Austria/Austrians: Development of a Nation
How Austria became Austria, and how the Austrians became Austrian.

How Austrians as a people, and the country of Austria as a nation-state, evolved and materialized into current form, in terms of ancestral bloodlines, language, borders, culture, and even how they received their name.

Ancestral Background
Development of Language
Formation of Borders
Etymology (How Name Received)
Culture
Austria in 2008

Austrian Ancestral Background:
 

1. Austrians are a Germanic people, descending from the Germanic peoples occupying the southeast corner of the Germanic lands after the age of migrations following the collapse of the Roman Empire in the 5th century. In which case, their development is the same as the main body of German peoples until the formation of Austria during the Middle Ages.
2. Holy Roman Empire (HRE). In 953, the German Kingdom becomes the Holy Roman Empire (HRE), after entering into a partnership with the Pope in Rome. The King of the Germans is  recognized as Holy Roman Emperor by Rome in exchange for guaranteed independence of Papal States (centered around Rome – rule by Church). The Holy Roman Empire was a collection of German duchies, principalities and other entities that offered at least token loyalty to the partnership of the Emperor and the Pope. The Emperor and Pope formed (at least in theory) a secular-ecclesiastic partnership in governing the empire. In reality, the two offices were often at odds, even directing acts of hostility toward one another. The German princes, dukes, etc. of member states within the HRE typically operated with autonomy, cooperating with the emperor when unifying causes arose, such as military campaigns to expand or protect the empire. Other nationalities were brought under HRE-rule throughout history, such as Italy and Burgundy (French). Many German entities eventually broke away from the Holy Roman Empire to form their own distinct nations, such as the Dutch, Swiss and Austrians.
3. In 976, the March of Austria was created by the Holy Roman Empire to form a buffer against Slavs in the east. Raised to status of Duchy in 1156. At some point during this time, Germans living in this march/duchy became known as Austrians (Based on Latin name for “Eastern Realm”). They were known as Austrians, as those in Duchy of Bavaria were known as Bavarians, those in Duchy of Swabia known as Swabians, and so on. But as was the case with each, there were considered Germans first. As Austria continued to evolve into its own empire, Austrians would eventually identified as separate nation, no longer “German”, although throughout history, and to this day, their German heritage is still widely understood/acknowledged.
4. Habsburg dynasty begins in Austria in 1278, which would rule Austria for the next 640 years, and would ultimately dominate the Holy Roman Empire for several centuries as well.
5. 1438 – Austrian Habsburg ascends to the throne of the Holy Roman Empire, which they would dominate until the dissolution of the HRE during Napoleonic Wars at turn of the 19^th century. This enhances the concept of a distinct Austria.
6. In 1866, the Austrians were evicted from the German Confederation by the Prussians as part of the Austro-Prussian War, formally beginning Austria’s status as its own nation-state, completely politically separate from the rest of the German peoples. Thus, Austrians were now clearly identified as a separate people/nation, separate to the “Germans”. In other words, they were Austrian first, then German second. Prussia would establish the North German Confederation, the predecessor to the German Empire established in 1871. This Prussian-led German Empire would be the first fully consolidated German nation.

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Development of Austrian Language: (See German Language)

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Formation of Austrian Borders:
 

1. After German migrations, German people spread SE about as far as westernmost parts of modern Austria.
2. 976 – March of Austria established, as Germanic peoples within Holy Roman Empire expand eastward. Formed as a buffer against Slavic people to the east.
3. 1156 - Austria elevated to a duchy.
4. From 1335 to 1363, Austria expanded to include Carinthia, Carniola and Tyrol, as it becomes more powerful.
5. By 1433, Burgundian Netherlands became independent from the Holy Roman Empire.
6. 1477 – Austria gains possession of the Burgundian Netherlands through dynastic marriage.
7. 1525 – Austria – gains possession of Northern Italy.
8. 1526 – Austria gains possession of Bohemia.
9. 1556 – Spain annexes Low Counties (Austrian Netherlands).
10. 1593 – Austria conquers Croatia from the Ottoman Empire.
11. 1599 – Austria conquers Transylvania from the Ottoman Empire.
12. 1699 – Austria conquers Kingdom of Hungary from Ottoman Empire.
13. 1714 – Austria wins the Spanish Netherlands and Kingdom of Naples (in Southern Italy) in War of Spanish Succession. Gains Sicily in 1720.
14. 1733 – Austria gains Tuscany, but loses Naples and Sicily in War of Polish Succession.
15. 1740 – Prussia captures Silesia from Austria in War of Austrian Succession.
16. 1772 –Austria gains Western Ukraine from Poland in the First Partition of Poland (where Russia, Prussia and Austria collaborated to subdivide conquered Poland).
17. 1795 – Prussia and Austria take additional portions of Poland in the 3^rd and final partition.
18. Napoleonic Wars: 1795 – France takes Austrian Netherlands; 1796 - France takes Northern Italy from Austria; 1796-97 – additional German territory taken from Austria; 1797 – Austria and France split the Republic of Venice; 1806 – the Confederacy of the Rhine established by France from various, previously independent German states, bringing an end to the Holy Roman Empire; 1807 – France captures Prussian and Austrian-controlled parts of Poland (gained from partitions), establishing the Duchy of Warsaw; 1809 – Austria loses territory in the War of the Fifth Coalition; 1813 – France loses all German territories (Confederacy of the Rhine)
19. 1815 – Creation of the German Confederation, which includes all German states including Prussia and Austria. Austria is rewarded the Kingdom of Italy in the post-Napoleonic War peace treaty.
20. 1848 – Austria loses Transylvania to the  Romanians.
21. 1859-60 – Austria loses Italian possessions as part of Wars of Italian Independence.
22. 1866 – Austro-Prussian War, causing Austria to lose Venetia to Italy, and to become cut out from German Confederation, now dominated solely by Prussia (North German Confederation formed in its place). Austria-Hungary formed in 1867, as a weakened Austria is compelled to place the Hungary portion of its empire on equal footing.
23. 1878 – Austria-Hungary occupies Bosnia & Herzegovina, formally annexing it in 1908.
24. Serbia gains independence from Austria-Hungary in 1882.
25. 1918 – at end of WWI, Austria & Hungary are forced to split by the victorious Allies, forming the modern boundaries of Austria.
26. To the agreement of the vast majority of Austrian citizens, Austria is annexed by Nazi Germany in 1938. When Allies closed in on Germany and Austria, Austria fell under Allied occupation at the end of the war in 1945. It remained under Allied occupation until 1955. Since 1955, it has been completely sovereign.

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Etymology (How Name Received):

Austria is based on Latin name for Eastern Realm, which the German heartland was known as after the division of the Frankish Empire (into Western, Central and Eastern Realms) in the 9^th century. Austria would not receive this name until the 10^th or 11^th century.

Austrian Culture:

Austrian culture is intertwined with German culture on whole, but since the Protestant Reformation and the rise of the juggernaut which was the Habsburg Dynasty of the post-Middle Ages, Austrian culture began to take on its own flavor.

Following the Protestant Reformation, the German world became roughly split down the middle in terms of the Catholic-Protestant divide. Austria remained staunchly Catholic though, due to the fact that the Habsburg emperor was generally the Holy Roman Emperor by default. Therefore, Austrians had a strong tendency to champion Catholicism, becoming a bastion of Catholic culture in the German world, which is evident to this day.

Due to its increased exposure to bordering nations, submitting many to its rule for lengthy periods of time throughout its long history as a dominant power. As a result, Austrian culture is highly influenced by Bohemian, Hungarian and Slavic cultures.

Austria in 2008:

Economy: Advanced, strong economy, which has strengthened since joining the EU in the 90s, reducing reliance on Germany, enabling diversification, increasing trade partners.
Government: Democratic Federal Republic (Federal meaning individual states maintain political sovereignty, consistent with tradition of autonomous principalities during German "Holy Roman Empire" of Middle Ages).
Religion: Protestant 4.7%, Roman Catholic 73.6%, Muslim 4.2%. Secularist trend. Austrian Catholics obligated to pay 1% tax to Austrian Roman Catholic Church. Survey: 54% believe in God, 34% in some other form of intelligent design, and 8% atheist/agnostic. More religious than most of Europe (especially to the west), but like Europe in general, downward trend in religiosity.
Demographics: 91.1% Austrian, vast majority of remaining population of European descent outside of Austria (especially Slavs from former Balkan possessions - comprised of former Yugoslavia), similar demographic profile as Germany.
Foreign Policy: Declared “perpetual neutrality” in 1955, upon gaining sovereignty by Allies after WWII. Has largely maintained this policy ever since, although cooperating with EU in Iraq (giving access to air space) in 1991 and 1995.
Population: 8,205,533 (2008)

 

Formation of Nations (All European Nations)

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