Ferdinand II: Founder of the Habsburg Monarchy

Abstract

On 10 May 1621, shortly after the defeat of the Bohemian Revolt, Emperor Ferdinand II signed his last will and testament. Fourteen years later, on 8 August 1635, after the Peace of Prague, which had compelled him to retreat from his efforts at Counter-Reformation in the Empire, he reaffirmed the same testament in solemn fashion.¹ The theme of this document was the unity he hoped to impose on the lands of his inheritance, the Austrian territories along with Bohemia and Hungary, by binding them together under one ruler through the introduction of strict primogeniture and especially by uniting them in the Catholic religion. As far as the estates of his various territories were concerned, Ferdinand, who was the first Habsburg ruler to establish clear dominance over them, asserted that he wanted their legitimate rights and privileges to be respected, thus indicating his intention to continue to involve them in government. This testament, issued in such crucial times, serves as a key to Ferdinand’s goals; and these goals and especially the degree to which he implemented them make him, more than any other individual, the founder of the Habsburg Monarchy in Central Europe. Not that his role has been overlooked in the past: that is clear from the writings of Hans Sturmberger.²

I am grateful to the National Endowment for the Humanities and to the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey for the support they provided while I did the initial work on this paper.