Transcript Setting the Stage for Revolution: Absolute Monarchies

ISLAMIC
GUNPOWDER
EMPIRES
EARLY MODERN ISLAM
Empires with Absolute Power
1450 TO 1750
Setting the Stage
for Revolution:
Absolute Monarchies
Beth Bradley, The Academy
Warm Up: Define 1. absolutism
2. divine right of kings
Define these on your vocabulary sheet.
Definitions
1. Divine Right of Kings:
Belief that a ruler’s authority
comes directly from God.
2. Absolutism:
Political system in which a
ruler holds total power.
3. Absolute Monarch:
Ruler with complete authority
over the government and lives
of the people he or she governs.
DYNASTIC STATE
 The Ottoman, Safavid, Mughal rulers and Islam
 All three Islamic empires were military creations
 Called Gunpowder empires as guns were critical to rise of empire
 Military prowess of rulers, elite units critical
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Authority of dynasty derived from personal piety
Devotion to Islam led rulers to extend faith to new lands
All followed SHARIA – Muslim RULE OF LAW
ALL LEADERS WERE ABSOLUTE IN POWER
 Steppe traditions
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All three were Turkish in origin; two were Sunni, one was Shi’ia
Autocratic: emperors imposed their will on the state
Ongoing problems with royal succession
Ottoman rulers legally killed brothers after taking the throne
 Royal women often wielded great influence on politics
OTTOMAN EMPIRE, 1566
RISE OF OTTOMAN EMPIRE
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Anatolian clan of the Seljuk Turks
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Frontier Emirate Founded 1289
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Founder was Osman Bey
Led Muslim religious warriors (ghazi)
Ottoman expansion into Byzantine empire
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Seized city of Bursa, then into the Balkans
Organized ghazi into formidable military machine
Central role of the Janissaries (slave troops)
Effective use of gunpowder in battles and sieges
14th – 15th Century Expanded into S. E. Europe
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Conquered Bulgaria, Serbia, Albania, Greece
Tried to conquer Byzantines, but were unsuccessful
Mehmed the Conqueror (reigned 1451-1481)
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Captured Constantinople in 1453
Renamed city Istanbul, the Ottoman capital
Absolute monarchy; centralized state
Expanded to Serbia, Greece, Albania
Attacked Italy
SULEYMAN THE
MAGNIFICENT
 Empire at its height under Suleyman (Suleiman)
 Reigned 1520-1566
 Son of Sultan Selim the Grim
 Mother was Christian
 Came to power through murder of brothers
 Conquered lands in Europe, Asia, Africa
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Conquered Syria, Holy Land, Egypt
Conquered Hungary, Croatia, Rumania
Siege of Vienna in 1529 failed
Built powerful navy to rule Mediterranean
Conquered Rhodes from Knights of St. John
Besieged Malta but did not conquer it
 Encouraged development of arts
 Beautified Constantinople with mosques
 Empire began a slow decline after Suleyman
SAFAVID PERSIA
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Turkish conquerors of Persia and Mesopotamia
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Founder Shah Ismail (reigned 1501-1524)
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Claimed ancient Persian title of shah.
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Proclaimed Shiism official religion
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Imposed it on Sunni population
Twelver Shiism
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Traced origins to 12 ancient Shiite imams
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Ismail believed to be twelfth, or "hidden," imam
Shah Abbas the Great (1588-1629)
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Revitalized the Safavid empire
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Modernized military
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Sought European alliances
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Permitted European merchants,
missionaries
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New capital at Isfahan
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Centralized administration
MUGHAL EMPIRE
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Tamerlame the Mongol was direct predecessor
Mughal = Mongol in Indian dialects
Babur (1523-1530)
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Founder of Mughal ("Mongol") dynasty in India
Central Asian Turk invaded India in 1523
Seized Delhi in 1526
By 1530, Mughal empire embraced most of India
Akbar (reigned 1556-1605)
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A brilliant charismatic ruler
Created centralized, absolutist government
Expanded to Gujurat, Bengal, S. India
Encouraged religious tolerance
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Between Muslims and Hindus
Employed Hindus in his government
Developed a syncretic religion called "divine faith“
Eliminated head tax on Hindus, banned sati
Aurangzeb (1659-1707)
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Expanded the empire to almost the entire Indian subcontinent
Revoked policies of toleration: Hindus taxed, temples destroyed
His rule troubled by religious tensions and hostility
Arrival of Europeans: permitted them to trade, establish bases
MAP OF THE MUGHAL STATE
Absolute Monarchies in
Europe 1500-1700
Spain
France
England
Austria
Prussia
Russia
Absolute Monarchies in Europe
1550-1800
Spain
France
England
Austria
Prussia
Russia
Setting the Stage
for Revolution:
Absolute Monarchies
Modern Democracy
Began in England
Absolute Monarch
The Philosopher Behind the Age
• Thomas Hobbes
• 1660 – Wrote the Leviathon
(Giant)
• Discussed the perfect
government
• People first lived in
anarchy
• Needed a “social contract”
• Required an absolute
monarch to maintain order
• People retained the right
only to maintain their lives.
England - Pathway to
Revolution
• Elizabeth I (1558 – 1603) –
Absolute ruler of England.
• Kept Parliament on her
side.
• Stabilized the nation and
expanded British territory.
• Died without an heir.
• Country had to decide
who would replace her.
England - Pathway to Revolution
1603-1689
England – James I
(1603 – 1625)
• James VI of Scotland
• Became James I of England
when Elizabeth I died.
• Believed in Divine Right of
Kings. “Kings are called
gods because they sit upon
God’s throne on earth.”
• Ran up a huge debt in
England.
• Had Bible translated from
Latin into English
England – Charles I
1625 - 1649
• Absolute monarch - had no
problem with putting his
enemies in prison without trial
• Ran up a huge debt
• Dissolved Parliament in 1629
• Touched off a massive civil
war between supporters of
Charles and supporters of
Parliament led by Oliver
Cromwell.
• Charles I beheaded in 1649.
In England, no ruler could claim absolute power
and ignore the rule of law.
England – Oliver Cromwell
1649 - 1658
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Lord Protector – England
Ruled through the army
Exiled Catholics to Ireland
Strict Puritan laws passed –
theaters closed, Sunday set
aside for worship, no lewd
dancing, taverns or gambling
• Religious freedom for
everyone else
• When Cromwell died,
Restoration began.
England – Charles II
The Restoration
1660 - 1685
• Popular ruler
• Monarchy restored –
Hence: Restoration
• Bowed to the wishes of
Parliament
• Restored the Church
of England
• Stabilized government
England – James II
1685 - 1688
• Absolute Ruler
• Antagonized
Parliament
• Ran up a huge debt
• Openly Catholic
• Forced from throne in
what came to be
called the Glorious
Revolution
• Struggle between king
and parliament – page
425
England – William and Mary
English Bill of Rights
1689
England – William and Mary
English Bill of Rights
1689
• William and Mary given the throne after the Bill
of Rights passed.
• Guaranteed supremacy of Parliament over the
monarchy.
• Parliament had to meet on a regular basis
• Monarchy could neither make nor suspend laws
• Trial by jury reinstated.
• Abolished fines and cruel and unusual
punishment.
• Affirmed “writ of habeas corpus” – no person
can be held in prison without first being
charged with a specific crime. Due process of
laws.
• Laid groundwork for American system
of laws.
The Philosophy Advances
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John Locke
1690
People first lived in anarchy
Needed a “social contract”
People gave up only SOME of
their individual rights.
• Kept the right to:
- Live
- Enjoy Liberty
- Own Property
• Rulers who violated these
rights broke the social contract
and could be overthrown.
Thirty Years’ War
1618-1648
 1640: Holy Roman Empire has broken down into several Prussian
(German) principalities.
 Electors from the 7 major German states elect the Holy Roman
emperor. Many other German states no longer recognize the power of
the Holy Roman emperor.
 1641: Ferdinand of Bohemia (Hapsburg king) elected emperor. He is
Anti – Protestant. Tried to return Prussia (Germany) to Catholicism.
Spain, Poland supported Ferdinand. Protestant countries – Sweden,
Netherlands – sent troops into Prussia to protect Protestants. France
comes in on side of Sweden to protect Alsace from Prussian control.
 Over thirty years alliances continually changed.
 War led to starvation, famine and disease. Area severely depopulated.
 1648: Peace of Westphalia signed. France is clear winner, gains
territory from Spain and Prussia, including Alsace. Prussia remains
fragmented and Hapsburgs lose much power.
Spain – Philip II
Ruled 1556-1598
• Sought to expand Spanish influence
– ruled Spain when the empire was at
its height. Included the Spanish New
World
• Devout: tried to strengthen Catholic
church
• Centralized royal power
• Married Mary I of England – returned
England to Catholicism
• Invaded England with Spanish
armada against Elizabeth I – lost
most of the armada to the English
Who was the wife
of Phillip II ?
England - Pathway to
Revolution
• Elizabeth I (1558 –
1603) – Absolute ruler
of England.
• Kept Parliament on
her side.
• Stabilized the nation
and expanded British
territory.
France – Louis XIV
Ruled 1643 - 1715
 Called himself the Sun King
 Believed in divine right.
“L’etat, c’est moi.”
(I am the state.)
 Made French army the
strongest in Europe
 France was the wealthiest
country in Europe under
Louis XIV
 Louis XIV spent huge
amounts of money
 Built Versailles. (page 419)
 War of Spanish Succession
(page 420)
Russia – Peter the Great
Ruled 1682-1725
• Goal was to westernize Russia.
Forced powerful boyars to bow to
his will.
• Built modern Western city for
Russian capital – St. Petersburg.
• Spread serfdom.
• Studied Western technology.
Worked in a shipyard
• Extended Russian territory – to
Pacific Ocean.
• 1700: Fought Sweden for control
of Baltic. Gained several Baltic
ports.
Russia – Catherine the Great
Ruled 1762-1796
• Deposed her husband in a bloodless
coup and became Empress of Russia.
• Catherine made Russia the dominant
power in south-eastern Europe after her
first Russo–Turkish War against the
Ottoman Empire
• Was an early supporter of the principles
of the Enlightenment.
• After the French Revolution of 1789,
Catherine rejected many of the principles
of the Enlightenment.
• She feared a similar revolution in Russia.
• Extended the borders of the Russian
Empire southward and westward to
absorb New Russia, Crimea, Right-Bank
Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania, and
Courland at the expense of two powers
— the Ottoman Empire
Austria – Maria Theresa
ruled 1740 - 1780
 Absolute monarch of Austria
 Fought Frederick II of Prussia
for control of Hungary and
Silesia
 Reorganized the government
 Enlightened Despot
 Eased tax burden on her
people
 Gave more rights to her
subjects
 Gave birth to 16 children while
in power
Prussia – Frederick II
Ruled 1740-1786
 Absolute ruler of Prussia
(Germany)
 Attacked Austria,
sparking the War of
Austrian Succession
 Unified Prussia, part of
the Holy Roman Empire,
into one nation, which
eventually became
Germany.
European Absolutism
Summary Chart
SPAIN
Government
monarchy
Leaders
(Dates)
Philip II
absolute
monarch
(1554-1598)
Religion
Catholic
Economy
Richest in
world, based
on New World
trade, gold
Wars and
Reforms
Defeats
Ottomans
in 1571
FRANCE ENGLAND
AUSTRIA PRUSSIA
RUSSIA