An Austrian Atlantic: The Habsburg Monarchy and the Atlantic world in the eighteenth century

Abstract

ABSTRACT The Atlantic became a place of continual interaction for the Austrian branch of the House of Habsburg, a dynasty whose lands have so far received little or no attention in Atlantic historiography. This article demonstrates how the eighteenth century witnessed repeated attempts by Habsburg rulers to broker connections between the central European region and the Atlantic basin. In doing so, the article charts the emergence and meaning of the Atlantic world for one of Europe’s most important powers, revealing the centrality of the Atlantic to wider Austrian Habsburg global entanglement. Acknowledging the Austrian Atlantic enhances Atlantic history through the study of maritime connections with areas typically perceived as landlocked spaces.