Magnate conspiracy - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Magnate conspiracy, also known as the Zrinski–Frankopan Conspiracy in Croatia

Croatia

Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...

, and Wesselényi conspiracy in Hungary

Hungary

Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...

, was a 17th century attempt to throw off Habsburg

Habsburg Monarchy

The Habsburg Monarchy covered the territories ruled by the junior Austrian branch of the House of Habsburg , and then by the successor House of Habsburg-Lorraine , between 1526 and 1867/1918. The Imperial capital was Vienna, except from 1583 to 1611, when it was moved to Prague...

and other foreign influences over Hungary and Croatia. The attempted coup

Coup d'état

A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...

was caused by the unpopular Peace of Vasvár

Peace of Vasvár

The Peace of Vasvár was a treaty between the Austrian Habsburg Monarchy and the Ottoman Empire which followed the Battle of Saint Gotthard of August 1, 1664, and concluded the Austro-Turkish War...

, struck in 1664 between Holy Roman Emperor

Holy Roman Emperor

The Holy Roman Emperor is a term used by historians to denote a medieval ruler who, as German King, had also received the title of "Emperor of the Romans" from the Pope...

Leopold I

Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor

| style="float:right;" | Leopold I was a Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary and King of Bohemia. A member of the Habsburg family, he was the second son of Emperor Ferdinand III and his first wife, Maria Anna of Spain. His maternal grandparents were Philip III of Spain and Margaret of Austria...

and the Ottoman Empire

Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

. The poorly organized attempt at revolt gave the Habsburgs reason to clamp down on their opponents. It was named after Hungarian Count Ferenc Wesselényi

Ferenc Wesselényi

Count Ferenc Wesselényi de Hadad et Murány was a Hungarian military commander and the palatine of the Royal Hungary.-Life:...

, and by Croatian

Croats

Croats are a South Slavic ethnic group mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. There are around 4 million Croats living inside Croatia and up to 4.5 million throughout the rest of the world. Responding to political, social and economic pressure, many Croats have...

counts Nikola Zrinski, Petar Zrinski

Petar Zrinski

Petar Zrinski was a Croatian Ban and writer. A member of the Zrinski noble family, he was noted for his role in the attempted Croatian-Hungarian rebellion of 1664-1670 which ultimately led to his execution for high treason.-Zrinski family:Petar Zrinski was born in Vrbovec, a small town near...

and Fran Krsto Frankopan

Fran Krsto Frankopan

Fran Krsto Frankopan was a Croatian baroque poet, nobleman and politician in the 17th century. He is remembered primarily for his involvement in the failed Zrinski-Frankopan conspiracy.-Early life and poetry:...

Causes

Main articles: Kingdom of Hungary
Kingdom of Hungary
The Kingdom of Hungary comprised present-day Hungary, Slovakia and Croatia , Transylvania , Carpatho Ruthenia , Vojvodina , Burgenland , and other smaller territories surrounding present-day Hungary's borders...

, Royal Hungary
Royal Hungary
The Kingdom of Hungary between 1538 and 1867 was part of the lands of the Habsburg Monarchy, while outside the Holy Roman Empire.After Battle of Mohács, the country was ruled by two crowned kings . They divided the kingdom in 1538...

, Kingdom of Croatia (medieval)
Kingdom of Croatia (medieval)
The Kingdom of Croatia , also known as the Kingdom of the Croats , was a medieval kingdom covering most of what is today Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Balkans.Established in 925, it ruled as a sovereign state for almost two centuries...

, Kingdom of Croatia (Habsburg)
Kingdom of Croatia (Habsburg)
The Kingdom of Croatia was an administrative division that existed between 1527 and 1868 within the Habsburg Monarchy . The Kingdom was a part of the Lands of the Crown of St. Stephen, but was subject to direct Imperial Austrian rule for significant periods of time, including its final years...

The expansion of the Ottoman Empire into Europe began in the middle of the 14th century leading to confrontation with both Serbia

History of Medieval Serbia

Тhe medieval history of Serbia begins in the 5th century AD with the Slavic invasion of the Balkans, and lasts until the Ottoman occupation of 1540.- Slavic invasion :...

and the Byzantine Empire

Byzantine Empire

The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...

and culminating in the defeat of both nations in, respectively, the Battle of Kosovo

Battle of Kosovo

The Battle of Kosovo took place on St. Vitus' Day, June 15, 1389, between the army led by Serbian Prince Lazar Hrebeljanović, and the invading army of the Ottoman Empire under the leadership of Sultan Murad I...

(1389) and the Fall of Constantinople

Fall of Constantinople

The Fall of Constantinople was the capture of the capital of the Byzantine Empire, which occurred after a siege by the Ottoman Empire, under the command of Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II, against the defending army commanded by Byzantine Emperor Constantine XI...

(1453). This expansionist policy eventually brought them into conflict with the Habsburgs a number of times during the 16th and 17th centuries. After the 1526 Battle of Mohács

Battle of Mohács

The Battle of Mohács was fought on August 29, 1526 near Mohács, Hungary. In the battle, forces of the Kingdom of Hungary led by King Louis II of Hungary and Bohemia were defeated by forces of the Ottoman Empire led by Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent....

, the middle part of the Kingdom of Hungary

Kingdom of Hungary

The Kingdom of Hungary comprised present-day Hungary, Slovakia and Croatia , Transylvania , Carpatho Ruthenia , Vojvodina , Burgenland , and other smaller territories surrounding present-day Hungary's borders...

was conquered; by the end of the 16th century, it was split into what has become known as the Tripartite — the Habsburg-ruled Royal Hungary

Royal Hungary

The Kingdom of Hungary between 1538 and 1867 was part of the lands of the Habsburg Monarchy, while outside the Holy Roman Empire.After Battle of Mohács, the country was ruled by two crowned kings . They divided the kingdom in 1538...

to the north, the Ottoman-ruled pashaluk
Pashaluk
Pashaluk or Pashalik is a term for one type of the Subdivisions of the Ottoman Empire.It is the abstract word derived from pasha, denoting the quality, office or jurisdiction of a pasha or the territory administered by him....

to the south, and Transylvania

Transylvania

Transylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term sometimes encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical...

to the east. A difficult balancing act played itself out as supporters of the Habsburgs battled supporters of the Ottomans in a series of civil war

Civil war

A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same nation state or republic, or, less commonly, between two countries created from a formerly-united nation state....

s and wars of independence.

By September of 1656, the stalemate between the two great powers of Eastern Europe began to shift as the Ottoman Sultan

Ottoman Dynasty

The Ottoman Dynasty ruled the Ottoman Empire from 1299 to 1922, beginning with Osman I , though the dynasty was not proclaimed until Orhan Bey declared himself sultan...

Mehmed IV

Mehmed IV Modern Turkish Mehmet was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1648 to 1687...

with the aid of his Grand Vizier

Grand Vizier

Grand Vizier, in Turkish Vezir-i Azam or Sadr-ı Azam , deriving from the Arabic word vizier , was the greatest minister of the Sultan, with absolute power of attorney and, in principle, dismissable only by the Sultan himself...

Köprülü Mehmed Pasha

Köprülü Mehmed Pasha , was the Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire from 1656 until his death. He was the first leader and founder of the Albanian Köprülü noble dynasty/family.- Life :He was recruited as a part of the devshirmeh system and was trained in the palace school...

set about reforming the Ottoman military and preparing it for larger conflict. These changes made it possible for the Sultan to invade and conquer the Transylvanian-held areas of Hungary in May of 1660. The ensuing battles killed the Transylvanian ruler George II Rákóczi

George II Rákóczi

György Rákóczi II , a Transylvanian Hungarian ruler, was the eldest son of George I and Susanna Lorantffy....

. Following a fairly easy victory there, the Ottomans directed their large army towards portions of Royal Hungary.

The invasion of the Transylvanian state and Habsburg territory upset the balance in the region.
The Grandmaster of the Teutonic Knights

Teutonic Knights

The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem , commonly the Teutonic Order , is a German medieval military order, in modern times a purely religious Catholic order...

, who have been expelled from Transylvania in 1225 and since then had been put under the sovereignty of the Pope in Rome and not anymore under the sovereignty of the Holy Crown of Hungary as before 1225, attempted since 1660 to get involved in the supreme command of the Military Frontier

Military Frontier

The Military Frontier was a borderland of Habsburg Austria and later the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, which acted as the cordon sanitaire against incursions from the Ottoman Empire...

, but the organization of the Military Frontier was not as obvious as it seemed and was a protected secret.
These moves drew in Habsburg forces under Leopold I. Although initially reluctant to commit forces and cause an outright war between the Habsburgs and the Ottomans, by 1661 he had sent some 15,000 of his soldiers under his field marshal

Field Marshal

Field Marshal is a military rank. Traditionally, it is the highest military rank in an army.-Etymology:The origin of the rank of field marshal dates to the early Middle Ages, originally meaning the keeper of the king's horses , from the time of the early Frankish kings.-Usage and hierarchical...

Raimondo Montecuccoli

Raimondo, Count of Montecúccoli or Montecucculi was an Italian military general who also served as general for the Austrians, and was also a prince of the Holy Roman Empire and Neapolitan Duke of Melfi....

. Despite this intervention, the Ottoman invasion of Hungary had not slowed. In response, by 1662 Montecuccoli had been given another 15,000 soldiers and had taken up positions in Hungary. Adding to this force was an army of native Hungarians led by a Croatia

Croatia

n noble named Nikola Zrinski. Montecuccoli also had additional German support thanks to the diplomatic efforts of the Hungarian magnate Ferenc Wesselényi

Ferenc Wesselényi

Count Ferenc Wesselényi de Hadad et Murány was a Hungarian military commander and the palatine of the Royal Hungary.-Life:...

and this became very important, especially because it seemed that Hungary without Habsburg, perhaps with the help of France, had its own diplomacy in Rome. In 1662, the Order of the Golden Fleece

Order of the Golden Fleece

The Order of the Golden Fleece is an order of chivalry founded in Bruges by Philip III, Duke of Burgundy in 1430, to celebrate his marriage to the Portuguese princess Infanta Isabella of Portugal, daughter of King John I of Portugal. It evolved as one of the most prestigious orders in Europe...

showed as an ally of the Teutonic Knights and Wesselenyi as naive, because he became a member ot he Golden Fleece order, although this both orders were not under the sovereignty of the Holy Crown of Hungary, and this started the Magnate conspiracy, because in Hungary and in Croatia were also knighthood-orders and also some foreign orders, e.g. the Order of the Golden Fleece, forbid non-royal members to be member in other knighthood orders, but this seemed very difficult especially during a war in Hungary or in Croatia.

By late 1663 and early 1664, this coalition had not only taken back Ottoman-conquered land, but had also cut off Ottoman supply lines and captured several Ottoman-held fortresses within Hungary. On August 1, 1664, the combined Christian

Christendom

Christendom, or the Christian world, has several meanings. In a cultural sense it refers to the worldwide community of Christians, adherents of Christianity...

armies of Hungary and the Habsburgs won a decisive victory against the Ottomans in the Battle of Saint Gotthard.

Following this clash, many Hungarians assumed that the combined forces would continue their offensive to fully remove the Ottomans from Hungarian lands. However, Leopold was more concerned with events unfolding in Habsburg Spain

Habsburg Spain

Habsburg Spain refers to the history of Spain over the 16th and 17th centuries , when Spain was ruled by the major branch of the Habsburg dynasty...

, and the brewing conflict that would come to be known as the War of the Spanish Succession

War of the Spanish Succession

The War of the Spanish Succession was fought among several European powers, including a divided Spain, over the possible unification of the Kingdoms of Spain and France under one Bourbon monarch. As France and Spain were among the most powerful states of Europe, such a unification would have...

. Leopold saw no need to continue combat on his Eastern front when he could return the region to balance and concentrate on potential conflict with France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

over the rights to the Spanish throne. Moreover, the Ottomans would have been able to commit more troops within the year, and a prolonged struggle with the Ottomans was a risk for Leopold. In order to end the Ottoman issue quickly, he signed what has come to be known as the Peace of Vasvár

Peace of Vasvár

The Peace of Vasvár was a treaty between the Austrian Habsburg Monarchy and the Ottoman Empire which followed the Battle of Saint Gotthard of August 1, 1664, and concluded the Austro-Turkish War...

.

Despite the common victory , the treaty was largely a gain for the Ottomans. Its text, which inflamed Hungary's nobles, stated that the Habsburgs would recognize the Ottoman-controlled Michael I Apafi

Michael I Apafi

Michael Apafi was a Hungarian Prince of Transylvania.He was elected by the nobles of Transylvania on 14 September 1661, with the support of the Ottoman Empire, as a rival to the Habsburg-backed ruler János Kemény...

as ruler of Transylvania, and that Leopold would pay 200,000 German florins to the Ottomans each year for the promise of a 20 year truce. While Vasvár did allow Leopold to concentrate on the issues in Spain, it kept the Hungarians split between two empires. Moreover, it left many Hungarian magnates feeling as if the Habsburgs had pushed them aside at their one opportunity for independence and security from Ottoman advances. In response, a number of nobles decided that they would physically remove foreign influence on Hungary.

Unfolding

One of the primary leaders of the conspiracy was Nikola Zrinski, the Croatian ban

Ban (title)

Ban was a title used in several states in central and south-eastern Europe between the 7th century and the 20th century.-Etymology:The word ban has entered the English language probably as a borrowing from South Slavic ban, meaning "lord, master; ruler". The Slavic word is probably borrowed from...

who had led the native forces alongside the Habsburg commander Montecuccoli. By then, Zrinski had begun to plan a Hungary free of outside influence and with a population protected by the state rather than used by it. He hoped to create a united army with Croatian and Transylvanian support to free Hungary. However, he died within months during a struggle with a wild boar on a hunting trip; this left the revolt in the hands of Nikola Zrinski's younger brother Petar

Petar Zrinski

as well as Ferenc Wesselényi.

The conspirators hoped to gain foreign aid in their attempts to not only free Hungary but also to overthrow the Habsburgs. The conspirators entered into secret negotiations with a number of nations — including France

France

, Sweden

Swedish Empire

The Swedish Empire refers to the Kingdom of Sweden between 1561 and 1721 . During this time, Sweden was one of the great European powers. In Swedish, the period is called Stormaktstiden, literally meaning "the Great Power Era"...

, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth

Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth

The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was a dualistic state of Poland and Lithuania ruled by a common monarch. It was the largest and one of the most populous countries of 16th- and 17th‑century Europe with some and a multi-ethnic population of 11 million at its peak in the early 17th century...

and the Republic of Venice

Republic of Venice

The Republic of Venice or Venetian Republic was a state originating from the city of Venice in Northeastern Italy. It existed for over a millennium, from the late 7th century until 1797. It was formally known as the Most Serene Republic of Venice and is often referred to as La Serenissima, in...

— in an attempt to gain support. Wesselényi and his fellow magnates even made overtures to the Ottomans offering all of Hungary in return for the semblance of self-rule after the Habsburgs had been removed; nevertheless, no state wanted to intervene. The Sultan, like Leopold, had no interest in renewed conflict — in fact, his court informed Leopold of the attempts being made by the conspirators in 1666.

While the warnings from the Sultan's court cemented the matter, Leopold already suspected the conspiracy — the Austrians had informants inside the group of nobles, and had heard from several sources of their wide-ranging and almost desperate attempts to gain foreign and domestic aid. However, no action was taken because the conspirators had made little traction and were bound by inaction. Leopold seems to have considered their actions as only half-hearted schemes that were never truly serious. The conspirators invented a number of plots that they never followed through with, including the November 1667 plot to kidnap Emperor Leopold that failed to materialize, and the most influential military person in Austria, who was familiary connected with Fran Krsto Frankopan, died shortly after in 1668. And if it was no accident, but unknown perpetrators, was perhaps made an intrigue against scapegoats Zrinski and Frankopan. For it was not in the interest of some, that German soldiers abroad were led to religious wars after the thirty years war 1618-1648. Katarina Zrinska traveled to Paris and talked with Louis XIV.

After yet another failed attempt for foreign aid from the pasha

Pasha

Pasha or pascha, formerly bashaw, was a high rank in the Ottoman Empire political system, typically granted to governors, generals and dignitaries. As an honorary title, Pasha, in one of its various ranks, is equivalent to the British title of Lord, and was also one of the highest titles in...

of Buda

Buda

For detailed information see: History of Buda CastleBuda is the western part of the Hungarian capital Budapest on the west bank of the Danube. The name Buda takes its name from the name of Bleda the Hun ruler, whose name is also Buda in Hungarian.Buda comprises about one-third of Budapest's...

, Zrinski and several other conspirators turned themselves in. However, Leopold was content to grant them freedom to gain support from the Hungarian people. No action was taken until 1670 when the remaining conspirators began circulating pamphlets inciting violence against the Emperor and calling for invasion by the Ottoman Empire. They also called for an uprising of the Protestant

Protestantism

Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...

minority within Royal Hungary

Royal Hungary

. When the conspiracy's ideals began to gain some support within Hungary, the official reaction was swift. In March of 1670 the leaders of the group, including Wesselényi, Petar Zrinski and Fran Krsto Frankopan

Fran Krsto Frankopan

were arrested and executed; some 2,000 nobles were arrested as part of a mass crackdown (many of the lesser nobles had had no part in the events, but Leopold aimed to prevent similar revolts in the future).

Persecution was also inflicted on Hungarian and Croatian commoners, as Habsburg soldiers moved in and secured the region. Protestant churches were burned to the ground in a show of force against any uprisings. Leopold ordered all Hungarian organic law

Organic law

An organic or fundamental law is a law or system of laws which forms the foundation of a government, corporation or other organization's body of rules. A constitution is a particular form of organic law for a sovereign state....

s suspended, in retaliation for the conspiracy: the gesture caused an end to the self-government which Royal Hungary had nominally been granted, a situation which remained unchanged for the following 10 years. In Croatia, where Petar Zrinski had been a ban

Ban of Croatia

Ban of Croatia was the title of local rulers and after 1102 viceroys of Croatia. From earliest periods of Croatian state, some provinces were ruled by Bans as a rulers representative and supreme military commander. In the 18th century, Croatian bans eventually become chief government officials in...

(viceroy) during the conspiracy, there would not be any new bans of Croatian origin

Croats

for next 60 years.

Aftermath

Petar Zrinski

and Fran Krsto Frankopan were ordered to the Emperor's Court. The note said that, as they had ceased their rebellion and had repented soon enough, they would be given mercy from the Emperor if they would plead for it. They were arrested the moment they arrived in Vienna

Vienna

Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...

and put on trial. They were held in Wiener Neustadt

Wiener Neustadt

-Main sights:* The Late-Romanesque Dom, consecrated in 1279 and cathedral from 1469 to 1785. The choir and transept, in Gothic style, are from the 14th century. In the late 15th century 12 statues of the Apostles were added in the apse, while the bust of Cardinal Melchior Klesl is attributed to...

. and beheaded on April 30, 1671. Nadassdy was executed on the same day, and Tattenbach was executed later on December 1, 1671.

In those ages, nobility enjoyed a few privileges that commoners did not. One of them was the right to be tried by a court assembled of peers. The conspirators were first tried by the Emperor's court assembly. After the verdict, they requested their rights as nobles. Another court was assembled of nobility from parts of the empire which were far away from Croatia or Hungary, and accepted the previous (death) verdict. Petar Zrinski's verdict read: "he committed the greatest sins than the others in aspiring to obtain the same station as his majesty, that is, to be an independent Croatian ruler and therefore he indeed deserves to be crowned not with a crown, but with a bloody sword".

During the trial and after the execution, the estates of the royal families were pillaged, and their families scattered. The destruction of these powerful feudal families ensured that no similar event took place until the bourgeois era. Petar's wife (Katarina Zrinska

Katarina Zrinska

Countess Ana Katarina Zrinska was a Croatian noblewoman, born into the House of Frankopan noble family. She married Count Petar Zrinski of the House of Zrinski in 1641 and later became known as Katarina Zrinska. She is remembered in Croatia as a patron of the arts, a writer and patriot...

) and two of their daughters died in convents, and his son, Ivan

Ivan Antun Zrinski

Ivan Antun Zrinski , , was a Croatian count, a member of the Zrinski noble family, its last male descendant.-Life:...

, died mad after a terrible imprisonment and torture as did Katarina, the very symbol of Croatia's destiny. She published the last letter of her husband to her. It was a motivation to end the war with the Ottomans. It needed interesting short time until the Treaty of Karlowitz

Treaty of Karlowitz

The Treaty of Karlowitz was signed on 26 January 1699 in Sremski Karlovci , concluding the Austro-Ottoman War of 1683–1697 in which the Ottoman side had been defeated at the Battle of Zenta...

1699.

The bones of Zrinski and Frankopan remained in Austria-Hungary

Austria-Hungary

Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...

for 248 years, and it was only after the fall of the monarchy that their remains were moved to the crypt of Zagreb Cathedral

Zagreb cathedral

Zagreb Cathedral on Kaptol is the most famous building in Zagreb, and the tallest building in Croatia. It is dedicated to the Holy Virgin's Ascension and to St. Stephen and St. Ladislaus. The cathedral is typically Gothic, as is its sacristy, which is of great architectonic value...

Legacy in Hungary

In order to combat the perceived threat from Hungary's Protestants against the Roman Catholics

Roman Catholic Church

The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...

in his lands, Leopold ordered some 60,000 forced conversions

Religious conversion

Religious conversion is the adoption of a new religion that differs from the convert's previous religion. Changing from one denomination to another within the same religion is usually described as reaffiliation rather than conversion.People convert to a different religion for various reasons,...

in the first two years of his reprisals for the conspiracy. In addition, 800 Protestant churches were closed down. By 1675, 41 Protestant pastor

Pastor

The word pastor usually refers to an ordained leader of a Christian congregation. When used as an ecclesiastical styling or title, this role may be abbreviated to "Pr." or often "Ps"....

s would be publicly executed

Capital punishment

Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...

after having been found guilty of inciting riots and revolts.

During the trial and after the execution, the estates of the royal families were pillaged, and their families relocated. The destruction of the most powerful feudal families and their economic might ensured that no similar event would take place during the feudal era (until the bourgeois era). Petar's wife (Katarina Zrinska

Katarina Zrinska

) and two of their daughters died in convents, and his son Ivan, died mad after a terrible imprisonment and torture, so did Katarina.

The bones of Zrinski and Frankopan were to remain in Austria-Hungary

Austria-Hungary

for 248 years, and it was only after the fall of the monarchy that their remains were moved to the crypt of the Zagreb Cathedral

Zagreb cathedral

. The grandmaster of the Teutonic knights Count Palatine Francis Louis of Neuburg led the reorganization of the order of the Teutonic knights and he fought against the Kingdom of Prussia. The order of the golden fleece was divided in a Spanish and an Austrian branche.

The crackdown caused a number of former soldiers and other Hungarian nationals to rise up against the state in a sort of guerilla warfare. These Kuruc
Kuruc
The kuruc was a term used to denote the armed anti-Habsburg rebels in Royal Hungary between 1671 and 1711....

("Crusaders") began launching raids on the Habsburg army stationed within Hungary. For years after the crackdown, Kuruc rebels would gather en masse to combat the Habsburgs; their forces' numbers swelled to 15,000 by the summer of 1672.

These Kuruc forces were far more successful than the conspiracy, and remained active against the Habsburgs up until 1711; they were also more successful in convincing foreign governments of their ability to succeed. Foreign aid came first from Transylvania (which was under Ottoman suzerainty

Suzerainty

Suzerainty occurs where a region or people is a tributary to a more powerful entity which controls its foreign affairs while allowing the tributary vassal state some limited domestic autonomy. The dominant entity in the suzerainty relationship, or the more powerful entity itself, is called a...

) and later by the Ottoman Empire. This foreign recognition would eventually lead to a large-scale invasion of Habsburg domains

Great Turkish War

The Great Turkish War refers to a series of conflicts between the Ottoman Empire and contemporary European powers, then joined into a Holy League, during the second half of the 17th century.-1667–1683:...

by the Ottoman Empire and the Battle of Vienna

Battle of Vienna

The Battle of Vienna took place on 11 and 12 September 1683 after Vienna had been besieged by the Ottoman Empire for two months...

in 1683.

Legacy in Croatia

The Ottoman conquests reduced Croatia's territory to only 16,800 km² by 1592. The Pope referred to the country as to the "Remnants of the remnants of the Croatian kingdom" and this description became a battle cry of the affected nobles. This loss was a death warrant for most Croatian noble families which only in 1526 voted that Habsburgs become kings of Croatia

Croatia

. Without any territory to control they have become only pages in history. Only the Zrinski

Zrinski

The Zrinski family was a Croatian noble family, influential during the period in history marked by the Ottoman wars in Europe in the Kingdom of Croatia and Hungary and in the later Austro-Hungarian Empire...

and Frankopan

Frankopan

The Frankopans are a Croatian noble family. Also called Frankapan, Frangepán in Hungarian, and Frangipani in Italian.The Frankopan family is the leading princely Croatian aristocratic family which dates back to the 12th Century and even earlier to Roman times...

families stayed powerful because their possessions were in the unconquered, western part of Croatia. In the time of the conspiracy, they were controlling around 35 % of civilian Croatia (1/3 of Croatian territory was under the emperor's direct control as the Military Frontier

Military Frontier

The Military Frontier was a borderland of Habsburg Austria and later the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, which acted as the cordon sanitaire against incursions from the Ottoman Empire...

). After the conspiracy failed, these lands were confiscated by the emperor, who could grant them upon his discretion. Nothing is better showing situation in Croatia after conspiracy of fact that between 1527 - 1670 there were 13 ban

Ban of Croatia

s (viceroy

Viceroy

A viceroy is a royal official who runs a country, colony, or province in the name of and as representative of the monarch. The term derives from the Latin prefix vice-, meaning "in the place of" and the French word roi, meaning king. A viceroy's province or larger territory is called a viceroyalty...

s) of Croatia of Croatian origin. Between 1670 and the revolution of 1848, there would be only 2 bans of Croatian nationality. The period from 1670 to the Croatian cultural revival in 19th century was Croatia's political dark age. Since the Zrinski-Frankopan conspiracy up to the French Revoultions Wars in 1797 no soldiers anymore were recruited in Istria, where in the 17th century a total of 3,000 soldiers had been recruited.

Without influence in Habsburg Court Croats were not be in position to demand reconquest of the lost territories in today's Bosnia

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...

(example: Banja Luka

Banja Luka

-History:The name "Banja Luka" was first mentioned in a document dated February 6, 1494, but Banja Luka's history dates back to ancient times. There is a substantial evidence of the Roman presence in the region during the first few centuries A.D., including an old fort "Kastel" in the centre of...

, Bihać

Bihac

Bihać is a city and municipality on the river Una in the north-western part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the Bosanska Krajina region. Bihać is located in the Una-Sana Canton in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.-History:...

etc.) during the Habsburg-Ottoman wars in the 17th and 18th century so this territory has stayed outside Croatian control since.

The Zrinski-Frankopan conspiracy was a movement in which the Croatia

Croatia

n noblemen of the Zrinski

Zrinski

and Frankopan

Frankopan

families rebelled against their ruler, King Leopold I of the Habsburg

Habsburg

The House of Habsburg , also found as Hapsburg, and also known as House of Austria is one of the most important royal houses of Europe and is best known for being an origin of all of the formally elected Holy Roman Emperors between 1438 and 1740, as well as rulers of the Austrian Empire and...

family. They felt he disregarded the treaty that he was bound to upon being crowned as the king of the Lands of the Crown of St. Stephen

Lands of the Crown of St. Stephen

The historical term Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen was used to denote a group of territories connected to the Kingdom of Hungary within Austria-Hungary...

, especially after the Vasvár Peace

Peace of Vasvár

The Peace of Vasvár was a treaty between the Austrian Habsburg Monarchy and the Ottoman Empire which followed the Battle of Saint Gotthard of August 1, 1664, and concluded the Austro-Turkish War...

in 1664.

In Hungarian historiography the conspiracy also named Wesselényi conspiracy after the highest ranking (count palatine

Count palatine

Count palatine is a high noble title, used to render several comital styles, in some cases also shortened to Palatine, which can have other meanings as well.-Comes palatinus:...

) member.

Conspirators

The leaders of the conspiracy were ban Nikola Zrinski (viceroy of Croatia

Kingdom of Croatia (Habsburg)

The Kingdom of Croatia was an administrative division that existed between 1527 and 1868 within the Habsburg Monarchy . The Kingdom was a part of the Lands of the Crown of St. Stephen, but was subject to direct Imperial Austrian rule for significant periods of time, including its final years...

) and Hungarian palatine Ferenc Wesselényi (viceroy of Hungary). The conspirators were soon joined by dissatisfied members of the noble families from Croatia and Hungary, like Fran Krsto Frankopan

Fran Krsto Frankopan

, Nikola's brother Petar

Petar Zrinski

, the prince of Transylvania Francis I Rákóczi

Francis I Rákóczi

Francis I Rákóczi was a Hungarian aristocrat, elected prince of Transylvania and father of Hungarian national hero Francis II Rákóczi....

, high justice of the Court of Hungary Ferenc Nádasdy, the archbishop of Ostrogon, György Lippay and Erazmo Tatenbach, a feudal lord from Steiermark. The conspiracy and rebellion was entirely led by nobility.

Conspiracy-rebellion or legal uprising?

The right to a trial by one's peers was not granted to conspirators or rebels who openly defied or rebelled against the Crown. As this right was granted by the Court, historians in Croatia now refer to the "rebellion" as a legal uprising.

Pacta conventa

Pacta conventa (Croatia)

Pacta conventa was an alleged agreement concluded between King Coloman of Hungary and the Croatian nobility. While some claim it was a voluntary union of the two crowns, leaving Croatia as a sovereign state, others argue that Hungary simply annexed Croatia outright and forced an agreement...

gives the right to openly defy and rebel against a ruler that will not fulfill duties assigned him by the pact. The pact stated a minimal amount of soldiers must be stationed on the border with the Ottoman Empire, and actions from the king that went against the rightful claims of the Kingdom (Croatia-Hungary) would render the pact void and anyone would then have the right to dethrone the king. The garrison request was never fulfilled, and the foreign policy could be interpreted as going against the rightful claims of Hungary and Croatia (see Peace of Vasvár

Peace of Vasvár

The Peace of Vasvár was a treaty between the Austrian Habsburg Monarchy and the Ottoman Empire which followed the Battle of Saint Gotthard of August 1, 1664, and concluded the Austro-Turkish War...

External links

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