Economy of the Habsburg Monarchy
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Economy of the Habsburg monarchy refers to
economic An economy is an area of the Production (economics), production, Distribution (economics), distribution and trade, as well as Consumption (economics), consumption of Goods (economics), goods and Service (economics), services. In general, it is ...
development and
financial Finance is the study and discipline of money, currency and capital assets. It is related to, but not synonymous with economics, the study of production, distribution, and consumption of money, assets, goods and services (the discipline of fina ...
policies of the
Habsburg monarchy The Habsburg monarchy (german: Habsburgermonarchie, ), also known as the Danubian monarchy (german: Donaumonarchie, ), or Habsburg Empire (german: Habsburgerreich, ), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities ...
, until the creation of the
Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central-Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence, ...
in 1804. Central state institution, that oversaw economic and financial affairs in Habsburg lands, was the ''Court Chamber'' (german: Hofkammer), also known as the ''Aulic Chamber'' ( la, Camera Aulica), formed in 1527 by Ferdinand I, and centered in
Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...
.


History

With the abolition of
serfdom Serfdom was the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism, and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude with similarities to and differences from slavery, which develop ...
in the 18th century, the
Habsburg monarchy The Habsburg monarchy (german: Habsburgermonarchie, ), also known as the Danubian monarchy (german: Donaumonarchie, ), or Habsburg Empire (german: Habsburgerreich, ), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities ...
, with the major industrial, mining areas and forestry of regions
Moravia Moravia ( , also , ; cs, Morava ; german: link=yes, Mähren ; pl, Morawy ; szl, Morawa; la, Moravia) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The me ...
and
Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...
leading the way, began to experience unprecedented economic growth. Beginning in 1841 per capita annual growth in the Habsburg monarchy approached 3.6 percent, a number rivaling that of neighboring Germany. While this growth was rapid and astonishing, it was not sustained. Austria started experiencing its first sustained industrial development in the 1820s. Despite not being part of Prussia's
Zollverein The (), or German Customs Union, was a coalition of German states formed to manage tariffs and economic policies within their territories. Organized by the 1833 treaties, it formally started on 1 January 1834. However, its foundations had b ...
, Austrian production of pig iron, coal, cotton textiles, woolens and foodstuffs was growing faster than in the other German states. All restrictions on new enterprises (including those engaged in commerce) were lifted after the death of
Francis I Francis I or Francis the First may refer to: * Francesco I Gonzaga (1366–1407) * Francis I, Duke of Brittany (1414–1450), reigned 1442–1450 * Francis I of France (1494–1547), King of France, reigned 1515–1547 * Francis I, Duke of Saxe-Lau ...
. The Austrians also built the second horse-drawn railway in the European continent ( Linz-Budweis). Work on a steam railway heading north from Vienna started in 1836, when the revolutions broke out the monarchy contained more than 1,600 km of track. Steam navigation began on the Danube in 1830 and expanded quickly. Urban expansion of Vienna occurred and the population reached 400,000. Austria and Bohemia had a strong textile industry back then, there were steel and manufacturing settlements and factories for the production of glass and paper. The first attempts at mechanization, concentrated in the textile sector and the steel industry, date from between 1830 and 1847. Within the next decade, a period of stagnation occurred, while other European countries began to experience a continued, steady growth. This slow down can be accredited, for the most part, to a period of ongoing war, beginning in 1848 and ending in 1866 with the Habsburgs' defeat by
Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...
. This period of war, and a mounting budget deficit, took resources away from private industry, which discouraged industrial growth. This factor eventually brought the economy to a halt in the years after 1855 and Prussia also began to overtake Austria in industrial output rapidly, which eventually led to the Austrian defeat in 1866. Prussia produced five times more coal & iron and by 1870 its railway had twice the length of Austria's. The Habsburgs' wars in the mid 19th century caused considerable economic backwardness through the rest of the 19th century. As other European economies had grown from the 1850s on, the Habsburgs' had shrunk, a consequence of the Habsburgs' continuing wars and Eastern Europe's continuing neutrality.


See also

*
Economy of Austria-Hungary The economy of Austria-Hungary changed slowly during the existence of the Dual Monarchy, 1867-1918. The capitalist way of production spread throughout the Empire during its 50-year existence replacing medieval institutions. In 1873, the old capit ...
*
Federal Ministry of Finance (Austria) The Ministry of Finance (german: Bundesministerium für Finanzen) is the government ministry of Austria responsible for the collection of taxes and customs as well as the administration of fiscal and economic policy. It oversees the Revenue Servic ...


References


Sources

* * * Komlos, John. ''Nutrition and Economic Development in the Eighteenth-Century Habsburg Monarchy: An Anthropometric History'' (Princeton UP 2016) * Roider, Karl. "The Age of Metternich" in "AUSTRIA'' ''Encyclopedia Britannica'' (online, 2021)


External links


Austria-Forum: Hofkammer
{{Habsburg Monarchy topics Habsburg monarchy Economic history of Austria Economic history of Hungary Economic history of Slovakia Economic history of the Czech Republic Economic history of Slovenia Economic history of Croatia Economic history of Serbia
Habsburg Monarchy The Habsburg monarchy (german: Habsburgermonarchie, ), also known as the Danubian monarchy (german: Donaumonarchie, ), or Habsburg Empire (german: Habsburgerreich, ), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities ...