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Austria THE BAROQUE ERA
Political and Religious Consolidation under Leopold
Reconstruction of the social, political, and economic
infrastructure destroyed by the Thirty Years' War began during
the reign of Ferdinand III (r. 1637-57) and continued through the
reign of his son, Leopold I (r. 1658-1705). Central to the
restoration of the Habsburgs' social and political base was the
reestablishment of the Roman Catholic Church. But the Habsburgs
did not seek to make the church an independent force within
society. They found no contradiction between personal piety and
use of religion as a political tool and defended and advanced
their sovereign rights over and against the institutional church.
The Habsburg effort to establish religious conformity was
based on the model already implemented in Bohemia. Closure of
Protestant churches, expulsions, and Catholic appointments to
vacated positions eliminated centers of Protestant power. Reform
commissions made up of clergy and representatives of local diets
appointed missionaries to Protestant areas. After a period of
instruction, the populace was given a choice between conversion
and emigration--an estimated 40,000 people emigrated between 1647
and 1652.
The reestablishment of Catholic intellectual life and
religious orders and monasteries was a key component of Habsburg
Counter-Reformation policies. The Jesuits led this effort, and
their influence was broadly disseminated throughout Central
European society, owing to their excellent schools, near monopoly
over higher education, and emphasis on lay organizations, which
provided a channel for popular devotional piety. Benedictine,
Cistercian, and Augustinian monastic foundations were also
revitalized through the careful management of their estates, and
their schools rivaled those of the Jesuits.
Through the court's patronage of the arts and religious
orders and through public celebrations, both secular and
religious, the dynasty transmitted a worldview based on the
values of the Counter-Reformation. These values, rather than
common governmental institutions and laws, gave the Heriditary
Lands a sense of unity and identity that compensated for the
continued weakness of administrative bodies at the center of
Habsburg rule.
Data as of December 1993
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