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Czechoslovakia Consequences of Czech Defeat
The Czech defeat at the Battle of White Mountain was followed
by measures that effectively secured Hapsburg authority and the
dominance of the Roman Catholic Church. Many Czech nobles were
executed; most others were forced to flee the kingdom. An
estimated five-sixths of the Czech nobility went into exile soon
after the Battle of White Mountain, and their properties were
confiscated. Large numbers of Czech and German Protestant
burghers emigrated. In 1622 Charles University was merged with
the Jesuit Academy, and the entire education system of the
Bohemian Kingdom was placed under Jesuit control. In 1624 all
non-Catholic priests were expelled by royal decree.
The Revised Ordinance of the Land (1627) established a legal
basis for Hapsburg absolutism. All Czech lands were declared
hereditary property of the Hapsburg family. The legislative
function of the diets of both Bohemia and Moravia was revoked;
all subsequent legislation was to be by royal decree, receiving
only formal approval from the diets. The highest officials of the
kingdom, to be chosen from among the local nobility, would be
strictly subordinate to the king. Thus, little remained of an
autonomous and distinct Bohemian Kingdom.
Hapsburg rule was further buttressed by the large-scale
immigration into Bohemia of Catholic Germans from south German
territories. The Germans received most of the land confiscated
from Czech owners and came to constitute the new Bohemian
nobility. The remaining Czech Catholic nobles gradually abandoned
Czech particularism and became loyal servants of the imperial
system. German Catholic immigrants took over commerce and
industry as well.
The religious wars continued after the Czech defeat. The
Thirty Years' War (1618-48) of the German Protestant princes
against the Holy Roman Emperor involved foreign powers and
extended beyond German territory. Czechs fought on all sides:
most of the rebellious Czech generals joined Protestant armies;
Albrecht of Wallenstein was the most prominent Czech defector to
the imperial cause. Bohemia served as a battlefield throughout
the war. Prince Bethlen Gabor's Hungarian forces, reinforced by
Turkish mercenaries, fought against the emperor and periodically
devastated Slovakia and Moravia. Protestant German armies and,
later, Danish and Swedish armies, laid waste the Czech provinces.
Cities, villages, and castle fortresses were destroyed. Lusatia
was incorporated into Saxony in 1635.
The Thirty Years' War ended during the reign of Ferdinand III
(1637-56). In 1648 the Treaty of Westphalia confirmed the
incorporation of the Bohemian Kingdom into the Hapsburg imperial
system, which established its seat in Vienna
(see
fig. 4).
Leopold I (1656-1705) defeated the Turks and paved the way for
the restoration of the Kingdom of Hungary to its previous
territorial dimensions. The brief reign of Joseph I (1705-11) was
followed by that of Charles VI (1711-40). Between 1720 and 1725,
Charles concluded a series of treaties by which the various
estates of the Hapsburg lands recognized the unity of the
territory under Hapsburg rule and accepted hereditary Hapsburg
succession, including the female line.
The struggle between the Bohemian estates and Hapsburg
absolutism resulted in the complete subordination of the Bohemian
estates to Hapsburg interests. In the aftermath of the defeat at
White Mountain, the Czechs lost their native noble class, their
reformed religion, and a vibrant Czech Protestant culture. With
the influx of foreigners, primarily Germans, the German language
became more prominent in government and polite society. It seemed
that Bohemia was destined to become a mere province of the
Hapsburg realm.
Data as of August 1987
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