st was continuous during the
nineteenth century; and the rise of the independent states of Serbia,
Roumania, and Bulgaria tended to make the Slavic and Roumanian
inhabitants of Austria-Hungary dissatisfied with their own position.

After 1815 the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy continued under the rule of the
royal family of Hapsburgs, whose proud history extends back to the
fifteenth century. Austria (but not Hungary) was part of the German
Confederation, and her representative had the right of presiding at all
meetings of the confederation. Between 1815 and 1848 the Austrian
emperor and his Prime minister were the leaders in opposition to popular
government and national aspirations. But in 1848 a serious uprising
took place, and it seemed for a time that the diverse peoples would fly
apart from each other and establish separate states. The emperor
abdicated and his prime minister fled to England. Francis Joseph, the
young heir to the throne, with the aid of experienced military leaders
succeeded in suppressing the rebellion. For sixty-eight years
(1848-1916) he was personally popular and held together the composite
state.

In 1866 Austria was driven out of the German Confederation by Prussia.
Seven years earlier she had lost most of her Italian possessions.
Thereafter her interests and ambitions lay to the southeast; and she
bent her energies to extend her territory, influence, and commerce into
the Balkan region. A semblance of popular government was established in
Austria and in Hungary, which were separated from each other in ordinary
affairs, but continued under the same monarch. In each country, however,
the suffrage and elections were so juggled that the ruling minority, of
Germans in Austria and of Hungarians in Hungary, was enabled to keep the
majority in subjection.

Austria-Hungary has not progressed as rapidly in industry and commerce
as the countries to the north and west of her. Her life is still largely
agricultural, and cultivation is often conducted by primitive methods.
Before the war her wealth per person was only $500, as compared with
$1843 in the United States, $1849 in Great Britain, $1250 in France, and
$1230 in Germany. She possessed only one good seaport, Trieste
(tr[)i]-[)e]st'), and this partly explained her desire to obtain access to
the Black Sea and the AEgean Sea. About half of her foreign trade was
carried on with Germany. The low standards of national wealth and
production made the raisin