Czech-French political contacts in the early 1870s

Abstract

The subject of this research is the political relations that developed between the Czech national politicians of Bohemia and the French diplomatic mission in Austria-Hungary in the early 1870s. Analysis is conducted on the initial stage of Czech political Francophilism. The article employs the historical-genetic method that allows tracing the establishment and development of the indicated ties. Comparative-historical method is used for describing the specificity and important aspects of the Czech-French contacts of the early 1870s in relation to 1860s, as well as on the background of parallel Czech-Russian relations. The novelty is defined by the fact that this topic, namely the Czech political Francophilism, has not been previously covered within the Russian historiography. The main conclusion lies in the thesis that in the early 1870s Czech politicians and French diplomats manifested equal and mutual interest for the first time. Both parties pursued to exert pressure on Vienna: the French – to entice over the Third Republic in the conflict with Prussia, and the Czechs – to force change the status of the Czech lands in the monarchy. The analysis demonstrates that the Czech politicians were exceedingly pragmatic: if in the end of 1870 they openly supported France, then in the beginning of 1871 they have ignored the initiatives of French diplomats. This is substantiated by the potentially successful negotiations with the imperial center. Moreover, the political Francophilism suggested the desire of the Czechs to show the strategic (economic, political, and cultural) significance of the lands of the Czech Crown not only in Austria-Hungary, but also in the European space.