Transcript File

THE AGE OF
ABSOLUTISM
(1550-1800)
Terms to Understand
• Divine Right
• The belief that God chose a ruler to rule.
• Absolute Monarchy
• A monarch who has unquestioned, absolute rule and
power.
• Monarch
• A ruler who is part of a ruling family that passes down
power from generation to generation
• Balance of Power
• Countries have equal strength in order to prevent any one
country from dominating the others.
Absolutism
• Form of monarchical power when a ruler has a
complete authority over the government and lives of
the people
• Two types of A.: 1. Ruler
2. Ruler + Chief Minister
• A. took place in: Spain, France, Prussia, Russia,
Austria
Map of states under Absolutism
Setting the Stage
• Europe was in a period after Reformation. Still
divided religiously.
– Catholic territory: Spain, France, Italy, Southern
Germany.
– Protestant territory: England, Netherlands,
Northern Germany
• Spain, France, and England had colonies in
Asia, the Americas, and Africa.
Spain
(Charles V: King of 2 Crowns)
• Grandson of Ferdinand and Isabella:
Inherited Spain and Austrian
Hapsburg empire in 1519.
• Struggled to suppress Protestant
movement in German states as well
as the Ottoman empire led by
Suleiman.
• Tired of the constant warfare of this
diverse empire, Charles V gave up
his title and entered a monastery.
• Division of his empire:
•Hapsburg land→brother
Ferdinand
•Spain, Netherlands, southern
Italy→son Philip
Spain
(Philip II)
• Thanks to silver from Americas,
his empire became the wealthiest
in Europe.
• Absolute monarch: complete
authority over government and
lives of people.
• Ruled by divine right: believed his
authority to rule came directly
from God.
• Sought to protect and strengthen
the Catholic Church. Counterreformation; turned Inquisition
against Protestants. Enforced
Catholic unity in his lands.
Spain
(The Wars of Philip II)
• Defeated Ottoman Muslims in the Mediterranean
region.
• Battled Protestant rebels in Netherlands who resisted
Philip’s efforts to crush Protestantism there. Also
opposed high taxes and autocratic rule.
• Netherlands eventually won independence from
Spain after many years of war and became known as
the Dutch Netherlands in 1648.
Spain
(The Wars of Philip II)
• Queen Elizabeth I was chief
Protestant enemy who
supported the Dutch rebellions.
• She also knighted Sir Francis
Drake, a pirate who looted
Spanish treasure ships.
• In response, Philip II Prepared
a huge Armada (fleet of 130
ships) against England.
• Due to storm on English
Channel, armada was
destroyed. England won and
suprassed Spanish power
thereafter. Victory for Elizabeth
I
•
Spanish
Golden
Age:
1550-1650
Philip II was a patron of the
arts and founded academies
for science and math.
• Painters:
– El Greco: religious
pictures and royal
portraits
– Diego Velázquez: best
known court painter.
• Writers:
– Miguel de Cervantes:
wrote Don Quixote, the
first modern novel in
Europe. Mocks medieval
chivalry.
Spain’s Economic Decline: 1600s
• Economic decline because:
1.There were less able successors after Philip II
2.Wars overseas drained Spain financially.
3.Expulsion of Muslim and Jew= deprived the
economy of many skilled artisans and
merchants
4.France (and England) replaced Spain as most
powerful European nation.
France
End of the Hundred Years War
• By the early 1400’s most of France had
been conquered by England.
• The English had defeated the French at
the battle of Agincourt and had destroyed
the French nobility
• Joan of Arc united France and helped
create the first nation state in the early
1400’s
France
• From 1560s-1590s, religious war between
Huguenots (French Protestants) and the
Catholic majority tore France apart.
• Worst incident: Bartholomew´s day Massacre.
3,000 were killed. Symbolized complete
breakdown of order in France.
France:
(Henry IV)
• Henry IV: In 1589, a Huguenot prince inherited the
throne.
• Issued Edict of Nantes in 1598: protected Protestants
and promote religious tolerance.
• He ruled alone but royal officials helped him. Strong
central government to restore order.
• Royal officials: 1. Administered justice
2. Improved roads,built bridges
3. Revived agriculture
***Laid foundations for royal absolutism.
France
(Louis XIII)
• Henry IV assassinated→ 9 years old son Louis
XIII inherited throne.
• Young Louis XIII appoited Cardinal Armand
Richelieu as his chief minister and ruled with
his help.
• Richelieu further strengthened central
government
France
(Richelieu)
Richelieu sought to destroy the power of Huguenots and nobles so he:
• Smashed the
Huguenots cities
and outlawed their
armies
• Defeated the private
nobles armies and
destroyed their
castles
• BUT he allowed
them to practice
their own religion
• BUT he tied nobles
to king by giving
them high posts at
court or in royal
army
Cardinal
Richelieu
France
(Louis XIV & Marazin)
• Richelieu handpicked his
successor Cardinal Jules
Marazin,
• Reign of Louis XIV:
1. Ruled with Marazin´s help
2. Disorder again swept France
• After Marazin died Louis took
the government under his
control
• Claimed “I Am The State” or
the “Sun King.” Believed in
divine right to rule. Took sun
as symbol of absolute power.
France
(Louis XIV)
• Never called a meeting of the Estates General, a
council that was established to check royal power.
• Appointed intendants to collect taxes, recruit
soldiers, and carry out his policies throughout
France.
• Under Louis XIV, French army became the strongest
in Europe.
• His finance minister, Jean Baptiste Colbert followed
mercantilist policies, helping make France the
wealthiest state in Europe.
France
(Louis XIV & Versailles)
• Built palace of Versailles,
the most magnificent
building in Europe.
• Versailles became symbol of
the Sun King’s wealth and
power. Housed 10,000
people.
• No expense was too great.
Lavish lifestyle.
• Court of Louis supported
splendid century in the arts.
French academies
established.
France
(Louis XIV)
• Reigned for 72 yrs, longer than any other monarch.
• French culture, manners, and customs replaced those
of Renaissance Italy as the standard for European
taste.
• Revoked Edict of Nantes forcing over 100,000
Huguenots to flee France. Caused serious blow to
French econ.
• Also drained economy with warfare. Refused Philip
V of Spain’s attempt to unite the two crowns.
• By the time Louis XV inherited throne, France was
in a state of chaos.
England The Tudors
• Power was maintained
far differently in
England than in France
and Spain.
• Tudor dynasty reigned
from 1485-1603.
• Henry VII believed in
divine right, but valued
Parliament and
maintained good
relationships.
English Parliament
• House of Lords:
– Upper house
– Hereditary rule or
appointed by
sovereign
• House of Commons
– Lower house
– Democratically
elected body.
– Prime Minister leads
this house.
Henry VIII
• Henry VIII wanted a divorce from his first
wife Catherine because she did have any
sons and he was in love Anne Boleyn
• The pope would not give him one so he
left the Catholic Church and declared that
England now had the Church of England
• This caused much conflict in England
between protestants and Catholics
Elizabeth I
• Although Henry the VIII had 7 wives (some of which
he executed) he never had a son
• After his death his catholic daughter Mary became
queen but was hated, she died after only a short
reign
• Protestant Elizabeth I took over and would reign
from 1558-1603 during most of the reformation
• During her reign she defeated a Spanish invasion
attempt and brought the Renaissance to England
The Stuarts
• When Elizabeth died without a direct heir, the throne
passed to the Stuarts, the ruling family of Scotland.
• James I, the first Stuart monarch contested Parliament and
sought absolute rule.
• In 1625, Charles I inherited the throne. Also behaved like
an absolute monarch. Imprisoned foes without trial.
• For 11 years, he ruled the nation without Parliament.
When he finally summoned Parliament to get help
suppressing a Scottish rebellion, it launched its own revolt.
Parliamentary Rebellion and Civil War
• When Parliament finally reconvened they staged the
greatest political revolution in English history.
• Charles lashed back against the reforms they
proposed.
• When he attempted to arrest the most radical
leaders, they escaped and formed an army.
• The English Civil War lasted from 1642-1649. In the
end, revolutionary forces triumphed.
• Oliver Cromwell led the triumphant New Model
Army for Parliament, and by 1647, the king was in
the hands of parliamentary forces.
Execution of King Charles
• After the war,
Parliament put King
Charles on trial.
• He was condemned as
tyrant, traitor, and
public enemy, and
beheaded.
• 1st time in history that a
monarch had been tried
and executed by his own
people.
The Commonwealth
• After execution of Charles I,
House of Commons abolished
monarchy, House of Lords, and
Church of England.
• Declared England a republic
called the Commonwealth,
which was led by Oliver
Cromwell. Enforced strict
military rule.
• Under the Commonwealth,
Puritans replaced the Church
of England.
• After Cromwell died, Puritans
lost their grip on England.
Charles II
• Many English were tired of military rule and strict
Puritan ways
• After a decade of kingless rule, Parliament invited
Charles II to return to England from exile.
• Unlike his father, Charles II was a popular ruler who
avoided his father’s mistakes in dealing with
Parliament.
• Restored Church of England and promoted religious
tolerance.
James II, William & Mary
• Charles II’s brother James II
inherited the throne.
• Unlike Charles II, he angered
Parliament and attempted to
restore Catholic Church.
• Parliament invited his
Protestant daughter Mary and
her husband William of Orange
to become rulers of England.
• When they arrived, James fled
to France. The non-violent
overthrow known as the
Glorious Revolution.
Austria & Prussia
• Struggle between Protestant North and Catholic South in
Germany triggered the Thirty Years’ War.
• The war led to severe depopulation. As many as 1/3 of the
people in the German states died during the wars.
• Finally exhausted combatants accepted treaties like the
Peace of Westphalia.
• Left Germany divided into more than 360 separate states.
• By the end of the war France had come in on the side of
the protestants despite being Catholic
• They did this in order to limit the power of the Hapsburgs,
and proved that although the war started for religious
reasons, it turned into a struggle for power by the great
powers of Europe
Hapsburg Austria
• Though weakened by war Hapsburgs wanted
to create a strong united state.
• Focused attention on expanding their own
lands. Added Bohemia, Hungary, and Poland
to Austria.
• Difficult to unite these diverse lands.
• When Hapsburg emperor Charles VI died,
many did not recognize his daughter, Maria
Theresa’s right to rule.
Maria Theresa
• Forced nobles to pay taxes,
easing the tax burden on
peasants.
• Formed strong Catholic
state.
Rise of Prussia
• Meanwhile, Prussia
emerged as a new
Protestant power.
• Under Prussian ruler
Frederick William I, a
great army was assembled
. He became known as
Frederick the Great.
• Prussia emerged along
with Austria, France,
England, and Russia, as
one of the great powers of
Europe.
Russia
• Russia was in a period called “Time of troubles”
• Untouched by Renaissance and European
reformations and completely isolated
• Conservative Russians were very traditional and
would not release their serfs or change their ways
• Peter Mikhailov (Peter the Great) was a czar who
pushed Russia to become a great modern power.
Russia
Peter The Great and The Romanovs
• The most dominant figure in the
Russian history
• He learned from European cultures
and was inspired by them to
completely reform Russia.
• Traveled around Europe examining
the way modern government,
technology, and culture were
managed in Western Europe.
Russia
Peter The Great
• Embarked on a policy of westernization, or adoption of
western ideas, technology, and culture.
• Had difficulty convincing Russians to change their way of life.
• To impose his will, he became the most autocratic of Europe’s
monarchs. Tortured and killed those who challenged him.
• Also strengthened military, expanded Russian borders,
• Brought Russian Orthodox Church under his control, and
expanded serfdom (like feudalism/slavery).
• Used serfs to serve the state. They were used to work on
government projects like building roads, canals, etc.
Russia
St. Petersburg
• Built new capital city at
St. Petersburg. Called it a
“window on the West.”
Russia
Catherine The Great
• A German princess, who got to
the throne by marrying Russian
heir
• Continued at what Peter started
– extended Russian territory,
brought even more reforms
• Intelligent and educated
woman, a student of French
thinkers, who led Enlightment
Russian absolutism
• Absolute power of the czars was inherited.
• Cruel, almost tyrannical reign of Peter was
necessary in order to tame turmoil and
prevent upheaval of power in Russia.
Sources Cited
• Images from:
Corbis.com
Web Gallary of Art
www.wga.hu
• Ellis, E.G., & Esler. (2005). A. World History:
Connections to Today. Upper Saddle River,
New
Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall.