6 - Carl Alexander, 1733–1737

Summary

THE STATE OF AFFAIRS IN 1733

When the new duke, Carl Alexander, arrived in Stuttgart on 16 December 1733, the difficulties facing him were considerable. Externally, Württemberg was threatened by war, as a new Franco-Austrian conflict had broken out that October over the Polish succession. On 29 December the French seized the bridgehead at Kehl and were now poised to break through the hastily prepared defensive lines at Ettlingen. Other detachments were already moving into Mömpelgard. The dying Eberhard Ludwig had feared that they would soon ‘sweep like a torrent over Swabia’. Meanwhile, Eberhard Ludwig's weakness in the last years of his life had permitted the estates to recover from their earlier setbacks. They consolidated their position by compelling the new duke to sign the Reversalien, limiting his ability to alter the internal structure of the duchy.

To overcome these problems, Carl Alexander turned them to his advantage. By exploiting the emergency resulting from the war, he was able to introduce a wide range of measures that went a long way towards establishing the kind of absolutist rule attempted by his predecessor and his father. These innovations have led to the recent interpretation of his short reign as a break with the past and a departure point for ‘new directions of growth’, before ‘a return to course’ under his son and successor Carl Eugen.