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Essay / Why were the Habsburgs unable to consolidate their...
The 17th century was undeniably a period of great divisions, wars and unrest for Hungary. After the events of the previous century, Hungary remained divided into three distinct zones. The largest was Ottoman Hungary, under the direct control of Constantinople, which encompassed southern and southeastern Hungary. Second, there was the Eastern Hungarian Kingdom founded by János Zápolyai in 1526, who, after the defeat of Hungarian forces at the First Battle of Mohács, sought the support of Sultan Suleiman I to be crowned King of Hungary by a rival faction of the nobility and became the vassal of the sultan. After 1571, with the coronation of István Báthory, this kingdom became the semi-autonomous Principality of Transylvania, with the Habsburgs and Ottomans vying for control. Finally, there was Royal Hungary, the only part of Hungary still under Habsburg control at that time. These were the western and northwestern areas which had been secured by Ferdinand I after he was declared king of Hungary by the pro-Habsburg part of the nobility in 1526. This division remained the status quo until in the 17th century. In this essay we will discuss the fact that due to this division the Habsburgs found it impossible to consolidate power in Hungary, as well as various other factors such as the confessional divisions in Hungary opposed to the Catholic dynasty, the priorities of the Habsburg based on religious conflict. in Germany and ensuring the influence of the Ottoman and French fleets in the Mediterranean, the involvement of the Habsburgs in the Thirty Years' War and the revival of the Franco-Ottoman Alliance. All of these factors combined ensured that the Habsburgs would not take control of Hungary until 1699. The first factor to discuss is the enduring negotiating position that led to the Treaty of Karlowitz in 1699. Under this treaty, Sultan Mustafa II was forced to make peace and cede all the territories conquered after 1526 to the Habsburgs, mainly Hungary. Eventually, the Habsburgs controlled Hungary but were not able to consolidate their power until 1711, when Transylvania was ruled by Habsburg governors. However, throughout the period 1600-1700, the Habsburgs were unable to consolidate their rule in Hungary due to the factors listed above. Pamlényi, History of Hungary (Budapest, 1973)D. Sinor, History of Hungary (London, 1959)RA Kann, A History of the Habsburg Empire 1526-1918 (Los Angeles, 1974)CM Kortepeter, Ottoman Imperialism during the Reformation (New York, 1972)M. Cook, A History of the Ottoman Empire to 1730 (London, 1976) CV Wedgwood, The Thirty Years War (Yale, 1939)