JVF Conference Papers
In this paper I analyze gambling practices and their suppression by the police in the Habsburg monarchy during the Napoleonic wars (1792-1815).
I focus on the so-called Glückshafen, a variation of Lotto, a popular gambling institution that was forbidden by the Austrian authorities in 1807. I use this institution as a prism through which to explore imperial connections in the Habsburg monarchy. This paper highlights the multi-vectored relations between Vienna and its provinces.
I explain how decisions regarding one province impacted social norms and politics in the entire monarchy, how Vienna’s decisions concerning Italy were contingent upon the situation in (formerly Polish) Galicia, and vice-versa.
