It has returned!
Europe (1866-1880)
Part One: The Fate of the Belligerents
Flag of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, adopted on September 25, 1875
It was a war known under many names in the decades immediately after it was fought; the Austro-Franco-Prussian War, the War of 1866, the Second Napoleonic War, the War of Prussian Aggression and the War of Prussian Humiliation, although today this war is known almost universally as the First Continental War. When the dust settled in 1866, the nations of Europe, especially those that participated in the war, were prepared for a new era of peace and prosperity. German nationalism, the main factor behind Prussia's wars of aggression against Denmark and Austria, had for all intents and purposes been stopped and killed dead in its tracks and showed no signs of resurrecting in the immediate future. The French and Austrian Empires, as the victors of the war, were the most optimistic about their respective futures. On Christmas Day, 1866, Napoleon III proudly proclaimed in a speech in front of the Tulieries Palace that "Il y aura la paix dans Notre Temps", which in English translates to "There will be peace in our time." At least that was the case for France in Europe, as Napoleon III had at that time begun planning a series of new colonial ventures for France, ventures Napoleon III claimed were destined to "give Marianne her rightful place in the sun" and turn France into a strong, prestigious and respected imperial power on the world stage. For the first of these new ventures, Napoleon III looked to the east....
Meanwhile the Austrian Empire, while still victorious, unlike the French had numerous problems in the wake of their victory. While German nationalism and Prussian expansionism had been vanquished as a result of the terms of the Treaty of Stockholm, a number problems still remained for the Austrian Empire. During the First Continental War many Hungarians, Czechs, Slovaks, Croatians, Slovenes, among others, had fought under the Hapsburg banner against Prussian aggression. This was especially so with the Hungarians, Czechs and Slovaks, who made up most of the non-Austrian-German soldiers of the war [1]. These soldiers of many different ethnicities fought and died for their country and Emperor alongside their Austrian-German brothers against the "Protestant Teutonic Invaders." When these veterans returned home, they then wondered, why where they not as influential and powerful as their Austrian-German co-inhabitants? While it was true that all ethnicities in the empire had representation, as was the case since the adoption of the 1853 Constitution, by and by the Austrian-Germans were still largely in charge. These aforementioned feelings were felt most strongly by the Hungarians, who remembered their failed revolution of 1848, and the Bohemian Czechs, who had much of their homeland ravaged by the Prussian invaders during the war. In the years after the First Continental War, proponents for greater reform in the Austrian Empire began to make their voices heard once again, said voices becoming more and more noticeable in Austrian political circles and the popular consciousness by 1870. While the 1853 Constitution was still greatly admired and seen as a step in the right direction, this new generation of liberals and reformists claimed more needed to be done to reform the Austrian political system and make all her peoples equal. Emperor Maximilian, a liberal in his own right, was sympathetic to the plights of these new liberals and reformists from all ethnicities and walks of life in the Empire. However, like in 1853, he knew he had to play his cards right. Maximillian himself wanted to set up a conference of sorts to resolve the grievances of the Empire's many ethnicities, but in 1870, it seemed to soon to do so, as the Empire was, overall, still politically stable and Maximillian acting to quickly in favor of the reformists would no doubt anger the conservatives within the Empire. Worst case scenario, a civil war between the reformists, conservatives and numerous nationalists could be triggered. As a result of all of these factors, Maximillian simply decided to wait and see how things would pan out [2].
One a more personal note, by 1870, Maximilian I and Empress Charlotte of Austria had three more children after Maximilian, Crown Prince of Austria. The second child of theirs was Archduke Leopold, born on October 27, 1861. He was then followed by Archduke Franz Joseph, born on September 16, 1864, said child having been named after Maximilian I's ill-fated elder brother, Emperor Franz Joseph I. Finally, Emperor Maximilian and Empress Charlotte's last-born child was Archduchess Sophia, born on August 2, 1867.
Prussia, as the loser of the war, was all but humiliated. Bismarck resigned in disgrace and King Wilhelm I had Bismarck replaced with General Albrecht von Roon as Minister President of Prussia. Under the Presidency of Von Roon, Prussia adopted an isolationist foreign policy. Von Roon knew German nationalism was dead and that any attempt to resurrect it would be meet with condemnation from other European nations and, at worse, Franco-Austrian military intervention. For most of the later part of 19th century, Prussia had no official allies. Most nations of Europe viewed the Prussians with suspicion for starting the wars against Denmark and Austria, their defeat in the later war seen as them getting what they deserved and a defeat they bought upon themselves. This “Prussian Isolationism” would continue for many more years to come. After Roon's death in 1876 [3], his successor Leo von Caprivi continued this same policy. Prussia would only attempt to come out of their shell during the Antwerp Conference of 1890.
Meanwhile, back in the Austrian Empire, the country's problems finally began to spill over. A number of incidents occurred throughout the early 1870s which completely changed the country's situation in regards to ethnic nationalism and liberalism/reformism. On January 18, 1871, a Hungarian non-violent nationalist rally in Szeged was violently broken up by the local military garrison. The local commander, acting without permission from Emperor Maximilian, ordered his soldiers to fire into the crowd. It was a terrible fiasco, with at least forty men dead and several more injured. After hearing of all this, Maximillian ordered that the commander be court-martialed. Throughout the following years, a number of similar incidents occurred, albeit sporadically, in which nationalist rallies, some peaceful and others violent, were either violently broken up or simply got out of hand.
In the summer of 1875, Emperor Maximillian finally decided that now was the right time to act. However, he needed to find a solution that would satisfy, at least partially, the reformists and at the same time not alienate the conservatives. As a result, Maximilian decided that the right strategy to take would be to first reconcile with the largest non-German ethnic group of the Empire, this group being the Magyars/Hungarians. With this strategy in mind, Maximilian arranged with the Hungarian elite for a conference to be held to resolve the Empire's many problems.
With that, the Compromise of 1875 came into effect on September 25, 1875. The Compromise (
Ausgleich in German and
Kiegyezés in Hungarian) officially established the Dual Monarchy of Austria-Hungary. Under the terms of the compromise, the kingdoms of Austria and Hungary, within the Dual Monarchy, both had separate parliaments, one in Vienna and one in Budapest, that passed and enforced separate laws. In accordance to the 1853 Constitution, all ethnicities were allowed representation in both the Austrian and Hungarian parliaments. In addition, both of the kingdoms also had their own Prime Minister and were fiscally independent from one another. The Dual Monarchy and the two kingdoms were united together under the Emperor, who still retained his royal privileges, as well as under the common ministers of foreign affairs, defense and finance, all headquartered in Vienna. Finally, it was also agreed that the delegates would reconvene to renegotiate the terms of the Compromise every ten years should the need arise.
All in all, the Compromise of 1875, for the most part, proved to be a success. That is, for the
most part. Truth be told, problems still remained. The obvious favoritism shown towards the Magyars/Hungarians by Emperor Maximilian alienated many of his former supporters, as well as those who would have otherwise supported him, among the Slovaks, Romanians and Croatians, who all still lived under the rule of the Crown of St. Stephen. In spite of the fact that these ethnic groups were still allowed representation in the Hungarian Diet [4], many people of these groups still felt dissatisfied and betrayed by the "Liberal Emperor [5]." While Maximilian lamented that he had the lost quite a bit of support from those of these groups, he knew he had to take baby steps. He knew that creating a hypothetical "Triple Monarchy" with an additional Croatian crown would only serve to alienate and anger the Hungarians, and possibly lead to another rebellion by the Hungarians. As for the hypothetical creation of a "Quadruple Monarchy" with the an additional Bohemian crown, Maximilian knew that that this would also be two risky of a move that would only serve to alienate the conservatives of Austria and the Bohemian-Germans, who seemed content under Austrian-German rule. As for the Czechs, many were disappointed that they did not receive their own kingdom or more autonomy, but for now, they seemed satisfied enough with having representation in the Austrian parliament [6].
With the Compromise of 1875 settled and done with, the new Austro-Hungarian Empire looked forward to a bright and promising future. As it would turn out, Austria-Hungary's next major part to play on the international stage would be in the Balkan Peninsula, the so-called "powder keg of Europe."
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[1] This is mainly due to the proximity of Bohemia, Slovakia and Hungary to the front-lines. In fact, the front-lines were partly in Bohemia, as has already been mentioned.
[2] IOTL Austria also had war debts and a financial crisis to worry about. ITTL, without the Franco-Austrian War of 1859, Austria's war debts from the First Continental War are not as much of a problem.
[3] Albrecht Von Roon died in 1879 IOTL. ITTL he dies some years earlier due to the strain of being Prime Minister of Prussia.
[4] As a result of these ethnic groups being represented in the Hungarian Diet, the Magyarization of these groups by the Hungarian government will be less successful than IOTL.
[5] A moniker given to Emperor Maximilian at first by his conservative detractors. However, it didn't take long for his liberal and reformist followers to re-appropriate the moniker as a compliment.
[6] Why are the Czechs not as dissatisfied as the Slovaks, Romanians and Croatians? For one thing, the status qou was kept in regards to the Czechs, so they don't really feel at all betrayed by Emperor Maximilian. In regards to the other ethnicities, the status qou was not kept and Hungary was seemingly favored over them.