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In this article Joachim Bahlcke has re-examined the significance of the agreement of the Estates of the crown of St Wenceslas, representing Bohemia, Moravia, Silesia and Upper- and Lower Lusatia to a federal constitution, the Confoederatio Bohemica in 1619. He argues that this was not just an improvised response to the contingencies of the Bohemian revolt against their Habsburg king, Ferdinand of Styria, but the outcome of a lengthy process of discussion and negotiation between the Estates. He argues that they achieved a remarkable success in overcoming deeply rooted internal divisions, and produced a mature set of constitutional proposals involving significant modernizations of the traditional structures to achieve a strong federal system based on equality of rights between the participating Lands. These reflected ideas drawn from leading political thinkers of the age. He believes the Confoederatio Bohemica represented an alternative model of a more effective central government, based on consent from below, to the monarchical-absolutist command model then coming into favour in Europe.
