Transcript Document
Absolute Monarchs in
Europe
Chapter Five
What is absolutism?
Period of time when Europe’s
monarchs got stronger
• Monarchs ruled with absolute power
Divine Right Theory
• Idea that God had chosen the monarch to rule
Everyone believes the theory during this
period
If you question the king, you question God
Europe During the
Age of Absolutism
Strengths of Absolute Monarchies
Efficiency
• Decisions are made by one person
Nationalism
• Promoted a common culture and
identity
Stability
• The ruler stays in power until death
Wealth
• No resistance means a large and
powerful empire
Weaknesses of Absolute
Monarchies
Undemocratic
• No collaboration of ideas
Individual rights
• Often violated
Stability
• If the ruler was poor, it could affect the
country for decades
How to achieve more power?
Monarchs gained power generally in
one of two ways:
• Raising taxes
Increased their overall wealth and treasuries
• Waging war
Victory often led to riches
Absolute Monarchy-Spain
Phillip II (reign: 15541598)
• Fought to protect and
expand Catholicism
• Took control of Portugal
when its king died
without an heir
• Created an army of
about 50K soldiers
Spain’s Golden Age
1600-1700s
• El Greco
Expressed the deep Catholic faith in Spain
• Diego Velazquez
Reflected pride in the Spanish monarchy
• Miguel de Cervantes
Wrote Don Quixote
El Greco
Velazquez
Don Quixote
The Fall of the Spanish Empire
Inflation and Taxes
• Spain suffered from a severe economic
decline
• Wars cost Spain too much money
Had to declared bankruptcy
Absolute Monarchy in France
Religious Wars and Power Struggles
• Henry of Navarre-converted to
Catholicism
Survived the 1572 St. Bartholomew’s Day
Massacre (of Huguenots)
• Edict of Nantes (1598)
Henry’s declaration of religious toleration
Allowed Catholics and Huguenots to live in
peace
• Louis XIII and Richelieu
After Henry died, his son took over
Louis XIII
Henry of Navarre
Louis XIII and Cardinal Richelieu
Louis XIII was a weak King
• Had an extremely powerful minister for
support-Cardinal Richelieu
Richelieu took two major steps
towards power
• Moved against the Huguenots and all
Protestants
• Weakened the Nobles power and relied
on the middle class instead
Louis XIII and Cardinal Richelieu
Louis XIV Comes to Power
Louis XIV, the Boy King (1643)
• Was not the true leader until 1661
• Cardinal Marazin ran the country
Louis Weakens the Noble’s Authority
• Excluded the Nobles from his council
Economic Growth
• Minister of Finance-Jean Baptiste
Colbert
Gave tax benefits to companies
Believer in mercantilism and self-sufficiency
The Sun King’s Grand Style
King Louis spent much money on his
personal life (servants, food, etc.)
• Especially the Palace at Versailles
Louis Controls the Nobility
• Forced Nobles to be at the palace
Making them dependant on the King
Forced them from their homes
Patronage of the Arts
• Palace was the center of European arts
Louis XIV
“The Sun King”
The Palace at Versailles
The Palace at Versailles
Bedroom of Louis XIV
Louis Fights Disastrous Wars
Attempts to Expand Boundaries
• France had four times the population
than England by 1660
• Gained territory in the Netherlands
through warfare
• A European alliance helped to stop
French aggression and expansion
• Wars cost France a tremendous amount
of money
War of the Spanish Succession
(1701-1714)
Fought over the possible unification
of Spain and France under one
monarch
France and Spain vs. England, the
Holy Roman Empire, and the
Netherlands
Ended with the Treaty of Utrecht
• Thrones of Spain and France remained
separate
• England gained a colony and greater
access to the Atlantic Slave Trade
War of Spanish Succession
Death of Louis XIV and Legacy
Louis died in 1715
• Positive Legacy
France much more powerful
At the top of art, literature
Military leader of Europe
• Negative Legacy
Constant warfare and construction
Deep debt
Unfair tax system
Central Monarchs Clash
The Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648)
• Fought between Protestants (Hapsburgs) and
Catholics in the Holy Roman Empire
• Naval warfare expanded its destruction
• Helped to shape colonial formation of future
nations
• First 12 years, Protestants are successful
• Next 18 years, Catholics eventually gain the
advantage
Hapsburg Crest –
Dual Headed Eagle
Spain
Austria
The Thirty Years’ War
The Peace of Westphalia
Ends the Thirty Years’ War
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Hapsburgs of Spain and Austria weakened
France was strengthened
Religious wars in Europe ended
German princes were independent of HRE
Peace negotiation to end war started
Beginning of Modern States
• Ended the idea of a Catholic empire
States Form in Central Europe
Economic Contrasts with the West
• Serfdom still strong in eastern Europe
Weak Empires
• Ottoman Empire
• Holy Roman Empire
The rise of Austria and Prussia
• Due to the end of the Holy Roman
Empire
States Form in Eastern Europe
(cont)
Austria Grows Stronger
• Gains Hungary and
Bohemia
• Wiped out Protestantism
Maria Theresa Inherits
the Throne
• Fought constantly with
Prussia
• Limited the labor that
nobles could force
peasants to do
Prussia Challenges Austria
The Rise of Prussia
• Became a rigidly controlled, highly
militarized society
• Controlled by the King and the Junker
class – landowning nobles
Frederick the Great
• Very practical leader – ruler as father
• Atheist- established religious toleration
• Very aggressive in foreign affairs
Frederick the Great
Prussia Challenges Austria (cont)
War of Austrian Succession
• War between Prussia and Austria (1740)
• Fought for control of Silesia (iron,
textiles)
• France helped Prussia, England and
Austria
• Prussia wins in 1748, becoming a major
European power
The Seven Years’ War
Austria, France, Russia vs. Prussia
and Britain
1756 – Frederick attacked and
Austrian ally, beginning the war
War did not change European
territory
• France lost all colonies in North America
and India to Britain
Russian History
Russia Contrasts with Europe
• Economically
Still heavily reliant on serfdom
• Socially
Mongols kept Russia isolated from
Renaissance and Age of Exploration
• Geographically
Ports froze during winter
Size of Russia was a problem
• Religious differences
Europe: Catholic or Protestant
Russia: Orthodox
The Absolute Rulers of Russia
The First Czar
• Ivan IV (“The Terrible”)
became czar (caesar) in 1533
Took control over the nobles
• Rule by Terror
Police force organized to track down and
murder “traitors” to Ivan
Killed many nobles (boyars) and gave the
land to new, more loyal nobles
Ivan IV
The Absolute Rulers of Russia
(cont)
Rise of the Romanovs
• After Ivan IV’s death (1584), there was
a power vacuum
• “Time of Troubles” – nobles struggling
for power
• 1613 Michael Romanov was chosen as
the next czar
Romanov Dynasty 1613-1917
Peter the Great Comes to Power
1689-1725
Peter visits the West
• Wanted to learn about European
customs and manufacturing techniques
Peter the Great
Peter Rules Absolutely
Peter’s Reforms
• Russian Orthodox Church under state control
• Reduced the power of landowners
• Hired European military officers
Westernizing Russia
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Introduced potatoes
Women’s status increased
Nobles had to give up traditional dress
Advanced education
Peter Rules Absolutely
Establishing St. Petersburg
• Wanted to establish a seaport
Make it easier to get to Europe
Warm water port – would not freeze in
winter
• Built on a swamp
• 25-100K people died to build the city
• Became a very important port city
St. Petersburg
The Cathedral of the Spilled Blood
Parliament Limits the English Monarchy
Monarchs Defy Parliament
• King James’s Problems
Offended Puritan members of Parliament
Fought over money
• King Charles I Fights Parliament
Wanted money, Parliament refused each
time – he dissolved Parliament
Parliament forced him to sign the Petition of
Right – took power from King
• He did, but then just ignored it
King James and Charles I
English Civil War
War Topples a King
• Parliament tried to limit the powers of
King Charles I – starts a war instead
• English Civil War (1642-1649)
• Royalists (Cavaliers) vs. Roundheads
• Puritan Roundheads won
Tried, convicted and executed Charles I
• Never had a monarch been tried and executed
English Civil War (cont)
Oliver Cromwell’s Rule
• General during the war who now led the
country
• Established a republican government
• Had to squash a rebellion in Ireland
Puritan Morality
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Sought to reform society
Abolish sinful activities – sports, theater
Religious toleration for all except Catholics
Cromwell ruled until death, gov’t collapsed
Oliver Cromwell
Restoration and Revolution
Charles II Reigns
• Restored the Monarchy of England
• Reformed the legal system
James II and the Glorious Revolution
• King James offended many b/c of his
Catholicism
• Parliament worried of a Catholic line of Kings
• James’s Protestant daughter Mary and her
husband William were asked by Parliament to
overthrow James
• William invaded, and James fled – Bloodless
Revolution known as the Glorious Revolution
King Charles II and King James II
William and Mary
Limits on Monarch’s Power
Bill of Rights
• William and Mary established a constitutional
monarchy
• Limits on royal power increased
• Establishment of the English Bill of Rights
Cabinet System Develops
• Became the link between the King and
Parliament - advisors to the King
• Leader of the majority party heads the cabinet
– Prime Minister
English Bill of Rights
Ruler cannot:
• Suspend Parliament’s
laws
• Levy taxes without
permission
• Interfere with
freedom of speech
• Penalize a citizen
who criticizes the
King
END