History of Hungary - Chronological Survey: 1703 - 2004

1703- 1711 War for Liberty led by Ferenc II Rákóczi. Covert support from Louis XIV; to 1708 holds most of country; eventually runs out of men & money.

1723 Parliament enacts Acts I - III : Pragmatica Sanctio. Recognises right of Charles III's daughter Maria Theresia to succession; formalises personal union.

1740 Maria Theresia crowned & sustained against Prussia. With cry Vitam & sanguinem pro regem nostram! Parliament votes men and money to defend her throne.

1780-1790 Joseph II attempts enlightened absolutism.

1795 Execution of Ignác Martinovics, leader of the Hungarian Jacobin conspiracy. Inspired by French Revolution , sucks in numerous idealists; leaders executed, rest imprisoned.

1800-1825 Movement to renew language & general cultural upsurge.

1825-1848 Age of Reform. Economic & some political advances. The first railway between Pest and Vác was established. The first permanent bridge (the Chain Bridge) between the (at that time still separate) cities of Buda and Pest was built. Theatres and other important institutions were founded and even the Hungarian language itself was reformed (new words were invented, rules were simplified and unified).

1825 Founding of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences by István Széchenyi, leading figure of the Reform Movement. Another 19'th century nationalist movement led by Kossuth revives Magyar aspirations.

1848 15 March revolution breaks out in Pest. The Habsburg rulers are compelled to meet the demands of the Reform party.

1848 September - 1849 August Anti-Habsburg War of Independence ends in defeat when the Imperial Russian Army comes to Vienna's aid. General Görgey lays down arms at Világos.

 

1849 6 October Execution of 13 leading generals of the War of Independence and of the leader of the first autonomous Hungarian government formed after the Revolution.

1849-1867 Oppresive direct rule from Austria: the Bach Period (Bach was a minister). Kossuth & thousands in emmigration; many thousands imprisoned; strict censorship; memories & stagnation. After Austria's defeat in the Austrian-Russian war of 1866 a new empire is created, unified in the person of the emperor (Franz Joseph: Austrian emperor & Hungarian king). The empire contains two ethnic groups, Germans and Magyars, as equal partners.

1867 Due to Ferenc Deák "sage of the nation" a compromise is agreed between nation and Crown. The Hungarians seize the opportunity to inflict a further defeat on the weakened Habsburgs. The 50 years after the 1867 compromise are one of Hungary's better periods. A very dynamic economic and cultural development started: by the end of the century Hungary was closer to Western-European standards than ever, at least after Mohács. Some highlights from this period: an extensive railway network was built in the country. Educational reforms were introduced & massive industrialization started: by the end of the century Hungarian industry was leading in certain fields (electricity, transport industry, telecommunication). Hungary's cultural life flourished.

1873 Pest, Buda and Óbuda were unified: the new capital Budapest became a European metropolis.

1914 Hungary dragged into war against Serbia.

1918 Germany and its allies, including the Austro-Hungarian monarchy, lost the world war. In 1918 Austria-Hungary disintegrated, its territories being divided between Austria, Chechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland, Rumania and Yugoslavia.

1918 31 October Outbreak of the bourgeois democratic revolution. Shortlived republic of Mihály Károlyi . Czechs & Rumanians invade.

 

1919 21 March Proclamation of the Hungarian Soviet Republic, which collapses after 133 days.

1920 Parliament makes Miklós Horthy Regent.

1920 By the 1920 Trianon Treaty Hungary was compelled to cede 68% of her historic area to Rumania, Chechoslovakia, Yugoslavia and Austria. Since then, considerable Hungarian minorities live in the neighbouring countries (Hungary ceded Transylvania to Rumania. Transylvania was part of Hungary from about 1000 until 1918. The Hungarian minority of 2 millions in Rumania is cause of friction between the two countries.

1941 Under German pressure war declared on Soviet Union. End of neutrality; but the country remains haven for Poles & for PoWs escaped from Germany Jews not persecuted.

1941-1945 Hungary's participation in the second World War on the side of the Germans.

1943 January The Hungarian army is defeated by Soviet troops at Voronezh. More than 100 000 dead.

1944 19 March German occupation of Hungary.

1944 15-16 November Unsuccessful attempt to withdraw from the war. The Arrow Cross party comes to power.

1945 4 April "Liberation" of Hungary by Red Army. Soviet forces sponsor communist government.

1946 1 February Hungary becomes a Soviet-style People's Republic.

1947 1 August The beginnings of so called planned economy.

1949 20 August - 1956 The country receives a new Constitution and is henceforth called the Hungarian People's Republic. Hungarian Stalinism. Rule of Communist Party & Stalinist leader Rákosi ; their KGB-trained Security Forces arrest, torture, kill. An anti-Stalinist revolution broke out October 1956. Demands: democracy, neutrality, departure of Soviet troops; old-Communist Imre Nagy accepts aims & premiership; The government of Imre Nagy withdrew from the Warsaw Pact and asked UNO to protect Hungarian neutrality. (The Warsaw Pact was regarded as a response to the incorporation of the German Federal Republic in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.)

János Kádár, a member of Nagy's government formed a countergovernment with Soviet support. Soviet troops crushed the rebellion and installed Kádár. Nagy and his ministers were lured from asylum in the Yugoslav Embassy and later executed.

1956-1988 The Communist Party was reorganized, and changed its name to Hungarian Socialist Worker's Party.

1969 17 March "Budapest Appeal", prelude to the European Security Conference, held in Helsinki.

1989 Declaration of the Hungarian Republic. Prime Minister Miklós Németh opens Austrian border to East Germans.

1990 8 April The first free elections after 1947. A centre-right coalition win. Prime Minister: József Antall historian.

1991 19 June Soviet troops stationed in Hungary since 1945 leave the country

1994 Parliamentary elections. The Socialist Party (the former communists) win and enters a coalition with a liberal party. Prime Minister: Gyula Horn former Foreign Minister.

1998 The European Union begins negotiations with Hungary on full membership. Centre-right coalition win the elections. Prime Minister: Viktor Orbán, a 35-years-old lawyer.

1999 Hungary joins NATO.

2002 Elections. The Socialist Party wins again and enters a coalition again with a small liberal party. Prime Minister: Péter Medgyessy banker.

2004 Hungary became the member of the European Union.

2006 Elections. The Socialist Party wins again and enters a coalition again with a small liberal party. Prime Minister: Ferenc Gyurcsány rich businessman.

2007 Hungary became the member of the Schengen-zone.

 

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Contents

The Hungarians : A Thousand Years of Victory in Defeat
by
Paul Lendvai

Reviews:
Stephen Goode, Washington Times
Mr. Lendvai has done a remarkable job. His book is easily the best history of Hungary in English.

Istvan Deak , Times Literary Supplement
The writing of national histories is . . . justified by the erudition and intellectual brilliance of the [author].