Unlimited poll: Most successful Early Modern state?

Most successful Early Modern state?

  • Spain

    Votes: 21 13.2%
  • France

    Votes: 39 24.5%
  • Netherlands

    Votes: 22 13.8%
  • England/Great Britain

    Votes: 101 63.5%
  • Habsburg Monarchy

    Votes: 15 9.4%
  • Prussia

    Votes: 20 12.6%
  • Ottoman Empire

    Votes: 24 15.1%
  • Muscovy/Russia

    Votes: 23 14.5%
  • Safavid Empire

    Votes: 2 1.3%
  • Mughal Empire

    Votes: 5 3.1%
  • Qing Empire

    Votes: 24 15.1%
  • Other

    Votes: 6 3.8%

  • Total voters
    159
I don't think so: most of that period was French cultural and military dominance, especially when "the Age of Louis XIV" kicked in. There were, of course, ups and downs but the Hapsburgs never reached the same level of influence as Louis XIV did.

I think part of Austria's claim to fame here is that on paper, France should have rolled over Europe from the end of the 100 Years' War onwards due to their disproportionate demographics, wealth, and productivity but never managed to successfully leverage it till Napoleon came along. Austria gets major props for being the David to France's Goliath for 3+ centuries straight.
 
I'd also like to chip in with the Qing, but under a different criteria than my vote for Austria.* I'd vote for the Qing in terms of their advancement in the period from irrelevant illiterate tribe to the largest Chinese Dynasty in history. Additionally the early Qing were a genuine step up from the late Ming in most regards, and even if by 1800 there were some storm clouds on the horizon, it would still be a few decades (those decades being some of the most important in Europe) before those clouds reached China.

*(which I voted for based on an average of it's performance over the whole period)
 
I don't think so: most of that period was French cultural and military dominance, especially when "the Age of Louis XIV" kicked in. There were, of course, ups and downs but the Hapsburgs never reached the same level of influence as Louis XIV did.
I can see that from a contemporary viewpoint, but with the benefit of hindsight I think its safe to say that a lot of Louis XIV's triumphs were little more than hot air and mounting debt. Certainly nothing on the level of conquering Ottoman Hungary.
 
I can see that from a contemporary viewpoint, but with the benefit of hindsight I think its safe to say that a lot of Louis XIV's triumphs were little more than hot air and mounting debt. Certainly nothing on the level of conquering Ottoman Hungary.

Well, can't argue against successful conquest of Hungary and hot air part but look from a different perspective: during most of that period France was the most influential country in Europe which everyone had been trying to emulate. France was dominating the cultural life of Europe up to a such a degree that Shakespearean plays had been "improved" to fit the rules set by the French drama because the originals were considered too "barbaric" (I'm not going to express my opinion about the French classic drama of that period :idontcare:). Everybody was copying the French fashions, a self-respecting ruler almost "had" to build something like his own Versallies or at least copy some of it: even in Schönbrunn Palace the French garden was planned by Jean Trehet, a disciple of André Le Nôtre (person who planned the parks of Versallies).
 
Yeah but the Hofburg is the good one:cool:

Actually (or at least IMO) Hofburg is a (rather impressive) mess of the buildings built over many centuries. But collection of the imperial jewels is great. Not because it has the biggest stones (AFAIK, the biggest 2 are in London) or the greatest number of them on display (probably Kremlin still has a biggest collection) but because it has a lot of absolutely unique things like crown of the HRE.
 
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