Why were many Hungarian Catholic nobles concerned about Habsburg absolutism?

During the reign of Leopold I, many Hungarian Catholic nobles became alarmed by the rise of Habsburg absolutism. While these magnates were often attached to the Habsburg cause for religious reasons, they were unwilling to accept the political centralization championed by the emperor’s German and Czech advisers.123

This concern was rooted in a broader dissatisfaction with Habsburg governance, which included the perception that Hungarians were being ruled and exploited as a subject people by foreigners. Tensions escalated significantly following the Peace of Vasv\u00e1r (1664), as many Hungarians resented the imperial policy of leaving the Turks unmolested while the Habsburgs pursued their own objectives in the west.234

The resulting political friction led some nobles to join conspiracies against the crown, prompting the Austrian government to respond with executions and the suspension of the Hungarian constitution in 1673. These actions further alienated the nobility, who viewed such measures as an oppressive threat to their traditional rights and autonomy.14