Cracking the AP World History Exam 2017, Premium Edition by Princeton Review

Author:Princeton Review
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Published: 2016-10-17T16:00:00+00:00

4. German Areas (The Holy Roman Empire, Sort of)

The situation in German and Slavic areas of central Europe during this time period was complicated. The Holy Roman Empire wasn’t really in Rome but rather in present-day Austria and parts of Germany and surrounding regions because Italy was controlled by ruling families in the Italian city-states. The Holy Roman Empire geographically dominated the region, but was also still very feudal with lots of local lords running their own shows. Therefore, the Holy Roman Emperor was pretty weak. This is further complicated by the rise of the powerful Hapsburg family of Austria, which, as we already stated, kept intermarrying so that it dominated not only substantial territory within the Holy Roman Empire but also Spain and parts of Italy. It was complicated further by the fact that northern Germany was essentially a collection of city-states, such as Brandenburg, Saxony, and Prussia. Finally, remember that northern Germany went Lutheran during the Protestant Reformation, while southern areas of the Holy Roman Empire stayed Catholic, along with Spain and France. Got it? It’s nutty, so we’re only going to hit the highlights, or else your head will be spinning.

Contrast Them: “Germany” with Spain, England, and France

Germany unified under a central government much later than Spain, England, and France did. You’ll read about German unification in the next chapter. You won’t read about a huge German empire in the New World or a strong German monarchy, because for centuries Germany remained caught in a complicated web of rulers of the Holy Roman Empire, the Hapsburgs of Austria, and the princes of city-states. It was also a tangle of religious movements, because it was at the heart of the Protestant Reformation.

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