Public Administration in the Habsburg Monarchy and the Kingdom of Hungary in the 16-17th century

Abstract

The fundamental aim of the present paper is to provide an overview of the public administration of early modern Habsburg Monarchy and the Kingdom of Hungary, distinguished from the other countries and provinces of the Monarchy by its own historical constitution and characteristically different system of government, in the 16-17th century. The article describes the governing authorities playing a central role in the administration of the Monarchy as a diverse and complex (“composite monarchy”) political entity (the sovereign, the imperial and royal councils, the Court Chancellery, the Court Chamber and the Court Council of War) as well as the major government offices of the Hungarian state split into three parts: 1. the royal authorities and the government offices of the Hungarian estates: the Hungarian Council, the governor, the palatine, the parliament, 2. the Hungarian Royal Court Chancellery, 3. the chamber system managing the finances of the Kingdom of Hungary, furthermore the overriding scene of middletier administration and the paramount factor of noble autonomy: the county. The paper also discusses the government and public administration of the Kingdom of Croatia, united with Hungary since 1102 in the form of a personal union, and the distinctive development of Transylvania’s organization of state as well as it depicts, by referring to the example of the royal free cities, contemporary town administration and provides a brief survey of the aftermath of the Ottoman conquest.