Absolutism and revolution

Absolutism and RevolutionUNIT 2

ABSOLUTE MONARCHS IN

EUROPECHAPTER 5

European Absolutism

Absolutism in Europe

● During the 1400’- 1700’s European rulers claimed they had the authority to rule without limits

● Rulers called absolute monarchs, their goal was to control every aspect of society

● Believed in divine right, God created monarchy and they were God’s representative on Earth

● Rulers did not have to answer to their subjects

European Absolutism

● 1500s and 1600s time of change in EuropeI. Monarchs gained power because of the growth of cities

and the growth of the economy Feudalism declined

need for strong central authority

Middle class backed monarch because a strong government was good for business

Monarchs allowed businessmen to use the wealth of the colonies to grow the countries economy

II. Religious and territorial conflicts led to continuous warfare

III. Governments had to build huge armies and increase taxes to pay for wars

IV. Monarchs had to increase power➢They regulated religion, social gatherings

➢Created new governments to control the countries economic life

SPAIN'S EMPIRE AND

EUROPEAN

ABSOLUTISM

Section 1

Spain’s Empire and European Absolutism

● 1500’s Spain first modern European power

● Unified country, religion

● Huge New World Empire

● Silver and gold from new world fueled Spanish economy

● 1519 Charles V (Charles I) ruled Spain and Hapsburg Empire (HRE, Netherlands)

● 1556 Charles gives empire to son- Phillip II (Spain, New World colonies, Netherlands) and brother Ferdinand (Hapsburg Empire)

● Phillip was very religious and very aggressive

● Took control of Portugal and all of their territory in the East Indies, Africa and India

● Spanish king now controlled an empire across the globe


Empire provided Phillip with great wealth

● Gold and silver from the Americas poured into Spain

● It allowed Phillip to keep a huge army

● Phillip was also deeply religious

● Reformation was going on in Europe and Phillip was a devout Catholic

● He believed it was his duty to defend the Catholic faith from Protestants and Muslims

● Fought against Ottomans and Protestant armies across Europe, used wealth to pay for army and navy

● Used Inquisition to enforce religious unity


Golden Age of Spanish Art and Literature

● Wealth allowed Spanish to support the arts

● Two great painters El Greco and Velazquez

● El Greco- paintings reflected Catholic faith of Spain, his paintings were very emotional

● Velazquez- painting reflected the pride of the Spanish monarchy, he was the official painter of the royal family

● Don Quixote called the first modern European novel

● Written by Miguel de Cervantes

● About a Spanish nobleman who went crazy after reading too many books

● About a person stuck in the past and frustrated with the changing world


● The Spanish Empire Weakens

● Netherlands controlled by Spain and Phillip taxed them and took steps to crush Protestantism

● Netherlands was Protestant and had a prosperous middle class involved in international trade

● Dutch fought them for 11 years and in 1579 they declared independence from Spain


● Defeat of the Spanish Armada

● 1580’s main rival to Spain was England

● England Protestant country

● England supported Dutch against Spain, attacked Spanish treasure ships

● Philip II builds huge navy to defeat English (Armada)

● 1588 Armada defeated by English


● 1600’s Spanish power declines

I. Wars drained wealth

➢ Philipp borrowed money to fight wars from Italian and German bankers, caused country to have a huge debt

II. Treasure from Americas led to neglect of farming, commerce, caused inflation (too much gold and silver a problem, money not worth as much)

III. Expulsion of Muslims and Jews deprived economy of skilled artisans, merchants, scholars

IV. Philips successors not as able

V. Spain’s rulers also taxed the lower classes, nobles did not have to pay taxes


Independent Dutch Prosper

● United Provinces of the Netherlands were different than other European states

● Had an elected governor that depended on support of merchants and landholders for power

● During 1600’s Dutch had best banks and artists

● Rembrandt greatest artist of period

● Jan Vermeer painted pictures of Dutch domestic life


Dutch Trading Empire● Stability of government allowed Dutch to

focus on economic growth● Dutch had largest fleet of ships in the world

and used the Dutch East India Company to control the spice trade in the East Indies and Asia

● Replaced the Italians as bankers of Europe

THE REIGN OF LOUIS

XIV

Section 2

The Reign of Louis XIVReligious Wars and Power Struggles● 1562-1598 Huguenots and Catholics

fought 8 religious wars, during this time chaos spread through France

● Huguenots were French Protestants

● 1572 St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre sparked 6 week war between Catholics and Protestants

● 1589 Henry IV (a Protestant king) takes throne and gives up Protestantism and becomes Catholic to bring peace

● 1598 Henry issues the Edict of Nantes that allowed Huguenots to live in peace across France and set up their own churches

● After a generation of war people welcomed peace and Henry began to restore French monarchy and prosperity

The Reign of Louis XIV● After the death of Henry his son, Louis XIII

took over

● 1624 he appointed Cardinal Richelieu as his minister

● Richelieu was the real power in France

● Took steps to increase the power of the Bourbon monarchy in France

A. Took power from Huguenots, dictated their living conditions

B. Took power from nobles, made them more dependent on the king for protection

C. Put middle class in more powerful government positions

D. Richelieu also became involved in wars with the most powerful European dynasty the Hapsburgs (the Thirty Years War)

The Reign of Louis XIV

Writers turn toward Skepticism

● New French intellectual movement grew at this time, they had witnessed the religious wars

● Many turned to the idea of skepticism(nothing can be known for certain), and the began to doubt the teaching of the church

● Montaigne- developed new for of literature, the essay, to express a writers thoughts and feelings

● Believed that humans could never have an absolute knowledge of what is true

● Descartes used observations to determine that we could never know what was true

● Influenced modern thinkers by developing the scientific method

The Reign of Louis XIVLouis XIV Comes to Power

● Louis became king at age 4 in 1642 and ruled for 72 years

● Believed that he and France were one (“I am the state”)

● When Louis was young the real power behind the throne was Cardinal Mazarin

● The nobles hated him because he raised their taxes and made the central government stronger

● 1648- 1653 many riots broke out across France protesting Mazarin’s policies

● Louis felt threatened and he never forgot about this, he decided to make the monarchy so strong that this would not happen again

● Rebellions failed because peasants and townspeople grew tired of the fighting

● Because they were tired of wars they accepted Louis oppressive laws


● When Mazarin died Louis took control of the government himself◦ Weakened power of the nobles by removing

them from his government

◦ Increased the power of government agents who collected taxes and administered justice (intendants), they were not part of the nobility

◦ Louis made sure local officials kept in touch with him regularly


Economic Growth

● Louis used finance minister Jean Baptiste Colbert to help France attain economic and political power

● Colbert wanted France to become self sufficient and used mercantilist policies to meet his goals❖Expanded manufacturing

❖Placed a high tariff on goods from other countries

❖Recognized importance of colonies to help economy

● After Colbert’s death in 1685 economic progress slowed

● Louis also canceled Edict of Nantes

● Many Huguenot businessmen and artisans left France and it took many skilled workers out of the economy


● Louis surrounded himself with luxury at his palace Versailles

● Palace became a symbol of wealth, seat of government, home for nobles◦ Made nobles dependent on Louis

◦ Kept intendants in power in other parts of the country

◦ By keeping nobles at Versailles it kept them from fighting each other, they fought for favor of Louis

● Louis was a patron of the arts and he made ballet and opera more popular

● The purpose of art was to glorify the king and promote his absolute rule


● Under Louis France was the most powerful country in the world

● France had the largest, best trained and equipped army in Europe

● 1667 Louis invades Spanish Netherlands to expand French boundaries

● Dutch defeat French

● 1680’s European alliance established to stop French and achieve a balance of power across Europe (no single country could dominate others)

● Alliance called the League of Augsburg (England, Spain, Hapsburg Austria, other smaller countries) they equaled French strength

● Poor harvests and constant warfare and higher taxes weakened France at this time

The Reign of Louis XIVWar of Spanish Succession

● War fought between Spain and France, the two greatest European powers

● Other European countries joined in

● War lasted for 14 years, ended by the Treaty of Utrecht

● Big winner was Great Britain

● British took over Gibraltar that controlled the entrance to the Mediterranean

● Also gave the British French controlled territories in the Americas


Louis Death and Legacy● Louis death was good news across

France, they were tired of the Sun King● Legacy

1. Made France a European power

2. Seen as a military power

3. Led other nations in the promotion of art, literature

4. Constant warfare left France in debt

5. Tax burden and the abuse of power by Louis would eventually lead to rebellion against the monarchy by the end of the 1700’s

THE THIRTY YEARS

WAR

Section 3

The Thirty Years’ War

● 17th century Holy Roman Empire (HRE) patchwork of small states

● Religion was the original cause

● 1618- Began in Bohemia, Catholic Hapsburg king tried to suppress Protestant revolt

● Local conflict became general war

● HRE supported by Catholic states

● Protestant powers sent troops

● Fought all across Germany, led to 1/3 of pop. dying

● Ruined German trade and agriculture

The Thirty Years’ War

● Ended in 1648 with the Peace of Westphalia

1. Weakened Hapsburg Spain and Austria

2. Made France the most powerful country in Europe

3. Ended religious wars in Europe

4. Introduced new method of settling disputes, where participants decide terms of peace

5. Treaty recognized European countries as equals and was the beginning of the modern state system

ABSOLUTE RULERS OF

RUSSIA

Section 4

Absolute Rulers of Russia

● 1463-1505 Ivan III first strong ruler of Russia1. Conquered territory

around Moscow

2. Centralized the government

3. Liberated Russia from Mongol rule

● 1554 Ivan’s grandson Ivan IV became Russia’s first czar

Absolute Rulers of Russia● Ivan became czar when he was 3

years old● Early life he competed for power with

the boyars (Russia’s landowning nobles)

● When he was 16 he seized power for good

● 1560 his wife dies and Ivan accused the boyars of poisoning her

● Became known as Ivan the Terrible● He organized a secret police force to

hunt down and murder people that did not agree with him

● He took the boyars estates and gave them to people that were loyal to him


● 1581 Ivan kills his son and heir in an argument

● Ivan died three years later that left his younger less competent son as ruler of Russia

● After his son died there was a period of turmoil in Russia

● Boyars struggled for power

● 1613 representatives from many Russian cities chose the next czar, Michael Romanov (who was related to Ivan’s wife)

● Began the Romanov dynasty that ruled Russia for the next three hundred years

Absolute rulers of Russia

Russia Contrasts with the Rest of Europe● Russia was a land of boyars and serfs

◦ Landowners needed serfs to work on the lad to produce harvests

◦ Serfs were seen as property, they were sold when the land was sold

◦ Serfs were also given as presents and to pay debts

● Most boyars looked to Constantinople not to Rome for religious guidance◦ Most Russians were Eastern Orthodox not

Catholic or Protestants

● Mongol rule had cut off Russia from the Age of Exploration and the Renaissance

● Geographic barriers isolated Russia, its only seaport was frozen in ice most of the year


Peter the Great comes to Power

● Romanov’s restored order to Russia

● Passed new law codes and put down revolts

● 1696 Peter I becomes ruler of Russia (known as Peter the Great), he continued the trend of increasing the czars power

● Peter believed the future of Russia depended on the country having a warm water port to compete with the rest of Europe

● 1697 Peter leaves to tour Western Europe to learn European customs and manufacturing techniques (he traveled in disguise to keep his identity secret)


● Peter came back from his trip to “westernize” Russia (adoption of Western European ideas, technology, culture)

● Russia would compete military and commercially with other European countries

● To bring changes to Russia Peter became an absolute ruler◦ He reduced the power of the boyars

◦ Gave power to lower ranking families, and gave them grants of land

◦ Modernized army, hired officers, used weapons and tactics from other European countries

Absolute Rulers of Russia● Other attempts to “westernize” Russia

included:

1. Introduction of potatoes, became a staple of the Russian diet

2. Raised the status of women

3. Ordered nobles to give up traditional styles of clothing and dress for European fashions

4. Opened universities to promote arts, sciences and navigation

• Peter thought that education was the key to advance Russia

5. Promoted mercantilist policies

6. Improved waterways, roads, developed industry

Had no mercy for those that resisted his orders


● Peter wanted a seaport to open trade with the west

● Fought a 21 year war with Sweden to gain port on Baltic Sea

● Before war was over Peter began to construct the city of St. Petersburg

● Built on a desolate swamp used the labor and lives of 50,000 serfs

● Ordered nobles to move to capital from Moscow

● 1725 Peter dies and leaves Russia as European power

PARLIAMENT LIMITS

THE ENGLISH

MONARCHY

Section5

Parliament Limits the English

Monarchy● Parliament in England had the

power to control money and kept English rulers from becoming absolute monarchs

● The struggle between Parliament and the monarchy had serious consequences for England in the 1600’s

● Tradition of limits on monarchs power◦ Magna Charta, Parliament

● Elizabeth dies without heir, James I of Scotland becomes king

● James I (Catholic) disagreed with Parliament about finances, fought against Puritans

● Dissolved Parliament, collected taxes on his own


Monarchy● 1625 Charles I becomes king of England

● Charles always needed money because of constant war with France and Spain

● When Parliament refused to give him money he dissolved it

● 1628 Charles needed Parliament to grant him money

● Parliament forced him to sign Petition of Right◦ did not allow king to raise taxes without vote,

◦ could not jail people without legal justification

● Petition put the law above the king

● Ignored petition, ruled England without Parliament for 11 years

● Charles imposed fess and fines on English people and his popularity decreased year after year


Monarchy● 1640 Charles needs money to fight a rebellion

against the Presbyterian Scots

● He could only get money by calling Parliament into session gave Parliament a chance to oppose Charles

● 1642 Charles had Puritan leaders arrested and the English people began to rebel against the king

● Charles fled to the north of England to raise an army


MonarchyEnglish Civil Waro 1642-1649 supporters and

opponents of the English monarchy fought against each other for seven years

o Cavilers- supporters of kingo Roundheads- supporters of

Parliamento Roundheads led by Oliver

Cromwell defeated Charles’ army

o Charles put on trial and executed

o First time a monarch was publicly executed


Monarchy● Cromwell became ruler of England ● He established a commonwealth

and republican form of government● Cromwell soon became a military

dictator● 1649 Cromwell took over Ireland

and gave the land to English soldiers

● Cromwell was a Puritan and wanted to reform society to promote Puritan morality

● Abolished activities such as theatre, dancing, sporting events

● After Cromwell's death in 1658 England returned to rule by a king


MonarchyThe Restoration

● English wanted king because they were sick of military rule

● 1659 Charles II becomes king of England

● Popular king, reopened theatres and taverns

● During his reign Parliament passed a guarantee of freedom known as habeas corpus

● Gave prisoners the right to know why they were arrested, could not be held indefinitely without a trial or for simply opposing the king


Monarchy● After the death of Charles II his

Catholic brother James II became king

● Offended English because he displayed his Catholicism and he appointed many Catholics to government positions

● 1688 English asked his Protestant sister, Mary and her husband William, to overthrow the James II

● William led an army into England and James left for France

● The was no war or bloodshed, this event was known as the Glorious Revolution


Monarchy● William and Mary recognized Parliament as their partner in

government

● England became a constitutional monarchy (where laws limit the ruler’s power)

● 1689 The English Bill of Rights set limits on the monarchs power in England◦ Monarch could not suspend laws

◦ Could not tax without approval of Parliament

◦ Could not interfere with freedom of speech

◦ They could petition the king with their grievances without fear of punishment

● After 1688 monarchs could not rule without a group of advisers known as their cabinet

● Cabinet acted in the rulers name but they were represented by the majority party in Parliament

● Over time the cabinet became the center of power and policymaking

● The head of the cabinet is the prime minister

Absolutism and revolution

Education

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