|
Dawn of History to Border Province |
|
|
|
Page 3 of 3
A New Empire
In spring 1848 the ideas of the middle-class revolution originating in France also spread to Austria. The liberals demanded a constitution and freedom of the press. Metternich's hated police-based system was swept away. However, in October of that same year the uprising was suppressed, with the conservatives gaining on all fronts.
The young emperor Franz Joseph I established a neo-absolutist system. His dubious policy of neutrality in the Crimean War (1854-1856) led Austria into a dangerous isolation. It was thus left to face Sardinia, which was allied to France and supported the Italian independence movement, alone. Following its defeats at the Battles of Magenta and Solferino in 1859 Austria was forced to give up Lombardy and, at the same time, to yield to internal pressure for a parliamentary institution by issuing the October Diploma and the February Edict.
At the same time Kaiser Franz and his beloved Elisabeth ("Sissi") provided the material for one of the greatest Austrian love stories.
Political developments in the Austrian part of the monarchy (Cisleithania) were marked by the emergence of the mass parties (Social Democratic Party and Christian Social Party) and the demand for basic civil rights. The first general elections by direct suffrage to the Imperial Council (Reichsrat) were held in 1907.
The First World War
The long period of peace which prevailed until the First World War was safeguarded by a complicated system of European alliances, with Austria-Hungary joining up with the German Empire and Italy to form a Triple Alliance. However, growing nationalism within the multiracial state caused severe tension. The justified demands of the working classes for better pay and conditions fit for human beings also clamored for solution.
The assassination of the heir to the Austrian throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, on 28 June 1914 in Sarajevo was the provocation for the outbreak of the First World War. In four years of futile slaughter the European powers opposed one another, until the entry of the United States intop the war finally brought it to an end. After the defeat of the Central Powers (Austria-Hungary, the German Empire and allied Turkey) the European order crumbled. The dual monarchy disintegrated into national states. The remnants were to form the new Republic of Austria.
|
