleman encountered an Austrian and an Englishman, all three would speak French with one another.

In fact, European nobles largely thought of themselves in terms of a common aristocratic culture based in France. Russian nobles often spoke Russian very poorly, and German nobles often regarded the German language as appropriate for talking to horses or commoners. (Supposedly, Frederick the Great of Prussia claimed that he used German to speak to his horse and other languages to speak to people). The French dynasty of the Bourbons, the descendants of Henry IV, continued the practice of keeping court at Versailles and only going into Paris when needing to browbeat the Parisian city government into ratifying royal laws.

Great Britain

As a constitutional monarchy, Great Britain was a major exception to the continental pattern of absolutism. While still exercising considerable power, the German-born royal line of the Hanovers deferred to parliament on matters of law-making and taxation. A written constitution reigned in anything smacking of “tyranny”. Indeed, the Enlightenment philosophe Voltaire looked to Britain as the model of a more rational, fair-minded political system against which to contrast the abuses of other states.

The British government also focused on the expansion of its commercial overseas empire. Thus, France and Britain fought repeatedly over their colonial possessions. Eventually, Britain enjoyed great success, pushing France aside as a rival in North America and India. By the time of the French Revolution (1789-1799) and Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815), Britain was poised to become the global powerhouse.

Austria

France’s traditional rival was the Habsburg line of Austria. In 1558, when the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V abdicated, his Spanish possessions went to his son, and the Holy Roman imperial possessions to his younger brother. In 1700, the last Spanish Habsburg, Charles II, died without an heir, which prompted the War of the Spanish Succession. The Bourbons of France fought to put a French prince on the Spanish throne and practically every other major European power rallied against them.

Figure 11.3.1: The Holy Roman Empire in 1789. Habsburg territories are depicted in dark yellow. Blue marks the kingdom of Prussia, the great rival of Habsburg Austria. Note: the Kingdom of Poland would be partitioned out of existence, with its territory divided between Prussia, Russia, and Austria. That process was completed in 1795.

The Holy Roman line of Habsburgs remained strongly identified with Austria and its capital of Vienna. The Austrian Empire was a political unit that united Austria, Hungary, Bohemia, and various other territories in the southern part of Central Europe. Its nominal control of the Holy Roman Empire was for political window dressing. The Austrian Empire was by far the most significant German state, and the Habsburgs of Austria were often the greatest threat to French ambitions on the continent.

Prussia

Prussia was the other great German state. As noted in a previous chapter's discussion of absolutism, the Prussian royal line, the Hohenzollerns, oversaw the transformation of a poor and backward set of lands in northern Germany into a major military power, essentially by putting all state spending into the pursuit. By the middle of the 18th century, the Prussian army was a match of the much larger Austrian force, with the two states emerging as military rivals.

Russia

Russia is the fifth great power. Its history will be discussed on the next page.