From 1867 to 1918, the Czech lands—comprising Bohemia, Moravia, and parts of Silesia—were part of the Cisleithanian (Austrian) half of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, following the Austro-Hungarian Compromise. Although nominally united under Emperor Franz Joseph I, Austria and Hungary operated almost independently with separate parliaments and administrations. For Czechs, this period brought hopes for autonomy within the empire, but ultimately, their aspirations met considerable resistance.
Initially, Czech leaders sought a degree of autonomy similar to Hungary’s. In 1871, the Fundamental Articles promised to restore historic rights to Bohemia, envisioning a federalized monarchy, but backlash from German and Hungarian factions prevented this plan from materializing. Despite setbacks, Czech representation grew after 1907, when universal male suffrage allowed greater Czech political participation, especially through the Old Czech Party's cooperation with Count Eduard Taaffe’s government. This partnership led to key gains, such as the recognition of Czech as an official language in Bohemia’s public administration in 1880 and the division of Charles-Ferdinand University in Prague into separate Czech and German institutions in 1882.
As Czech political movements evolved, the Old Czechs’ approach lost popularity, giving rise to the more assertive Young Czechs. Czech society split along generational and ideological lines, with younger leaders pushing for greater independence and clashing with German nationalists, who resisted the increasing visibility of Czech language and culture. In Moravia, however, a compromise reached in 1905 safeguarded Czech cultural rights, contrasting with Bohemia’s sharper ethnic divisions.
By the turn of the century, nationalistic tensions grew, and political activism intensified with figures like Tomáš Masaryk advocating democracy and popular sovereignty. With the onset of World War I, Czech disillusionment with Habsburg rule deepened. The 1917 Manifesto of Czech writers called for Czech autonomy, amplifying demands for independence that would culminate in the formation of Czechoslovakia after the empire’s collapse in 1918.