Reichenbacher Convention (1790)

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The Reichenbach Convention , concluded on July 27, 1790 in Reichenbach , Silesia , was an agreement between Prussia and Austria , which prevented an impending war between the two powers. The shift in political focus due to the outbreak of the French Revolution played an important role. The negotiations took place in the house of the textile merchant Friedrich Sadebeck from Reichenbach .

prehistory

Since 1788, Prussia, under the direction of Minister Ewald Friedrich von Hertzberg during the reign of Friedrich Wilhelm II, endeavored to increase its position at the expense of Austria and Russia . The aim was to create a secure border between Silesia and East Prussia . In 1790 Prussia had gathered armies in Silesia in order to lead them against Austria, which, in league with Russia, threatened Turkey and thus the European equilibrium.

On the British initiative, the German Emperor Leopold II and the Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm II tried to resolve the Prussian-Austrian conflicts against the backdrop of the French Revolution. In order to avoid war with Prussia, Leopold II was forced to accept a Prussian ultimatum.

Austria agreed to the Prussian demand to end its war against the Ottoman Empire , which had been going on since 1787 , and to forego the reclaimed areas along the Danube .

In return, Prussia undertook to de facto renounce Thorn and Danzig and to stop supporting the Brabant Revolution in the Austrian Netherlands and the insurgents in Hungary. Prussia, along with Great Britain and the Republic of the Seven United Provinces, guaranteed the status quo between Austria and the Ottoman Empire.

literature

  • Friedrich Luckwaldt: On the prehistory of the Reichenbach Convention. English influence at the court of Friedrich Wilhelm II. In: Delbrück-Festschrift. Collected essays to Professor Hans Delbrück on his sixtieth birthday presented by friends and students, Berlin 1908, p. 232
  • Gerhard Taddey (ed.): Lexicon of German history . People, events, institutions. From the turn of the times to the end of the 2nd World War. 2nd, revised edition. Kröner, Stuttgart 1983, ISBN 3-520-81302-5 , p. 1019.