Lands of the Bohemian Crown (1867–1918)
Lands of the Bohemian Crown Länder der Böhmischen Krone ( Latin ) | |||||||||||
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• Dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire | 1918 | ||||||||||
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History of the Czech lands |
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Czech Republic portal |
The
Overview of political dynamics 1867–1918
The two parts of the empire were united by a common ruler, by a joint foreign policy, and, to some extent, by shared finances. Otherwise, Austria and Hungary were virtually independent states, each having its own parliament, government, administration, and judicial system.
Despite a series of crises, this dual system survived until 1918. It made permanent the dominant positions of the Hungarians in Hungary and of the Germans in the Austrian parts of the monarchy. Although both halves of the empire had parliamentary systems, in the Austrian half a series of franchise reforms, culminating in universal manhood suffrage in 1907, allowed the Czechs to play an increasingly active role in the political life of Austria. In the last decades before 1914 a succession of governments included a number of non-German ministers and even one Polish Minister-President, but Austria's Germans dominated political power at the imperial level until the end of the state.
At the local level, the various nationalities gained a great deal of control over provincial and municipal affairs after a series of reforms in local government in the 1860s and 1870s. The monarchy's inability or unwillingness to come to terms with its nationalities problems weakened the parliamentary system at a time of escalating international crises.
Negotiations on Bohemian autonomy (1867–1877)
In Austria, German liberals held political power in parliament from 1867 to 1879. They were determined to maintain German dominance in the Austrian part of the empire. The Czech leaders, subsequently labeled Old Czechs, favored alliance with the conservative and largely Germanized Bohemian nobility and advocated the restoration of traditional Bohemian autonomy. In essence, they wanted a reconstituted
) with a constitutional arrangement similar to Hungary's. In 1871 the Old Czechs seemed to have succeeded, because the government agreed to the Fundamental Articles, which would have reinstated the historic rights of the Bohemian Kingdom. Violent protests from both German and Hungarian liberals ensued, however, and the articles were never adopted.History of Bohemia during the Old Czech era (1878–1891)
Objecting to an increase of Slavs in the empire, the German liberals opposed the 1878
History of Moravia (1867–1918)
While relations between Czechs and Germans worsened in Bohemia, they remained relatively tranquil in Moravia. Although the separate administrative status of Moravia had been abolished in the 18th century, the area was reconstituted as a separate
Young Czech and Czech Progressive Party era (1891–1914)
During the final decade of the empire, obstructionism by both Czechs and Germans rendered parliamentary politics ineffectual, and governments rose and fell with great frequency. The importance of the Young Czech Party waned as Czech politics changed orientation. Political parties advocating democracy and socialism emerged. In 1900
At the turn of the century, the idea of a "Czechoslovak" entity began to be advocated by some Czech and Slovak leaders.
World War I
In the first months of World War I, the response of the Czech soldiers and civilians to the war and mobilisation were highly enthusiastic; however later it turned into apathy.[3] The cause of Czech self-government was greatly advanced by the war, during which, in 1917, the Manifesto of Czech writers, signed by over two hundred leading Czechs, was published. This favoured the concept of Czech autonomy.[4]
See also
- Kingdom of Bohemia
- Habsburg Bohemia
- History of the Lands of the Bohemian Crown (1526–1648)
- History of the Lands of the Bohemian Crown (1648–1867)
- Czech lands under Habsburg rule
- History of Czechoslovakia
- Austroslavism
- Cisleithania
- Pan-Slavism
- Independent Social Democratic Party (Czech Lands)
- Austria-Hungary in World War I
References
- OCLC 8806740.
- ^ a b Jörg K. Hoensch. Geschichte Böhmens. C.H. Beck. p. 368.
- ISBN 9780612058668.
- ^ J. Poláček, Manifest českých spisovatelů (2007)
- This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain. Country Studies. Federal Research Division.