Sign in or 
Share this
The Serbian Concordant and WW I
The assassination of the the Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria was the second step in the chain of events that started the Great War. While the assassination was published throughout the world, the first step that started the horrible events was seeped in secrecy on the highest levels. This first step was the signing of the Serbian Concordant on June 24, 1914. The Concordant limited the Hapsburg's traditional right to appoint clergy and and elevate clergy in the Holy Roman Catholic Church. The Concordant enabled the Pope to centralize and control the clergy in the Balkans. The Serbian government took on the role as protector of Roman Catholics in the Balkins. The Concordant also reconciled the differences between the Eastern Orthodox churches, especially, the Russian Orthodox Church, and the Holy Roman Catholic Church. By providing the schooling for the clergy and nominating bishops, the Hapsburgs had been able to maintain some control and influence throughout the Balkans. The Austrian royal family took this loss of privilege in the Catholic Church as a slap in the face. Before the ink had dried on the Concordant, the political dynamics in the Balkans had changed.
Before the Archduke was assassinated in Sarajevo, Austrians responded to the news of the Concordant with anger. John Cornwall, (Hitler's Pope, 50), cites a message to Rome from an Italian diplomat stationed in Vienna, "The Austrian people and press consider the Serbian Concordant a major diplomatic defeat for their government," ( A. Rhodes, The Power of Rome, 224). The newspaper Die Zeit had headlines that Austria suffered a new defeat, (Cornwall, 50). Other newspapers proclaimed that the Serbian government was cowardly; that the Austrians had invested vast amounts of money in the Balkans and this happened; and the editor of the Arbbeiterzeitung asked, "...will the voice of Austria ever be listened to again?" (ibid, 51). The Italian diplomat hit the bull's eye about the Concordant being a major defeat for the Hapsburgs. The Austrians were considered to be astute diplomats, in part, because of Prince Metternich's record as the Austrian minister of foreign affairs and the Congress of Vienna in 1814 that tried to restore the map of Europe to pre-Napoleanic times. Prince Metternich gathered the great powers of Europe, including France, in Vienna to settle border disputes, assess the damage that Napolean caused with his grand plans of ruling Europe.
While the governments of Europe agreed that war needed to stop, each country felt extremely victimized and wanted more land and rights for compensation. One must consider the extreme diplomacy that Metternich used in getting the governments to allow France to attend the conference and speak up. France started the wars during the French Revolution, actually, France was expanding before the French Revolution. Compare this history to the sad terms of the Treaty of Versailles, where Germany was stripped of its mining regions in both the east and west. Woodrow Wilson spoke up, but he was unable to exert the power and diplomatic finnesse that Metternich did in 1814. Metternich also guided Austria in keeping peace with both Czar Alexander I and Napolean, while both rattled sabers and threatened each other. This record of astute diplomacy made the Serbian Concordant even more galling to Austria. The Serbs had been under the rule of Ottoman Turks for centuries. They were known for being fighters, not diplomats. For centuries, the pope had been kidnapped, held for ransome and had been the political pawn of different countries. He was revered and, at times, had power, but popes usually had short life spans. That Italian Roman Catholics like Eugenio Pacelli negotiated the Serbian Concord was another insult to Austria. Italy became an independent nation in 1861, and that independence was won from Austria. Italy was a novice nation that had consisted of city states that fought each other as pawns of different European countries. Because of Austria's history with Italy, one could assume that Austrians felt that Italy had a hidden hand in humiliating Austria.
Economics played another part in the outrage of the Austrians. The only reason that Austria had a deep water port that Austria held the port city of Trieste on the Adriatic. It was a short distance overland that made importing and exporting quick and inexpensive. Other trade routes were long and had political liabilities and Austria had invested huge sums of money to develope the rail system and a modern port. Trieste was the home port of the Austrian Navy. One of the reasons that the Hapsbergs were concerned about losing the coastal area was because the Roman expansion was along the coast of the Adriatic Sea into the Balkans. The Italian historical claim for the Adriatic Sea outdated the Hapsbegs claims for the land and sea.After World War I, the Italians did ask the League of Nations for the area. In 1914, the Italians had political, economical and religious influence and connections in the Balkans that allowed Eugenio Pacelli and the Serbians to spend eighteen months creating a concordant that brought defeat to Austria.
Looking at this modern map from CIA archives, one can see that Modern Austria is land locked.
When Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated by the Serbians, the Austrians made demands.
The Concordant recognized the validity and commonality of the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church, which gave safety to Catholics in the Serbian expansion. Italy had won its freedom from Austria in Traditionally, clerics served in the Holy Roman Catholic Church and at the pleasure of the local ruler. At times, royalty was able to nominate prelates and the best that a Pope and the Holy See could do was to try find a nominee that had loyalty to the Pope and the Church.
(THIS ISN'T FINISHED-IT'S JUST THE WAY I WRITE. I'LL GET BACK TO THIS. IT'S MIDNIGHT AND I NEED TO CHECK SOME NOTES-MEYATI)
Before the Archduke was assassinated in Sarajevo, Austrians responded to the news of the Concordant with anger. John Cornwall, (Hitler's Pope, 50), cites a message to Rome from an Italian diplomat stationed in Vienna, "The Austrian people and press consider the Serbian Concordant a major diplomatic defeat for their government," ( A. Rhodes, The Power of Rome, 224). The newspaper Die Zeit had headlines that Austria suffered a new defeat, (Cornwall, 50). Other newspapers proclaimed that the Serbian government was cowardly; that the Austrians had invested vast amounts of money in the Balkans and this happened; and the editor of the Arbbeiterzeitung asked, "...will the voice of Austria ever be listened to again?" (ibid, 51). The Italian diplomat hit the bull's eye about the Concordant being a major defeat for the Hapsburgs. The Austrians were considered to be astute diplomats, in part, because of Prince Metternich's record as the Austrian minister of foreign affairs and the Congress of Vienna in 1814 that tried to restore the map of Europe to pre-Napoleanic times. Prince Metternich gathered the great powers of Europe, including France, in Vienna to settle border disputes, assess the damage that Napolean caused with his grand plans of ruling Europe.
While the governments of Europe agreed that war needed to stop, each country felt extremely victimized and wanted more land and rights for compensation. One must consider the extreme diplomacy that Metternich used in getting the governments to allow France to attend the conference and speak up. France started the wars during the French Revolution, actually, France was expanding before the French Revolution. Compare this history to the sad terms of the Treaty of Versailles, where Germany was stripped of its mining regions in both the east and west. Woodrow Wilson spoke up, but he was unable to exert the power and diplomatic finnesse that Metternich did in 1814. Metternich also guided Austria in keeping peace with both Czar Alexander I and Napolean, while both rattled sabers and threatened each other. This record of astute diplomacy made the Serbian Concordant even more galling to Austria. The Serbs had been under the rule of Ottoman Turks for centuries. They were known for being fighters, not diplomats. For centuries, the pope had been kidnapped, held for ransome and had been the political pawn of different countries. He was revered and, at times, had power, but popes usually had short life spans. That Italian Roman Catholics like Eugenio Pacelli negotiated the Serbian Concord was another insult to Austria. Italy became an independent nation in 1861, and that independence was won from Austria. Italy was a novice nation that had consisted of city states that fought each other as pawns of different European countries. Because of Austria's history with Italy, one could assume that Austrians felt that Italy had a hidden hand in humiliating Austria.
Economics played another part in the outrage of the Austrians. The only reason that Austria had a deep water port that Austria held the port city of Trieste on the Adriatic. It was a short distance overland that made importing and exporting quick and inexpensive. Other trade routes were long and had political liabilities and Austria had invested huge sums of money to develope the rail system and a modern port. Trieste was the home port of the Austrian Navy. One of the reasons that the Hapsbergs were concerned about losing the coastal area was because the Roman expansion was along the coast of the Adriatic Sea into the Balkans. The Italian historical claim for the Adriatic Sea outdated the Hapsbegs claims for the land and sea.After World War I, the Italians did ask the League of Nations for the area. In 1914, the Italians had political, economical and religious influence and connections in the Balkans that allowed Eugenio Pacelli and the Serbians to spend eighteen months creating a concordant that brought defeat to Austria.
Looking at this modern map from CIA archives, one can see that Modern Austria is land locked.
When Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated by the Serbians, the Austrians made demands.
The Concordant recognized the validity and commonality of the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church, which gave safety to Catholics in the Serbian expansion. Italy had won its freedom from Austria in Traditionally, clerics served in the Holy Roman Catholic Church and at the pleasure of the local ruler. At times, royalty was able to nominate prelates and the best that a Pope and the Holy See could do was to try find a nominee that had loyalty to the Pope and the Church.
(THIS ISN'T FINISHED-IT'S JUST THE WAY I WRITE. I'LL GET BACK TO THIS. IT'S MIDNIGHT AND I NEED TO CHECK SOME NOTES-MEYATI)
JeffreyLaMonica |
Latest page update: made by JeffreyLaMonica
, Oct 8 2008, 6:27 PM EDT
(about this update
About This Update
Edited by JeffreyLaMonica
view changes - complete history) |
|
Keyword tags:
Archduke Franz Ferdinand
Austria
centralism
Eugenio Pacelli
Germany
Holy See
Pope Pius XII
Russia
Russian Orthodox Church
Serbia
More Info: links to this page
|
There are no threads for this page.
Be the first to start a new thread.
