Austria (Austria-Hungary) Empire, as a European power, why are there so few colonies?

1 156, Emperor Frederick I of the Holy Roman Empire upgraded "the vassal state of Austria" to "the principality of Austria". Since then, Austria has become an important member of the imperial family. Since then, Austria has joined the German hegemony under the Habsburg family.

From 1438, the Habsburg family almost monopolized the throne of the Holy Roman Empire. It was not until the disintegration of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806 that the Habsburg monarch upgraded the "Grand Duchy of Austria" to the "Austrian Empire" and continued to wear the crown firmly on his head. Germany, once a small border country, gradually moved to the center of the European historical stage and developed into one of the European powers.

▲ 18 15 years of the territory of the Austrian empire.

However, both the Austrian Empire and its successor, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, were once European powers, and the total area in different periods did not exceed 50,000 square kilometers. At the same time, Britain, France and other countries launched massive attacks all over the world, and established a colonial empire with an area of over10 million square kilometers. Even Belgium, once a subsidiary of Austria, has a colony of 2.39 million square kilometers!

What makes a traditional big country have no sense of existence on the colonial issue?

1. Austrian company that is not Austrian.

At the end of 15, with the opening of new sea routes and the discovery of new lands, Atlantic coastal countries represented by the West, Portugal, Britain and France continued to expand their overseas colonies after completing the construction of nation-states.

The Habsburg family, which ruled Austria, was based in Europe and expanded its influence in Europe through marriage and war. At this time, the Habsburg family had already ruled beyond the boundaries of the Holy Roman Empire, and its branches once ruled nearly half of Europe such as Spain, Portugal and South Italy.

170 1 year, King Carlos II of Spain died childless. Around the Spanish throne, the Austro-Portuguese-British Grand Alliance and the French-led Bourbon Alliance launched a "Spanish succession war" for 13 years.

Although Austria lost the right to inherit the Spanish throne after the war, it got rich South Holland (now Belgium, Luxembourg and other places) from Spain as compensation. Holland was inherited from the Principality of Burgundy by Austria through marriage in 1482, transferred to Spain in 1556, and Spain continued to rule South Holland after the northern Netherlands became independent in158/. The commercial development level of South Holland is higher than that of Austria, and the commercial atmosphere is stronger.

17 15, a company named after the local place name-Ostend Company was established in Ostend, the Netherlands (now Ostend, Belgium). What is special about this company is that almost all the shareholders come from Holland, Austria, and most of the income also flows back to Holland, Austria, instead of Austria.

There is a simple reason. Although Austria won the trophy from Spain, the Netherlands in Austria has its own semi-autonomous local government. Austria and the Netherlands did not merge with Austria, but were bound together with Austria in the form of "* * *". So Ostend Company is a South Nederland merchant company in Austria.

17 15 years, the company obtained the trading rights of Yemeni Moka port, Indian surat port and Guangzhou port. During the period of 17 15- 1720, the company shipped 7 million Jin of tea from Guangzhou, accounting for 4 1.78% of the total tea trade in Guangzhou at that time, and the company's stock was also heated up, with a return rate as high as 15%.

The success of the company has aroused the envy of Britain and France, and they tried their best to suppress the company. France had explicitly forbidden its own people to invest in the company, and the British East India Company set up obstacles everywhere in an attempt to curb its expansion in India.

Sadly, the power to decide the fate of the company was finally given to the enemy by Austria.

Austrian charles vi, who had no son, issued an imperial edict in 17 13, and decided to hand over the sovereignty to his daughter Teresa. This is contrary to the practice of pursuing male heirs at that time. Charles vi made a lot of efforts to make the European powers recognize the imperial edict.

He admitted that the French annexed duchy of lorraine and helped the elector of Saxony seize the Polish throne. But not all countries are interested in this territory. Mercantilist Britain and the Netherlands insisted that Austria close the company. Charles vi had to withdraw its articles of association on 1727, and the company was completely dissolved on 1732.

▲ The flag of Odestan, with the flags of modern Austria and China in the middle.

Although Audstein Company has made great achievements in economy, it has not colonized its own country overseas like the franchising companies in Britain and France. At the same time when the company was dissolved, Britain, France, Spain and Portugal were engaged in fierce colonial struggles on the American continent, and a large number of Indian lands were conquered.

After entering the17th century, the invasion of Ottoman Turkey and the Thirty Years' War in Germany caused heavy losses to Austria. When the British and French colonists set foot on the American continent, the Austrian attacked around Central Europe in order to gain the dominance of Germany. This national situation determines that Austria can't concentrate on overseas colonization like Britain and France, and it needs to take Europe as the center to maintain its power position in Germany and even Europe as a whole.

Austria seems unable to cope with the problem of colonization after its limited national strength has been consumed in large quantities.

▲ charles vi approved the establishment of the company and sentenced it to death.

Second, the mainland or the ocean?

1382, Austria acquired the port of Trieste. Although they got rid of the status of landlocked countries, Austria's strength can only be maintained on the Adriatic coast. To reach the ocean, they need to pass through a lot of sea areas beyond their control. Austrians are not interested in this high-risk overseas trade. Compared with the sea power countries along the Atlantic, Austria is a typical land power country, and they are more inclined to join the hegemony of Europe.

16 18- 1648 In order to recapture Bohemia (present-day Czech Republic) and expand its influence in Germany, the Austrian rulers waged war with Sweden, France and other powerful countries. 1688- 1697 Join hands with Britain to fight against France's expansion in the European continent.

1697, Austria defeated the Turks, curbed their expansion momentum that lasted for more than 200 years, and incorporated Hungary and other places into the territory. 170 1 year, Austria was involved in the "war of succession to the Spanish throne".

▲ The Thirty Years' War had a profound impact on the political situation in Europe.

Years of war have made Austria devote almost all its energy to Europe, and its interest in colonial development has gradually decreased. But a man named William Bolt changed the attitude of the Austrian court.

Bolt, a Dutch-born Englishman, worked in the British East India Company in his early years. Later, due to illegal profits, Bolt lost his job and was deported by the East India Company.

He came to Austria in 1775, when the ruler was Mother Teresa, a woman who came to power by virtue of the imperial decree of the state. Bolt's tongue is covered with lotus flowers, which makes the queen believe that even a port located in the depths of the Mediterranean like Trieste can still establish a trade channel connecting the East.

1778 At the beginning of this year, Bolt came to Hawan, drago and set up a trading post there. This stronghold has developed rapidly with the ivory trade, earning 75,000 pounds a year. However, a malaria attack hit drago Jia in 178 1, which dealt a heavy blow to the Austrians. Jealous Portugal seized the opportunity to send troops to expel the remaining Austrians.

Just as the drago stronghold was a flash in the pan, Bolt came to India. 1778 In April, he ordered gottfried Starr to lead a fleet to Nicobar Islands. Starr lived up to his expectations and signed a treaty with the local chief to gain sovereignty over the whole island. This move attracted the hostility of the Danes, because as early as 1756, the Danes claimed sovereignty over the islands, and in their view, the Austrians violated their territory.

Although the Austrian government did not provide any materials to the colony, the colonial activities were still in full swing, but Starr died unexpectedly in 1783, and then the disease hit here again. The Danes also sent warships from Lankila to try to forcibly expel the Austrians from the island. Finally, the Austrians gave up the colony at 1785.

1858, the Austrian warship Novara came to Nicobar Islands again, and the anthropologist von Scherzer who came with the ship suggested to colonize the island again, but the Austrian government refused. 1886, when Austrian warships came to Nicobar islands for the third time, they found that the British had completely controlled it, and the Austrian attempt to colonize Nicobar was completely bankrupt.

16-18th century, Austria focused its expansion on Europe. Although the Austrian monarch monopolized the throne of the Holy Roman Empire, the other princes in the Empire did not completely obey Austria's command, and the whole Holy Roman Empire fell apart politically, with constant disputes.

The rise of Prussia in the north brought great pressure to Austria. In order to compete with Prussia for German hegemony, Austria spent a lot of national strength and was unable to carry out overseas colonial expansion. The weakness of the navy also made the Austrian government unable to support the colonial behavior of the people, which formed a great contrast with the colonial actions of Britain and France.

At the same time, the strength of European forces such as France has also made Austria tired of coping. As a traditional land power, Austria launched a fierce game with these enemies on the European continent in order to compete for European hegemony. After Napoleon came to power, Austria suffered repeated wars and defeats in the war against France, and ceded land several times to pay reparations.

In this way, Austria gradually missed the colonial wave and gained almost nothing in its overseas colonial activities at this stage.

Third, the empire of compromise.

1806 In August, Napoleon, who dominated Europe, forced Flantz, the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire and the grand duke of Austria, to dissolve the Holy Roman Empire, and Austria's dominant position in Germany was greatly weakened. 18 15 after the collapse of Napoleon's empire, the old ruling order was restored in the European continent to a certain extent, but Austria's hegemony in Germany was seriously challenged by Prussia.

1866, a war broke out between Puao and Puao, and Pu Jun troops arrived at the gates of Vienna. The defeated Austria was kicked out of the German family and completely lost to Prussia in the battle for German hegemony.

▲ Austria's defeat enabled Prussia to unify Germany.

The defeat of the war also brought great changes to Austria. Since16th century, with the expansion of Austria, Austria has gradually incorporated a large number of Hungarians, Czechs and Poles into its territory, and the complex ethnic composition has gradually evolved into a major problem that hinders Austria's development.

Among them, Hungarians have the greatest influence. 1848, Hungarians launched a large-scale national movement in an attempt to break away from Austrian rule. Finally, with the help of the Russian army, the Vienna court was able to resume its rule here.

1866, after the defeat of the Austrian-Austrian War, Emperor Joseph Flantz was forced to agree to restore the organizational system of the Kingdom of Hungary, but both the Austrian emperor and the Hungarian king wanted to be the rulers of the Habsburg family, and the original unitary Austrian Empire came to an end.

It was replaced by a dual Austro-Hungarian Empire. Hungarians have been upgraded from a ruled nation to one of the ruling nations, and all the decisions of the empire involving foreign and domestic reforms can only be implemented through the Austrian and Hungarian parliaments.

▲ Austrian Germans (red) and Hungarians (green) account for less than half of the empire's population, but they rule the whole empire.

After the establishment of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the western world is gradually setting off a second colonial upsurge in Africa, but at this time the Austro-Hungarian Empire is not interested in distant Africa. Influenced by the Hungarians, the Austro-Hungarian Empire finally gave up the idea of revenge against Germany and went south to compete with Russia for the sphere of influence in the Balkans.

The reason for not joining the craze of colonizing Africa is that Hungarians want to concentrate on expanding their power in the Balkans. At that time, the industrial development level of Austria-Hungary was lower than that of Britain, France and other countries, and the domestic market with a population of 53 million was enough to digest a large part of the output. Industrial products produced in the west can be sold to agricultural production areas in the east, and there is no need to go to distant Africa to open up markets.

At the same time, as a country second only to Russia on the European continent, the Austro-Hungarian Empire also has abundant raw materials, which greatly reduced the demand for raw materials for the Austro-Hungarian Empire's colonization.

Although the imperial government was not keen on overseas colonization, there were still some colonial gains.

1865 Claude Moses, the American consul in Brunei, leased a piece of land in northern Borneo, and he gave the management right of this land to Joseph Tory, an American businessman.

However, due to lack of financial support, Tory had to resell these generals to Austrian consul von Overbeck, and Overbeck then forced Sultans Of Brunei to demarcate the entire Sabah area.

Because the colonization of Sabah belongs to Overbeck's personal behavior, he hopes to sell the sovereignty of this colony to the Austrian government, but the Austrian government is not interested in Sabah. Overbeck had no choice but to cooperate with the Dante brothers from England. 1879 Overbeck withdrew its capital and left Sabah. Sabah became a British colony.

1872, the explorer julius von Pai led a team to the Arctic Ocean to find the northeast waterway for the empire.

1873 In August, the fleet discovered an uninhabited uninhabited island archipelago in the northeast of Xindi Island. Austrian and Hungarian explorers named it after the emperor of the empire at that time-Franz Joseph Islands.

The imperial government planned to send immigrants to the island, but this bitter and cold place was not attractive to the subjects of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and the immigration plan eventually became an unfinished project. This archipelago has become the ostentatious colony of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

1899, the situation has changed for the better. Spain, which lost in the Spanish-American War, offered to sell Spain's Riordro to Austria and Hungary. Both the Austrian Parliament and the Emperor himself agreed with it very much, but the plan was aborted because of the veto of the Hungarian Parliament. So far, before entering the 20th century, the Austro-Hungarian Empire did not even have a decent colony.

▲ Rio de Oro is located in sub-Saharan Africa.

Fourth, the curtain call, the last years of Habsburg dynasty.

In the 20th century, the imperial carriage was still advancing, but there were huge hidden worries under the rapid development. This empire will experience its last 18 years in the 20th century, and then disappear completely.

1900, the Boxer Rebellion broke out in China. Eight-Nation Alliance invaded China in Europe and America, and Austria-Hungary only sent 295 people to join the coalition. It accounts for 0.59% of the total strength of the Coalition forces, and more is to show the posture of a big country.

In addition to the compensation stipulated in the Xin Chou Treaty, Austria and Hungary also requested to open a concession in Tianjin. 1902 12 in February, the Qing government officially signed a treaty with Austria-Hungary, turning about 1030 mu of land in Tianjin Lion Forest Bridge into an Austrian concession.

However, due to the limited trade between China and Austria and the inconvenient shipping in the Austrian Concession, the development of the Austrian Concession has been relatively slow. But in any case, more than 10,000 residents here also saved face for the empire and freed Austria and Hungary from the embarrassment of no colony.

▲ Tianjin Austrian Concession is located in the northernmost part of many concessions.

1908, the empire announced the annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which it seized from the Turks in 1878. However, at the international conference held that year, the European powers only allowed Austria and Hungary to actually possess it, but the sovereignty still belonged to Turkey.

When the empire tore off the disguise of military occupation, Russia reacted violently and Russia-Austria relations took a turn for the worse. At this time, ethnic movements in the Balkans are surging. The annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina not only did not make the Austro-Hungarian Empire stronger, but also made the ethnic composition in the country more complicated. With the fierce competition between Russia and Austria around the Balkans, Bosnia and Herzegovina has finally become the fuse to ignite the Balkan powder keg.

1965438+On July 28th, 2004, World War I officially broke out. Four years later, the empire and its only colony fell apart with the war. 19 17 China Beiyang government participated in World War I, and recovered Tianjin Austrian Concession on August 14 of that year. Franz Josef Islands once again became uninhabited land and was claimed by the Soviet Union in 1926. Since then, the Austrian Empire and its colonies have completely disappeared from people's sight.

▲ The disintegration of the Austro-Hungarian Empire after World War I

Throughout the history of Austria (Austria-Hungary) Empire, it is not difficult to see that due to the restriction of domestic ethnic contradictions and the need for foreign countries to compete for hegemony with other powers in Central Europe and the Balkans, the center of rule was in the European continent, which made the empire unable to open up colonies; The huge territory and population can provide enough raw materials and digest a lot of output, so that the empire does not need to colonize; Limited by geographical location, it failed to seize the opportunity period of colonization, which made it difficult for the empire to explore colonies.

Austria (Austro-Hungarian Empire) has thus become the largest country with the least colonies.