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Francis II was the last of the Roman emperors and named himself emperor of Austria as Francis I -
After the defeat of Napoleon, The Congress of Vienna redrew political boundaries creating a confederation of thirty-eight German states led by the five largest kingdoms including Austria. -
Succeded after his father Francis I died on March 2, 1835 -
The growth of nationalism under Habsburg rule lead to a revolution among the Hungarians -
Austrians feared the loss of Habsburg's power and convinced Ferdinand to step down giving his position to his nephew Franz Joseph who sent troops to suppress the rebellion. -
Also known as the Austro-Prussian War or the German Civil War war was fought between the Austrian Empire and its German allies, and Prussia with its German allies. Prussia wanted to unify all German states under Prussian control. Austria resisted and Prussia declared war ending in a Prussian victory. -
Compromise between Hungary and Austria that established the dual monarchy of the Austro-Hungarian Empire where the empire would come together as a single state in times of war and foreign affairs. -
After the Balkan states rebelled against the Ottoman Empire, European leaders met to design a new peace treaty giving the Austro-Hungarian Empire administrative control over the two Balkan provinces. -
Due to the unrest in the Ottoman Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire saw a chance to seize more power in the Balkan region. They ended up annexing the provinces of Bosnia and Herzegovina which were formerly still under Ottoman rule. -
Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie were assassinated by Young Bosnians because of his constant threat to Serbian Independence. As a result, the Austro-Hungarian government blamed Serbia for the attack and declared war.