Transcript (Section III): The Rulers of the Holy Roman Empire

Section III: The Rulers of the
Holy Roman Empire, Prussia, and Russia
(Pages 397-401)
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This section is about…
A civil war in Germany that
ended the rule of the Holy
Roman Empire...
How politics and wars helped
to make both Russia and
Prussia major European
powers.
Important historical figures
such as Fredrick the Great,
Peter the Great, and
Catherine the Great.
In “Main Ideas:” letter A is
something we knew was
coming, but it’s been a long
time since we don’t have this
group in power.
We knew a little about letter C,
but there’s more now.
We should look at the two maps
– the first is on page 398.
The second: on page 400.
The Thirty Year’s War
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Absolute monarchs in
much of Europe used
their military - and
economics - to expand
their power.
Germany was not one of
these places: Germany
was just dozens of small
and independent
“states.”
Even the Holy Roman
Empire couldn’t unite
them.
Germany and Civil War
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In 1612: Ferdinand II came to
power in Bohemia (E. Germany)
He was a “Hapsburg” who
wanted to get Protestantism out
of the Holy Roman Empire…
The Bohemian nobles didn’t
agree, and forced Ferdinand to
step down – replacing him with a
Protestant ruler.
This began _ _ years of war.
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Peace came in 1635, but Cardinal Richelieu worried
about the Hapsburgs having
power and started the war
again – now against Spain and
in the Netherlands, Italy, and
Scandinavia.
The war was fought mostly by
mercenaries (hired soldiers)
who would do anything for
money…
If they didn’t get money,
they’d just take whatever they
could find of value…
At the end of the war, 1/3 of
Germany’s population had
been killed, or died from
undernourishment (and
sometimes the plague).
The Peace of Westphalia
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Peace talks started in 1640 –
and lasted until 1648
(The Peace of Westphalia).
The Hapsburgs were forced to
give upon their idea of a
Roman Catholic Europe.
Protestants would now have
religious freedom.
The Holy Roman Empire was
divided into 300 separate
“states.”
This was the end of the Holy
Roman Empire as a political
force in the world…
Imperial Crown of the Holy Roman Empire
The Rise of Prussia
as a European Power
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At this same time,
Prussia was starting
to become a power.
Prussia was in
northeastern Europe
and is now parts of
Poland, Germany, and
Russia.
A Military State
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In the early 1600’s (Thirty Year’s
War), Prussia came under the
control of King Fredrick I.
He began a policy of militarism
(military needs and values are
most important)…
He wanted to build a strong,
capable army in case he was ever
attacked.
So, he developed a huge standing
army (1/5 of his citizens)…
(professionally trained, prepared,
and paid soldiers)
Fredrick the Great
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Fredrick II (the Great) came
along next (1740-1786).
He loved literature, philosophy,
the arts, religious liberty, and
was a brilliant military leader.
One of his acts was to invade
and control Silesia (Poland).
Austria, Russia, and France
didn’t like that, so they went
after Fredrick the Great in the
Seven Years War…
Even though he was
outnumbered 10-1, he was
able to save his kingdom.
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Fredrick the Great’s style of
rule is called enlightened
despotism.
This is when an absolute
ruler uses their power to
bring changes that help
their subjects.
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He’s called the Great, so he was
good overall for Prussia, but he was
bad at being prepared: he never
named his successor, so…
Prussia became weak – enough that
20 years after his death, they were
successfully invaded by a French
General named Napoleon.
The Russian Empire Emerges
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In the late 1600’s, Russia wasn’t
really even an organized country:
They had very little contact with
Europe.
They had a little different religion
(Russian Orthodox – from
Constantinople and not Rome).
They had been invaded often
(Mongols, etc…).
They have a lot of geography to
deal with (big place, tough place).
They don’t have many warm
weather ports.
We had already talked about Ivan
the Great and Ivan the Terrible,
but this is a little later than them.
Peter the Great
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Peter I started organizing
Russia into one nation.
When he was 25, he
went to Europe for a
year.
He realized he wanted to
make his country more
like Europe (culturally,
economically, militarily,
socially, etc…).
…………………
This is for page “F”
in your packets
Peter I actually shaved the
noblemen’s beards himself to get
the process going. He was
determined to modernize Russia and
take them away from their oldfashioned habits. Beards were
considered a gift from God and a
man without one was a “beast.’
Needless to say the Russians were
outraged and fearful God would
deny them admittance into heaven
without their traditional beards. To
ease his people’s fears, Peter I
decided to allow beard-growth on
any man so long as he paid a beard
tax and had a beard license. This is
a picture of what the men with
beards were given after paying their
beard tax. Notice the beard replica
at the bottom of the token.
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One of the other first things he
did was attack others - and get
some new lands in the Baltic
Sea region.
He also built a new home – in a
new city (Saint Petersburg)
which was going to be a
symbol of a new Russia.
He adopted a system of
business – encouraged mining,
textile production, trade,
exports, education.
He was also an absolute
monarch – and that was hard
on the peasants and serfs……..
One thing he didn’t do: have a
successor. He even had his
own son executed for treason
(tortured to death). He also
didn’t believe the next ruler
should be his descendant.
Catherine the Great
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No true heir to the throne
meant there was chaos in
Russia for about 30 years.
Finally, in 1762, Catherine
proclaimed herself Tsarina.
She admired some French
philosophers and was tolerant
of different religions, but she
enjoyed being in power (often
at serf’s/peasant’s expense).
She did add to Russia’s
territory. She also won (in a
war) a port on the Black Sea.
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Catherine was actually German and not Russian. Her
marriage to Peter, the heir to the Russian throne was
arranged by Peter’s mother in 1743. Once Peter
assumed the throne, he proved to be an ineffective ruler,
and the royal couple grew to hate each other. The
nobles and common people of Russia were happy when
Catherine overthrew her husband, had him murdered in
1762, and assumed the throne herself……