The long reign (1498-1550) of Duke Ulrich I., who succeeded to the duchy while still a child, was a most event ful period for the country. His extortions excited a rising known as that of the arme Konrad (poor Conrad) and in 1514 by the treaty of Tiibingen the people undertook to pay the duke's debts in return for various political privileges, which in effect laid the foundation of the constitutional liberties of the country. A few years later Ulrich quarrelled with the Swabian league, and its forces expelled him and sold his duchy to the Emperor Charles V. Charles handed over Wurttemberg to his brother, the German king, Ferdinand I., but discontent caused by the oppressive Aus trian rule, disturbances in Germany leading to the Peasants' War and commotions aroused by the Reformation gave Ulrich an opportunity to recover it. Aided by Philip, landgrave of Hesse, and other Protestant princes, he fought a victorious battle against Ferdinand's troops at Lauffen in May 1534, and then by the treaty of Cadan he was again recognized as duke, but was forced to accept his duchy as an Austrian fief. He now introduced the reformed doctrines and proceeded to endow Protestant churches and schools throughout his land. Ulrich's connection with the league of Schmalkalden led to another expulsion, but in 1547 he was rein stated by Charles V., although on somewhat onerous terms.
Ulrich's son and successor, Christopher (1515-68), completed the work of converting his subjects to the reformed faith. He introduced the system of church government known as the Grosse Kirchenordnung. Frederick I. (1557-1608) by paying a large sum of money, induced the emperor Rudolph II. in 1599 to free the duchy from the suzerainty of Austria. Thus once again Wurt temberg became a direct fief of the empire. Under the reign of the next duke, John Frederick (1582-1628), Wurttemberg suf fered severely from the Thirty Years' War. His son and suc cessor Eberhard III.
plunged into the war as an ally of France and Sweden in 1633, but after the battle of Nordlingen in 1634 the duchy was occupied by the imperialists and he himself was for some years an exile. He was restored by the peace of Westphalia to a depopulated and impoverished country. During the reign of Eberhard IV. (1676-1733), Wurttemberg suffered from French invasions.
Alexander, who became duke in 1733, embraced the Roman Catholic faith. His favourite adviser was the Jew Siiss Oppen heimer, and it was thought that master and servant were aiming at the suppression of the diet and the introduction of the Roman Catholic religion. The sudden death of Charles Alexander in March 1737 put an abrupt end to these plans, and the regent, Charles Rudolph, had Oppenheimer hanged.
Frederick Eugene (d. 1797) educated his children in the Prot estant faith. Thus when his son Frederick II. became duke in 1797, the ruler of Wurttemberg was again a Protestant and the royal house adhered to this faith since that date. During Fred erick Eugene's short reign the French invaded Wurttemberg, com pelled the duke to withdraw his troops from the imperial army and to pay a sum of money.
Frederick II. (1754-1816) took part in the war against France against the wishes of his people, and when the French again invaded and devastated the country he retired to Erlangen, where he remained until after the conclusion of the peace of Luneville in 1801. By a private treaty with France (March 1802) he ceded his possessions on the left bank of the Rhine, receiving in return nine imperial towns, among them Reut lingen and Heilbronn, and some other territories, amounting alto gether to about 85o sq.m. and containing about 124,000 inhabi tants. He also accepted from Napoleon the title of elector. In
1805 Wurttemberg took up arms on the side of France, and by the peace of Pressburg in Dec. i8o5 the elector was rewarded with various Austrian possessions in Swabia and with other lands in the neighbourhood. On Jan. 1, 1806, Frederick assumed the title of king and abrogated the constitution.
In 1806 he joined the Confederation of the Rhine and received further additions of territory containing 160,00o inhabitants; a little later, by the peace of Vienna in Oct. 1809, about i io,000 more persons were placed under his rule. In return for these favours Frederick joined Napoleon in his campaigns against Prussia, Austria and Russia. After the battle of Leipzig he de serted the French emperor, and by a treaty made with Metternich at Fulda in Nov. 1813 secured the confirmation of his royal title and of his recent acquisitions of territory, while his troops marched with those of the allies into France. In 1815 the king joined the Germanic Confederation. He died on Oct. 3o, 1816.
The new king, William I., granted a new constitution in Sept. 1819. A democratic constitution, proclaimed during the revolu tion of 1848, was abrogated as soon as the movement had spent its force and the constitution of 1819 was restored.
(1823-1891) succeeded his father William as king in July 1864. In 1866 Wurttemberg took up arms on behalf of Austria, but three weeks after the battle of Koniggratz her troops were decisively beaten at Tauberbischofsheim, and the country was at the mercy of Prussia. The Prussians occupied the northern part of WUrttemberg and peace was made in August 1866; Wurt temberg paid an indemnity of 8,000,000 gulden and concluded a secret offensive and defensive treaty with her conqueror.
On the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War in 1870 its troops took a creditable part in the battle of Worth and in other opera tions of the war. In 1871 Wurttemberg became a member of the new German empire, but retained control of her own post office, telegraphs and railways. She had also certain special privileges with regard to taxation and the army. On Oct. 6, 1891, King Charles died suddenly, and was succeeded by his cousin William II. (b. 1848), who continued the policy of his prede cessor. The reform of the constitution continued to be discussed, and the election of 1895 was memorable because of the return of a powerful party of democrats.
Between 190o and 1910 the political history of Wurttemberg centred round the settlement of the constitutional question. The constitution was revised in 1906. No further changes were made until Oct. 1918, when the Weizsacker ministry, which held office during the War, resigned, and revolution broke out on Nov. 9. For two days the direction of affairs was exclusively in Socialist hands, but on Nov. i i a coalition was formed, from which the Spartacists were excluded, and representatives of the bourgeois parties admitted. The king abdicated on Nov. 3o. The Spartacist rising of Jan. 1919, had its echo in Wurttemberg chiefly in the form of industrial disturbances, after which the Independent Social Democrats left the ministry. A new republican constitu tion was adopted on Sept. 25, 1919. A peculiarity of the Wurt temberg constitution is that councils (Beireite), formed from the different classes according to occupations (Berufsstande), are attached to the Ministries. Since then WUrttemberg history has followed the general course of German history : the political influ ence of the Social Democrats has slowly declined and in 1924, for the first time, a purely Bourgeois coalition took power.