Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER I. THE AUSTRO-HUNGARIAN EMPIRE AND ITS CONSTITUENT ELEMENTS. How the Austro-Hungarian Empire was formed. Notwithstanding the great historic memories which are associated with the name of the house of Austria, the Austro- Hungarian empire is one of the youngest among European states. It was not founded till 1894—till the day when Francis II., aware that the German crown was tottering on his head, and that Napoleon was creating for his family an hereditary empire, determined to secure for himself also a title of equal importance, in case Germany should he lost to him. Up to that time, the various elements of the Austro-Hungarian state had preserved their historic individuality. This had not indeed always been duly respected by the Habsburgs in practice, but in principle it had never been seriously disputed. It has been customary to identify the history of the various states now subject to the house of Austria with the history of the house of Austria itself; this is a mistake which was excusable at a time when the history of a people was supposed to be contained in that of its sovereigns, but which can no longer be pardoned. It is now known that nations have an existence apart from that of reigning families, and that these families, however illustrious may be their origin, are always obliged at last to subordinate themselves to national aspirations. The leaders of the French Revolution knew nothing of an Austro-Hungarian state when they declared war against the king of Bohemia and Hungary. When thesejdngdoms offered their crowns to Ferdinand I. of Austria (526), they had no intention of subordinating their individuality to an artificial union of alien states. After a free and glorious life under their national kings, they sought in a purely personal union—by ta... --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.