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AP European Studies
Study Guide: Absolutism and Constitutionalism
College Board Overview
Absolutism and Constitutionalism
Between 1648 and 1815, the sovereign state was consolidated as the principle form of
political organization across Europe. Justified and rationalized by theories of political
sovereignty, states adopted a variety of methods to acquire the human, fiscal (financial),
and material resources essential for the promotion of their interests. Although
challenged and sometimes effectively resisted by various social groups and institutions,
the typical state of the period, best exemplified by the rule of Louis XIV in France,
asserted claims to absolute authority within its borders. A few states, most notably
England and the Dutch Republic, gradually developed governments in which the
authority of the executive was restricted by legislative bodies protecting the interests of
the landowning and commercial classes.
Between the Peace of Westphalia (1648) and the Congress of Vienna (1814-1815),
European states managed their external affairs within a balance of power system. In
this system, diplomacy became a major component of the relations among states. Most
of the wars of the period, including conflicts fought outside of Europe, stemmed from
attempts either to preserve or disturb the balance of power among European states.
While European monarchs continued to view their affairs in dynastic terms,
increasingly, reasons of state influenced policy.
Main Theme or Themes

States and other Institutions of Power (SP)
Additional Themes
 Objective Knowledge and Subjective Visions (OS)
Key Concept
Different models of political sovereignty affected the relationship among states and
between states and individuals.
I.
In much of Europe, absolute monarchy was established over the course of the
17th and 18th centuries.
A. Absolute monarchies limited the nobility’s participation in governance but
preserved the aristocracy’s social position and legal privileges.
i. Absolute monarchs
II.
III.
1. Louis XIV
2. Peter the Great of Russia
3. Philip II, III and IV of Spain
B. Louis XIV and his finance minter, Jean-Baptiste Colbert, extended the
administrative, financial, military, and religious control of the central state
over the French population.
C. In the 18th century, a number of states in eastern and central Europe
experimented with Enlightened absolutism
i. Enlightened Monarchs
1. Frederick II of Prussia
2. Joseph II of Austria
D. The inability of the Polish monarchy to consolidate its authority over the
nobility led to Poland’s partition by Prussia, Russia, and Austria and its
disappearance from the map of Europe.
E. Peter the Great “westernized” the Russian State and Society, transforming
political, religious, and cultural institutions. Catherine the Great continued
this process
Challenges to absolutism resulted in alternative political systems.
A. The outcome of the English Civil War and the Glorious Revolution
protected the rights of gentry and aristocracy from absolutism through
assertions of the rights of Parliament
i. English Bill of Rights
ii. Parliamentary sovereignty
B. The Dutch Republic developed an oligarchy of urban gentry and rural
landholders to promote trade and protect traditional rights.
After 1648, dynastic and state interests, along with Europe’s expanding
colonial empires, influenced the diplomacy of European stats and frequently
led to war.
A. As a result of Holy Roman Empire’s (HRE)limitation of sovereignty in the
Peace of Westphalia, Prussia rose to power and the Habsburgs, centered in
Austria, shifted their empire eastward.
i. Prussian and Habsburg Rulers
1. Maria Theresa of Austria
2. Frederick William I of Prussia
3. Frederick II of Prussia
B. After the Austrian defeat of the Turks in 1683 at the Battle of Vienna, the
Ottomans ceased their westward expansion.
C. Louis XIV’’s nearly continuous wars, pursuing both dynastic and state
interests provoked a coalition of European powers opposing him.
i. Dutch Wars
ii. Nine Years’ War (France vs the rest of Europe)
iii. War of Spanish Succession
D. Rivalry between Britain and France resulted in world wars fought in both
Europe and the colonies, with Britain supplanting France as the greatest
European power.
The English Civil War
The Stuart Kings
 James I
 James II
 Charles I
 Charles II
William and Mary
Thomas Hobbes Leviathan
John Locke Parliamentarians
Levellers
Roundheads
Cavaliers
Oliver Cromwell
Lord Protector
Glorious Revolution
Right of Revolution
Absolute Monarchy
Constitutional Monarchy
The Stuart Restoration
English Bill of Rights
House of Commons
ship money
"Rump" Parliament Long Parliament
Act of Settlement
Commonwealth and Protectorate
English Civil War
divine-right monarchy
Petition of Rights (213)
Short Parliament
Long Parliament
Magna Carta
Anglican Church
The New Model Army
The Test Act
Whigs
Tories
Limited Monarchy and Republics
How did Britain’s monarchy become the world’s first constitutional monarchy? What events and people
were involved in this process?
What were the struggles between the king and Parliament in England?
How did religion contribute to the increasing tensions in England?
What caused the English Civil War?
How did the government of England change under Cromwell?
Why did some, who supported Parliament in its fight against the king, worry about achieving victory?
Why did Scotland support Parliament?
In what ways was the government of England a limited monarchy?
Was the English Civil War a religious war or a secular war?
What is absolutism?
The Dutch Republic
Terms
Federalism
oligarchy
confederation
William of Orange/The House of Orange
States General
Stadtholder
Dutch East India Company
The Dutch Reformed Church
“real wages”
Rembrandt, The Night Watch (1642)
Vermeer
Tariffs
Concepts
What was the “Golden Age” of the Dutch Republic? Why was it called this?
Why is it incorrect to call the Dutch Republic “Holland”?
When and from whom did the Dutch gain their independence?
Describe the structure of the Dutch Republic. How was it organized?
What factors (economic, political, social and religious) led to the “Golden Age” of the Dutch Republic?
What allowed the Dutch Republic to become an economic power in Europe?
Who/what threatened the success of the Dutch Republic?
What characterized Dutch painting?
What factors led to the decline of the Dutch Republic?
Absolutism
Concepts
List and explain the various political theories that grew out of the Age of Absolutism.
By what methods did absolute monarchs gain power?
How was art influenced by absolutism?
What was the relationship between absolutism and religion?
What were the foundations of absolutism in France?
To what extent was France an absolute monarchy?
Who were the various people who controlled French finances (finance ministers)? What were their
policies?
What was the purpose of Versailles? How did it contribute to the power of the French Monarchy?
What was the purpose of Louis XIV’s wars?
What was the economic theory of mercantilism?
How did the development of the nations of central and Eastern Europe differ from those of France and
England?
Who was the “sleeping giant” of Eastern Europe?
What were the limits of Absolutism?
Cardinal Richelieu
Louis XIII
Louis XIV the "Sun King"
Cardinal Mazarin
Bishop Jacques Bossuet
Cardinal Fleury
Edict of Fontainebleau (aka. Revocation of the Edict
of Nantes)
Versailles
The Fronde
intendants
War of the Spanish Succession [1701-1714]
Treaties of Utrecht [1713-1714]
mercantilism
Taille
Jean-Baptiste Colbert
Parlement of Paris
Estates General
The capitation
Treaty of the Pyrenees (1659)
War of the Austrian League
The War of Spanish Succession
The “Modern” State
Peter the Great
tsar
Muscovy
Ivan III
Ivan IV ["The Terrible"]
boyars
Time of Troubles
Duma
The “Time of Troubles”
Frederick William, the Great Elector
Frederick III [King Frederick I]
Brandenburg-Prussia
Ottoman Empire
Junkers
Austrian Habsburgs
Hohenzollern