An Open Elite in Hungary?: High Office Holders in the 18th Century

A quantitative analysis of the highest office holders of the Kingdom of Hungary from 1700 to 1800 suggests that although the 18th-century emergence of a “new aristocracy,” a Hungarian noblesse de robe is a well-documented process, widely discussed in the historical discourse, it would be a mistake to think that the new office holder aristocracy, emerging in Maria Theresa’s reign immediately took over the highest elite positions wielding substantive power. In this sense, there was no “changing of the guard” throughout most of the 18th century. The top elite were mainly recruited from the old aristocratic families until the 1770s. Besides the fact that these families held most of the positions, there was at most a natural process of elite renewal going on; but the elite was no way exchanged until the latest years of the reign of Maria Theresa. Only then and during the reign of Joseph II could the new aristocracy and lesser nobles in significant numbers take over top elite positions.