Transcript HIS 106 Chapter 20

HIS 106
Chapter 20
European State
Building and World
Conflict
France
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Had absolute government
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A strong centralized monarchy that attempted to
make royal power dominant over local
aristocracies and other regional authorities
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France’s strongest absolute monarch was
Louis XIV
He brought most of the French nobility to live
at Versailles (p. 444) so that he could keep
an eye on them
He did allow French regional courts called
Parlements to keep some power; they were
dominated by hereditary nobility
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The Parlement of Paris was the most
important; it claimed the right to register royal
decrees before they became law
Regional Parlements were able to exercise
authority over their local administrations and
over taxation
France also had a national parliament of
sorts, Estates General, but it played no role
in government after 1614
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Estates General was not called again until
the end of the 18th century
In total, the Estates General was not called
for 130 years
Kings generally would pass laws as they saw
fit
Kings came down quickly and severely on
nobles who challenged a king
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Since nobles were seen as a threat, the
kings, bureaucracies were often made up of
merchants and lawyers
Kings also had professional armies
Louis XIV
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Called the Sun King
Reigned in France from 1643 – 1715, the
longest reign in European history
Became king at age 4
Reigned for 72 years
54 of those years he personally governed
France
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1643 – 1661, governing was dominated by
his chief minister, Cardinal Mazarin
When Mazarin died in 1661, Louis became
his own chief minister and controlled his own
government until he died
Louis acted through a high state council
He also had a small group of advisors that he
dismissed at will
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Louis saw himself as all-powerful and once
said of himself, “L’etat, c’est moi!” ( I am the
state)
In his early years as sovereign he:
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Clarified laws
Improved law enforcement
Practiced mercantilism
Was a patron of the arts
Set up science academies
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One “academie” Louis set up is still around
today, L’Academie Francaise
It was created to standardize and protect the
French language
Another major accomplishment of Louis XIV
was the construction of the Palais de
Versailles, his royal palace
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Versailles
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35,000 workmen took 35 years to build it
The record of expenses was destroyed by his
Finance Minister, Colbert
There was a household staff of 10,000 soldiers
and 4,000 civilians
Built on swamp land
Could only have one set of fountains flowing at a
time because of low water pressure
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The palace itself was cold, drafty, but sumptuous
It was filled with marble, gold, tapestries,
paintings, gems
Outside, there were gardens, parks, stables, and
some smaller buildings where one could play at
being a peasant
Louis brought nobles to Versailles and gave them
jobs like dressing him
See www.louis-xiv.de
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Louis expanded the functions of the state,
taking on more power
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Had state-run manufacturing
Encouraged merchant fleets
Sought colonies to provide raw materials for their
young industries and to have a ready-made
market place for their products
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Louis wished to make his country a Catholic
country and so revoked the Edict of Nantes
that had granted toleration of religion in 1685
This proved to be a terrible mistake because
a ¼ of a million Huguenots left France taking
their talents and their money with them
Louis spent the last 40 years of his reign
fighting in 4 different wars
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Louis XIV died on 1 September 1715 and
was succeeded by his grandson who
became Louis XV
Parliamentary Monarchy
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This was the second type of government to
emerge in Europe in the 16th century
It developed in England
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Nobility and landowners thought the monarchy
was trying to undermine their standings in their
own communities
They then worked to limit the power of the
monarchy
The result was a Parliamentary Monarchy
James I (r. 1603 – 1625)
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Was James VI of Scotland
Became James I of England
Inherited a big royal debt and a divided
church
Parliament, at that time, only met when the
King needed money, and the King didn’t
always get what he wanted
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So James I tried to side-step Parliament and
imposed new customs duties himself to get
money
Parliament was insulted but didn’t do much
about it
Another problem was that many felt James I
was soft on Catholics; he had relaxed laws
against them
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James I was also very slow in responding to a call
for help from German Protestants
He also joined in an alliance with Catholic Spain
Then his son Charles married a Catholic
1624, England went to war against Spain because of
pressure from Parliament but didn’t properly finance
it
They weren’t pleased with James I
Charles I (r. 1625 – 1649)
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Many were less pleased with James I
successor, Charles I
He levied his own taxes, imprisoned those
who refused to pay, and housed soldiers in
private homes
1628, Parliament met and said they would
give Charles more money if he recognized
the Petition of Rights
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The Petition of Rights said:
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No forced loans
No troops in private homes
No imprisonment without just cause
It expressed Parliament’s resentment and
resistance to the monarchy
Charles agreed to it
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1629, Charles dissolved Parliament until
1640 because it complained that the King
had made changes to their Church and that
he was levying new taxes
1640, Charles reconvened Parliament
because he needed money for a war against
Scotland
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Charles had tried to impose the Church of
England and their prayer book
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1637, Scotland rebelled
1640, the Scots had a victory against an English
army
Charles needed more money so that wouldn’t
happen again
1642, Parliament was divided
Those who backed Charles – Cavaliers
Those who opposed many of his policies Roundheads
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Once again Parliament presented the King
with their objections
Charles responded by raising an army
Parliament then raised an army of its own
Civil War broke out
English Civil War (1642-1646)
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Oliver Cromwell, a Puritan, led the Roundheads of
the Parliamentary Army
Cromwell’s army won
1649, Charles I was tried for treason, found guilty,
and executed; his head was displayed on a pike at
the Tower of London
1649-1660, England was dominated first by Oliver
Cromwell until his death in 1658 and then by his son
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1653, Oliver Cromwell disbanded Parliament,
abolished the monarchy, and established a
“civil government” with himself as Lord
Protector
Cromwell then went on to conquer Ireland
and Scotland
Cromwell’s military dictatorship was harsh
and hated
Charles II (r. 1660 – 1685 )
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Oliver Cromwell’s son wasn’t a good ruler
and was soon replaced by Charles II
The monarchy had been restored
Parliament only met when summoned by the
King
The Anglican Church was back as the
supreme church of England
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It was thought that Charles II had Catholic
sympathies and wished to become one
1672, Declaration of Indulgence suspended laws
against Catholics and other non-Anglicans
In response, Parliament passed the Test Act where
officials had to swear loyalty to the Anglican
Church and against transubstantiation, a Catholic
belief
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James II (r. 1685 – 1689)
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1685, James II became king and wanted the
Test Act repealed; it wasn’t
James II was a Catholic and appointed Catholics
to official positions
James had a protestant daughter, Mary, by his first
wife; many hoped she would rule after James II
Then James II second wife, a Catholic, had a son
who was baptized Catholic
He would be the next ruler
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There was great opposition to this in England
Then Parliament asked Mary and her
husband, William of Orange of the
Netherlands, to invade and remove James
Upon hearing this, James and his family fled
to France
Glorious Revolution
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1689, William and Mary were named the new
rulers of England
They ruled from 1689 – 1702
They had to recognize a Bill of Rights before
they could sit on the throne of England
This gave power to the privileged in England thus
limiting the power of the monarchy
This was the Glorious Revolution – a change in
power without bloodshed
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The Bill of Rights also said no Catholic could
be King or Queen of England
William and Mary had no heir
Nor did Mary’s sister Anne (r. 1702-1714), so
the throne after Anne’s reign went to the
Hanovers, Protestants, of Germany
This introduced the “Georges” to the English
throne
George I
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George I reigned from 1714 – 1727
He didn’t speak English, so he turned over
the running of the government to Robert
Walpole, seen as England’s first Prime
Minister
Robert Walpole governed from 1721 – 1742
He brought England stability and prosperity
This was seen as progressive by Europeans
English Rulers
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James I (r.1603-1625)
Charles I (r. 1625-1649)
Oliver Cromwell (r. 1649 -1658)
Richard Cromwell (r. 1658-1660)
Charles II (r. 1660-1685)
James II (r. 1685-1689)
William and Mary (r. 1689-1702)
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Anne (r. 1702-1714)
George I (r. 1714-1727)
George II (r. 1727-1760)
George III (r. 1760-1801
Russia
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1380, Grand Duke Dimitri of Moscow
defeated a group of Mongols, but it would
take another century before Ivan III, or Ivan
the Great (d. 1505) would bring all of
northern Russia under Moscow’s control and
end Mongol rule in 1448
Ivan the Great
Ivan the Great
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Created a strong army
Formed a strong centralized government
Used his people’s loyalties to the Russian
Orthodox Church and feelings of nationalism
to gain support for his military campaigns
against the Mongols
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While under Mongol rule, trade,
manufacturing, and cultural life deteriorated;
Ivan would revive these
Ivan asserted his control over the Orthodox
Church
Ivan IV, the Terrible (r. 1533-1584)
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Came to the throne as a child
Began to rule on his own by the age of 16
Appointed able advisors
Undertook sensible revisions of the law
Reorganized the army
1560, Ivan had a severe personality change
He then distrusted almost everyone
Ivan the Terrible
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Ivan formed a small group of advisors and a
military force loyal to him
His military went after anyone he felt was his
enemy
Ivan imprisoned and tortured the boyars, the
Russian term for nobles, without reason or
trial
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He even killed his own son because he
thought the neckline of his pregnant
daughter-in-law’s dress was too low.
Ivan did continue to expand Russia’s borders
moving them into central Asia
Ivan recruited peasants to move into the new
lands; known as Cossacks
Ivan and His Son
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These Cossacks went on to capture even
more land for the Tsar -- areas by the
Caspian Sea and in Siberia
Loyal noblemen were then allowed to set up
estates in these new lands using enslaved
serfs to do the work
People from many different cultures were
now being ruled by the same Tsar
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Russia did conduct trade with others outside
of Russia -- Example: Asians and the British
Italian artists, craftsmen, and other foreign
architects were invited to Russia to create;
they blended western ideas with Russians
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Example: Onion Domes on Russian Churches
Onion Domes of St. Basil’s
Cathedral
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Russians began a tradition in the 16th century of
looking west for art and other luxury items
Ivan the Terrible died in 1584 leaving no heir
A period of anarchy and war called the Time of
Trouble followed Ivan’s death
1613, nobles elected a 17 year old boy named
Michael Romanov (r. 1613-1645) to be the new Tsar
Thus began the dynasty that ruled Russia until 1917
Michael Romanov
Romanovs
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Michael Romanov and his 2 successors
Aleksei I (r. 1645-1676) and Theodore III (r.
1676-1682) brought stability and a strong
central government to Russia
The country remained poor and weak
Boyars controlled the bureaucracy
Tsars faced mutinies from the military
Peter the Great (r. 1682-1725)
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1682, a 10 year old boy ascended the throne
of Russia as a co-ruler with his half-brother,
Ivan IV; this 10 year old was named Peter
Ivan IV was feeble-minded and was being
helped by their sister, Sophia
With help from those backing him, Peter
overthrew his sister and his half brother and
began his own rule in 1689
Peter the Great
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Peter was fascinated by Western Europe,
especially their military organization
1697, Peter visited the West, supposedly in
disguise
He inspected shipyards, docks, and the
manufacture of weapons
He talked to rulers and then returned home
with ideas he wished use in Russia
Peter’s Goals
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Tame the Boyars
Get control of the Church
Reorganize his internal administration
Develop the economy
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He achieved each goal
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Peter’s Accomplishments
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Expanded the army
Created a navy
Imitated western military organization
Created a secret police to prevent dissension
Developed Russia’s economy so that it could
finance his military ventures
Made Russia’s a great power through
warfare
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Peter’s Wars:
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He attacked the Ottoman Empire and lost
He fought Sweden and gained territory on the
east coast of the Baltic Sea and gained an icefree port
Gained the recognition of the West
Other Reforms
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Improved his political organization
Improved the army’s weapons
Brought Russian Orthodox Church under his
control
Systemized the law codes to be applied to
the whole realm
Revised the tax system; peasants’ taxes
were high
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Set up training institutes for aspiring
bureaucrats and officers
Built up metal and mining industries
Created state-run munitions and shipbuilding
factories
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Made cultural changes
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Nobles had to shave off beards
Nobles had to wear Western clothes
He provided more education in math and
technology
Welcomed the arts: ballet
Nobles had to learn and speak French
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Peter had St. Petersburg built with slave
labor and moved the capital there
Peter did not totally Westernize Russia; he
was selective
He met with resistance , mainly from the elite
Peasants weren’t made to change
Central and Eastern Europe
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2 other major ruling families in Central and
Eastern Europe;
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The Habsburgs of the Holy Roman Empire
The Hohenzollerns of Prussia
See map p. 446
Habsburgs
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They possessed the Holy Roman Empire
They also controlled Bohemia ( today’s
Czech Republic) , Moravia, Silesia, Hungary,
Croatia, Transylvania, the Netherlands, and
Lombardy
Roman Catholicism was a common bond,
but the population was quite diverse
Unity was difficult
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Ottomans tried to take Vienna and failed in
1683
The Hohenzollerns
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Had ruled Brandenburg since1471
Inherited east Prussia and other territories within the
boundaries of the Holy Roman Empire
However, the House of Hohenzollern did not
possess a crown
Frederick William, the Great Elector (r. 1640-1688)
established himself and his successors as the
central power of his land
Frederick William, the Great
Elector
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Frederick William expected obedience from
the nobles and in return the nobles should
expect obedience from their peasants
It was Frederick I (r. 1688-1713) who
received the royal title and crown because he
offered his army to the Holy Roman Emperor
in the War of Spanish Succession
Frederick I
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In return, Frederick could call himself King of
Prussia as of 1701
His successor was Frederick William I
He made the Prussian military a welldisciplined mighty army with over 80,000
soldiers by 1740
It was the 3rd or 4th largest army in the world
Military matters preoccupied them
Frederick William I
Worldwide Wars
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European nations with their colonial empires
helped to create worldwide wars
When one European nation fought another
European nation, their colonies were obliged
to fight each other as well
Often these wars had one name in Europe
and a different name in the colonies
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Ex: Seven Years War in Europe and the French
and Indian War in America