The dual monarchy system was established by the Ausgleich in 1867. It is important because it helped sustain the Austrian empire. There were two interests at play here: Austria and Hungary. Austria has suffered a huge blow to its empire in 1866 and was on the verge of collapse. To avoid this, Austria were forced to reconcile with Hungary, which at the time was under their rule. However, Hungary was filled of resentment towards Austria and its Germans especially in 1848. Practically, every aspect of Hungarian life was dispelled and forcibly changed for the benefits of the empire. As Beust puts it, “Germany for the Germans…” (Beust 26). This shows that the residents of Austria were only concern with the wellbeing of themselves, not anyone else’s.
