Transcript Age of Absolutism-Monarchs of Europe

SOL WHII. 6
The student will demonstrate knowledge of
the scientific, political, economic, and
religious changes from about the sixteenth to
eighteenth centuries by
a. Describing the Age of Absolutism,
including the monarchies of Louis XIV,
Frederick the Great, and Peter the
Great.
Age of Absolutism
• The Age of Absolutism takes its name from a
series of European monarchs who had total
power over their kingdoms.
• An absolute monarchy has two main features:
– 1. strong central government
– 2. divine right to rule
• The 3 main “Absolutes” during this era were
Louis XIV of France, Frederick the Great of
Prussia, and Peter the Great of Russia.
France in the Age of
Absolutism
Background
• Louis XIII came to
France’s throne in 1610 at
the age of 8.
• His mother ruled until he
came to power in 1617.
Louis XIII selected wise
advisors to help him,
including Cardinal
Richelieu.
• Louis XIII’s father has
passed the Edict of Nantes,
which guaranteed religious
freedom of worship in
France. France was heavily
Catholic, at the time.
Cardinal Richelieu
• Cardinal Richelieu was
Louis XIII’s chief minister.
• Goal: make the king
supreme in France and
in Europe!
• Richelieu worked to
1.take power away from
nobles and 2. rights
away from Huguenots.
– 1627- led military attacks
on Huguenot towns, which
forced peace and,
therefore, took away
special rights.
Cardinal Richelieu
• Thirty Years’ War- began as a Protestant rebellion in Germany
(Holy Roman Empire).
• Richelieu saw this as an opportunity to strengthen France, so he kept
them out of the war. Other countries soon became weak while
France remained strong.
• The war ended with the Treaty of Westphalia, which gave France
more territory and weakened the Holy Roman Empire.
Louis XIV
• Louis XIV became king of
France in 1643 and ruled
for 72 years. He worked
to make the king’s power
absolute.
• One of his major
contributions was that he
built a huge palace at
Versailles and moved the
French government there.
Palace at Versailles
• Represented the power of the
King in France. To Louis XIV, it
represented the divine right
of the king.
– i.e. God has chosen him to
rule the nation.
– “I am the state”
• Louis XIV used the palace to
gain control of the nobles.
• The palace, also became the
ideal palace for European
Royalty.
• Did away with Edict of Nantes.
• Louis XIV was nicknamed the
“Sun King” because his power
reached far and wide.
Wars of Louis XIV
• He reorganized and increased the size of
France’s military. By the 1700’s , France had
about 400,000 soldiers and was the most
powerful in Europe.
• He fought 4 wars between 1667 and 1713.
• Netherlands, England, and Sweden formed
alliances against France to achieve a balance
of power.
– They wanted countries to have equal strength so one
was not stronger than the others.
• France fought three wars against these
European nations and was very costly.
War of Spanish Succession
• Louis XIV’s last war fought over who would be
the next king of Spain.
• When the Spanish king died, Louis XIV’s
grandson became king. Other European nations
did not like that France and Spain would both
have Bourbon rulers.
• France lost many battles and was forced to sign
the Treaty of Utrecht.
– It recognized Louis’ grandson as king, but France and
Spain could never be reunited. France also lost many
lands.
Louis XIV’s legacy
• France lost much of its
empire with the Treaty of
Utrecht.
• Louis’ wars were very
costly in lives and the
economy.
• Under his reign, France
became the leading
nation in Europe.
• After Louis died, the
nobles took back much of
their power.
Russia in the
Age of Absolutism
Background
• Throughout Russia’s
history, it had remained
cut off from western
Europe. Factors:
– Under Mongol rule for 200
years. (Asian influence)
– Religion was Eastern
Orthodox, not Roman
Catholic.
– They did not use the same
alphabet (hard to
communicate).
– Geography- Russia was
blocked off from major
water routes
• In 1613, the Romanov
family came to power and
strengthened the power of
the czar.
Peter the Great
• Peter was a Romanov who
sought to make Russia
more westernized.
• In 1697, he disguised
himself as a private citizen
and visited several
European nations. There,
he learned many things
about the west by visiting
scientists and builders.
• Upon his return, he brought
the things he had learned
and sought to make
changes in his homeland.
Westernizing Russia
• First, he improved his army’s
training and weapons.
– Soon, he began a war with
Sweden, and won access to
the Baltic Sea.
• He moved the capital to St.
Petersburg, which was closer
to western Europe.
• He started new building
programs that were much like
western architecture.
• Social changes-women were
less isolated and nobles
shaved off their beards.
• Finally, he encouraged foreign
trade.
Peter’s government
• Peter had absolute control, like Louis XIV,
but was able to have complete control. He
took the nobles and even the church under
his control.
• Peter took many freedoms away from
Russia’s citizens and many resented his
absolute power.
• Peter did not completely westernize
Russia’s society, but made it a great
power.
Catherine the Great
• The wife of Peter’s grandson was Catherine II,
who became leader in 1762.
• Catherine continued Peter the Great’s policies of
westernizing Russia.
Catherine the Great
• Catherine supported
art, science, literature,
and theatre, however,
most Russians
remained in poverty.
– Catherine, in fact,
extended Russia’s serf
population.
– The nobles became so
western that they lost
touch with Russian
people.
Catherine’s foreign policy
• Catherine’s real contributions were in
foreign policy. She continued to expand
Russia’s borders.
• She successfully gained control of the Sea
of Azov and the Black Sea.
• She also gained new territory to the west
in Poland.
• Catherine successfully added Siberia to
Russia’s territory, which had many natural
resources.
Partitions of Poland
• 1st Partition of Poland- Poland was a
weak nation whose nobles fought over
who should be king.
– Russia, Prussia, and Austria took advantage
of this weakness and seized territory for
themselves.
• 2nd Partition of Poland- Russia and
Prussia took more lands
• 3rd Partition of Poland- Poland
disappeared from the map.
Central Europe in the Age
of Absolutism
Background
• One loser in the Thirty Years’ War was the Austria. They
lost much territory, but began to gain it back around the
early 1600s.
• Austria and many other European nations were ruled by
the Hapsburg family.
• In 1740, Maria Theresa became queen. Before her
father’s death, he had urged European rulers to unite
under the Holy Roman Empire.
• These nations signed the Pragmatic Sanction, which
united all of the Hapsburg family’s land under her
empire.
– Under its provisions, the empire included Belgians, Bohemians,
Croatians, Germans, Hungarians, Italians, Poles, Romanians,
Serbs, and Slovenes.
The Hohenzollerns
• This family ruled Prussia and
quickly became Austria’s chief
rival. They were Protestants
and the Hapsburgs were
Catholic.
• The same year Maria Theresa
came to power (1740)
Frederick II became King of
Prussia.
• Frederick worked to expand
Prussian territory and prestige.
He was so effective that he
became known as Frederick
the Great.
The Hohenzollerns
1640-1688
Frederick William, the Great Elector
1688-1713
Frederick I
1713-1740
Frederick William I
1740-1786
Frederick II (the Great)
The War of Austrian Succession
• Frederick’s father had
signed the Pragmatic
Sanction, but Frederick
did not like it.
• Frederick wanted the
Austrian land of Silesia
for its farmland and iron
deposits.
• Prussia marched and
seized it easily, thus
beginning a war that
lasted from 1740-1748.
Map of the War of Austrian
Succession
War of Austrian Succession
Prussian Side
• Bavaria
• Spain
• France
Austrian Side
• Great Britain
• the Netherlands
• Russia
End of the War of Austrian
Succession and its Impacts
• Prussia won and Silesia was ceded to
them.
• After the war, there was a changing of
alliances in Europe known as the
Diplomatic Revolution.
– In 1756, G. Britain allied with Prussia and
France joined with Austria and Russia to keep
Prussia from becoming too powerful.
Seven Years’ War
• Almost all of Europe became involved in
this war. The fighting actually began in
North America as the French and Indian
War.
Alliances of Seven Years’ War
• Prussia
• Great Britain
• Austria
• France
• Russia
Battle of Quebec
Seven Years’ War (continued)
• For four years, there was no clear winner.
• Financial problems and mistrust began to plague
Frederick’s enemies (Austria, France, Russia).
– Britain won several victories against the French in
Canada and India
• The turning point was when Elizabeth, the czar of
Russia died, and her successor, Peter III, made a
separate peace treaty with Prussia. He was a great
admirer of Frederick.
• Also, George III of Britain decided to withdraw from
the conflict.
• The war ended with no clear winner and a treaty
signed in 1763 gave Prussia Silesian lands. The
Treaty of Paris gave most of North America to
Britain. Ultimately, Great Britain and Prussia came
out more powerful.
Aftermath of the War
• Frederick spent the next 23 years rebuilding his
kingdom.
• He improved public education, made legal
reforms, encouraged economic development,
and encouraged tolerance for religious
minorities.
– Prussia regained the economic prosperity lost in the
Seven Years’ War.
• The First Partition of Poland linked Prussia with
East Prussia and left it as a major European
power when Frederick died.
The English
Monarchy
The Tudors
• The Tudor family came to
power in England around
1400.
• Famous Tudors:
– Henry VIII- established
Anglican Church as official
church of England.
– Edward VI- Henry VIII’s
successor; ruled for 6 years
– Mary I- Henry VIII’s Catholic
daughter after Edward VI.
Known as “Bloody Mary”
because she tried to destroy
the Anglican Church.
– Elizabeth I-sister of Mary I.
Became Queen after Mary I
died.
Elizabeth I
• Popular queen of England
who was one of England’s
greatest rulers.
• Elizabeth was Anglican,
but had a cousin named
Mary Queen of Scots.
Mary was Catholic and
many feared that she
would be the next queen
after Elizabeth.
• Mary tried to flee England
to escape problems with
Scotland and Elizabeth
captured her. After
discovering a plot to
overthrow her, Elizabeth
has Mary killed.
Spanish Armada
• Phillip II was the Catholic king of Spain,
England’s rival, and was angered by Mary’s
death.
• In 1588 Philip launched 130 ships to England,
known as the Spanish Armada.
• Britain sent out their whole fleet to meet the
Spanish.
Spanish Armada
• Their ships were smaller, swifter, and guns could
shoot faster and farther than the Spanish.
– The English sank many of the ships, as a result.
Spanish Armada
• The Spanish tried to escape but storms,
navigation errors, and lack of supplies caused
more problems.
• Only about half the ships made it home.
• As a result of their defeat, Spain was no longer a
threat to England and Protestant England was
secure.
England After the war with
Spain-Elizabeth’s Domestic
problems
Religion
– Puritans wanted to purify
the Anglican church of all
traces of the Catholic faith.
• Elizabeth wanted to unite
England under the
Anglican church and
forced those who did not
attend to pay fines. She
refused to allow changes
to the church.
– Ultimately, Elizabeth was
more tolerant in religious
matters than the other
Tudors.
Elizabeth’s Domestic Problems
(cont.) Parliament
– They resented Elizabeth’s
power and viewed itself as a
representative of the people
because of the two main types
of members.
• gentry- landowners with
no title.
• burgesses- merchants
and professionals from
towns and cities.
– Because Elizabeth was such a
good politician, she dealt with
them well by visiting often and
taking their advice.
• She was able to obtain
what she wanted without
allowing them to interfere
a lot.
Origins of the English Civil
War
James I•
James was the son of Mary
Queen of Scots and,
because Elizabeth had no
heir when she died, he
became king. England and
Scotland united when he
came to the throne.
• James was intelligent and
educated, but had little
common sense.
• He believed in the divine
right of kings and did not
allow Parliament to
influence many policies.
– He constantly had
trouble collecting taxes
to fund his projects.
James I
• He also supported the Anglican church, which
made conflict with the Puritans.
– James did agree to a new translation of the Bible, but
that was his only reform in church doctrine under his
rule.
• Finally, James wished to make an alliance with
Spain, which angered many in England. His
negotiations with them led to war.
• Upon James’ death in 1625, he was unpopular
with the English people. His son Charles I
inherited this growing tension.
Assignment
•
•
Divide into teams of 3-4 and choose one of the
countries from the Age of Absolutism (France,
Russia, Central Europe, or England).
Create a travel brochure that advertises for
your particular country. The pamphlet should
be designed to attract foreigners during this
time period who may not have see the many
changes that the country has undergone since
their rulers have come to power (Louis XIV,
Catherine and Peter the Great, Frederick the
Great, and Queen Elizabeth). List key
accomplishments, architecture, wars won, and
anything else of significance.