The Era of Habsburg Rule & Wars of Independence

In 1703 Francis II Rákóczy, taking advantage of Austrian involvement in the War of the Spanish Succession, incited a new uprising against Austrian rule. Rákóczy, who received substantial help from the French, organized a provisional government and held the Austrians at bay until 1708, when he met disastrous defeat at Trencín. Rebel resistance continued until, in April 1711, Emperor Charles VI offered satisfactory peace terms, which provided for a general amnesty, religious freedom, and a variety of political concessions. Relations between the Habsburgs and their Hungarian subjects continued to be generally tranquil for more than a century thereafter.

The National Revival

Throughout the tumultuous period following the outbreak of the French Revolution in 1789, the overwhelming majority of the Hungarian population remained loyal to Austria. Numerous Magyar nationalists, however, were influenced by revolutionary ideas, and their propaganda led to a resurgence of Hungarian nationalism, beginning about 1815. Among other things, this development resulted in the creation of the Liberal party, which launched a vigorous campaign for constitutional government and other reforms. The Liberal movement, headed by such Hungarian statesmen as Count István Széchenyi, József Eötvös, Ferenc Deák, Lajos Kossuth, and Lajos Batthyány, was accompanied by remarkable activity in the field of literature. Overcoming repressive moves by the government, the Liberals secured the passage of a number of progressive bills, including a measure that made commoners eligible for public office and another that curtailed certain feudal restrictions on the peasantry.

The Revolution of 1848 and the Ausgleich

The progressive political groups of Hungary won a decisive victory in the diet election of 1847. At first the Austrian government ignored the voters' mandate, but when threatened by revolution in Vienna the following year, it yielded to Hungarian nationalist demands and authorized the formation of a Hungarian ministry, with Batthyány as premier. By the terms of legislation enacted in March 1848, the ministry severed practically all ties with Austria. Extreme Magyar nationalism, expressed in part by a decree making Hungarian the official language of the state, rapidly alienated the non-Magyar portions of the population, and rebellions broke out among the Romanians and Croats. When the revolutionary movement in Vienna was defeated in November, the Austrian army tried to restore Habsburg rule in Hungary too, but was unsuccessful. In April 1849, the Hungarian Diet proclaimed the dethronement of the Habsburg dynasty and the independence of Hungary.

The following month, however, Austria's Emperor Francis Joseph I succeeded in arranging a military alliance with Nicholas I of Russia. Austrian and Russian arms were uniformly successful against the outnumbered Hungarians, who surrendered in August 1849. On October 6, 1849, still a day of national mourning in Hungary, Batthyány and 13 other revolutionary leaders were executed. This and other severe reprisals inaugurated a period of centralized Austrian rule extending over more than a decade. After the Austrian defeat in 1859 in the Italian War of Liberation, the imperial regime suffered a succession of diplomatic and military reverses. Francis Joseph was consequently obliged to adopt a conciliatory attitude toward his Hungarian subjects. Magyar nationalism, ably guided by Ferenc Deák, gradually reemerged as an important force in Hungary. In 1865 the imperial government sanctioned the draft of a new constitution for the Magyar nation. Before this document could be completed, Prussia defeated Austria in the Seven Weeks' War (1866), a debacle that vastly strengthened the position of the Hungarians. By the provisions of the compromise (Ausgleich) constitution, as finally adopted in March 1867, Austria and Hungary became dual monarchies, under one ruler. The constitution granted Hungary full sovereignty in the conduct of internal affairs and parity with Austria in the conduct of national defense, foreign affairs, and certain other matters. On June 8, 1867, Francis Joseph was crowned king of Hungary. The dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary (see Austria) endured until the defeat of Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire in World War I (1914-1918).