Download Chapter 21 – Absolute Monarchs in Europe

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Chapter 21 – Absolute Monarchs in Europe
Ch. 21 Section 1: Spain’s Empire and European Absolutism
Philip II
absolute monarch
divine right
inflation
Charles V
El Greco
Don Quixote
Dutch East India Company
Spanish Armada
Terms & People
Philip II – ruled the wealthy Spanish empire, promoted arts, defended Catholicism and fought England
Charles V – a Hapsburg King who was also elected the Holy Roman emperor
Absolute monarch – a king or queen who has unlimited power and seeks to control all aspects of society
El Greco – means “the Greek” his painting showed the deep Catholic faith of Spain
Divine Right – the idea that God created the monarchy and that the monarch is only responsible to God
Don Quixote – called the birth of the modern European novel
Inflation – the decline in the value of money and the rising of prices
Dutch East India Company – a company founded by the Dutch in the early 17th century to establish and direct trade
throughout Asia
Spanish Armada – the fleet of ships sent by the rule of Spain to invade Europe that suffered a huge defeat

What steps did Philip take to defend Catholicism and how did this damage Spain?

Philip believed it was his duty to defend Catholicism against Muslims of the Ottoman Empire and Protestants of
Europe. In 1571, the pope called on Catholic rulers to attack the Ottoman Empire. Philip sent a large Spanish
fleet, which defeated an Ottoman Fleet near Lepanto. In 1588, the Spanish Armada was defeated in an attack on
Protestant England.

Spain was damaged by the Spanish Armada being defeated and it was weakened by the money spent.

What were the long term economic problems in Spain at this time?

Severe inflation (decline in the value of money and increase in the price of goods) caused by growth in population
which increased demand so merchants raised prices and so much silver in the market led to a drop in its value.

Expelling Jews and Muslims around 1500 led to the loss of artisans and business people

Nobles (wealthy landowners) did not have to pay taxes, led to lower classes paying all the taxes so they couldn’t
accumulate wealth. There was no development of a middle class.

Spain still used guilds and old-fashioned business methods, making their goods more expensive

Philip tried to crush the Protestantism in the Netherlands, which caused 7 northern provinces to declare
independence from Spain.

What is absolutism? How does the idea of divine right relate to an absolute monarchy? What were some
causes for the rise of absolutism in Europe?

Absolutism is a system of government where the king or queen held all of the power with in their state boundaries,
as their goal was to control every aspect of society.

They believed in Divine Right which is the idea that God created the monarchy and that the monarch acted as
God’s representative on Earth and that they answered only to God and not to his or her subjects.

Religious and territorial conflicts led to almost continuous warfare. This caused the governments to build huge
armies and levy heavy taxes. This then led to unrest and peasant revolts. The peasants grew tired of the chaos
and were tired of the constant warfare.

Monarchs tried to impose order by increasing their power. They wanted to regulate everything from religious
worship to social gatherings. They created new bureaucracies to control economic life.
Ch. 21 Section 2: The Reign of Louis XIV
Edict of Nantes
Cardinal Richelieu
skepticism
“L’etat, c’est moi”
Louis XIV
Jean Baptiste Colbert
intendants
War of Spanish Succession
Terms & People
Edict of Nantes – s decree of religious toleration issued by King Henry IV that let Huguenots live in peace in France
Louis XIV – French king who built Versailles, fought costly wars and referred to himself as the Sun King
Cardinal Richelieu – a strong minister who worked with Louis XIII
Jean Baptiste Colbert – minister of finance to King Louis XIV whose goal was to make France economically selfsufficient
Skepticism – a philosophy or idea that nothing can be known for certain
Intendants - a French government agent who collected taxes and administered justice under King Louis XIV
“L’etat, c’est moi” – this is French for I am the state which Louis XIV believed
War of Spanish Succession – the war fought to stop the union of the French and Spanish thrones under the French
Bourbons after the king of Spain died

What was Versailles and how did it reflect Louis XIV’s rule as an absolute monarch?

Versailles was a huge palace near France, which Louis XIV had built for him.

The palace was intended to show Louis’ wealth and power

Louis XIV had the nobles live at the palace so the intendants had more power and so he could watch them and
keep them busy so they couldn’t plot against him

What steps did Jean Baptiste Colbert take to turn France into an economic power?

He helped expand manufacturing, placed a high tariff (tax) on imported goods and recognized the importance of
the colonies for ray materials and as a market of French goods ie: fur trade from Canada

What was the War of Spanish Succession fought for and what were the results?

The War of Spanish Succession was to find who’d become the next king of Spain. King of Spain dies with no
heirs. The King promised the throne to Louis XIV’s grandson. Other countries were threatened by this increase in
the Bourbon’s power and joined together to stop it. After 11 years it ended with the Treaty of Utrecht, which said
the Louis’ grandson would remain the King of Spain, but the thrones of Spain and France could not be united.

What were the positive and negative legacies of Louis XIV?

Definition: A legacy is something that you are remembered for after you die.

Positive legacies:

Made France a great power

Leader in European art and literature

Military leader of Europe

Had strong empire of colonies and a lot of wealth coming in from them

Negative legacies:

Left huge debt from all the wars and from building Versailles

Resentment by the poor over taxes and Louis abuse of power which eventually led to the French Revolution
Ch. 21 Section 3: Central European Monarchs Clash
Thirty Years War
Peace of Westphalia
Seven Years War
Maria Theresa
Frederick the Great
Junkers
War of Austrian Succession
Terms & People
Thirty Years War – war fought over religion, territory and power among the European ruling families
Maria Theresa – Austrian ruler who limited nobles’ power, made peasant labor reforms, and stopped Prussian aggression
Peace of Westphalia – peace treaty that ended the Thirty Years War
Frederick the Great – Prussian king whose foreign policies led to war, but who pushed religious toleration and legal
reform at home
Seven Years War – European conflict fought in Europe, India and North America where France lost its colonies
Junkers – Prussian land owning nobles who resisted the King’s growing power
War of Austrian Succession – Frederick II in Prussia wanted the Austrian region of Silesia, which bordered Prussia and
had iron ore. Maria Teresa stopped Prussian aggression but did not regain Silesia

What were some results of the Thirty Years’ War and some consequences of the Peace of Westphalia?
What kind of countries do we see emerge as a result?

Effects of the war: Huge population decrease in Germany, trade and agriculture disrupted, and Germany’s
economy ruined.

Consequences of the Peace of Westphalia: weakened Hapsburg states of Austria and Spain, strengthened
France as they got some German territory, Made German princes independent of the Holy Roman Empire thus
weakening them, ended religious wars in Europe and introduced a new method of peach negotiations whereby all
participants meet to settle the problems of war and decide the terms of peach

Kind of Countries that emerged as a result: it recognized Europe as a group of equal, independent states
rather than the idea of the Catholic empire ruling most of Europe. It marked the beginning of the modern state
system

What steps did the Hapsburgs take to become absolute monarchs in Austria?

They reconquered Bohemia during the 30 Years War and wiped out Protestantism there, created a new nobility
there that pledged loyalty to them, centralized the government and created a standing army and by 1699 had
retaken Hungary from the Ottoman Empire.

What steps did Prussian Monarchs take to become absolute monarchs?

They built a strong army, paid for permanent taxation, weakened the representative assemblies of their territories,
bought cooperation of the Junkers (nobles) by giving them exclusive right to be officers in the army. Prussia
became a rigidly controlled highly militarized society

What primarily was the War of Austrian Succession fought over and what was the result? What sparked
the Seven Years’ War and how did it change North America and Asia?

The War of Austrian Succession was fought over Frederick II in Prussian wanted the Austrian region of Silesia
that bordered Prussia and had iron ore, which was under Maria Teresa control. He sent out his army to occupy
Silesia starting the war. Maria Teresa stopped Prussian aggression, but did not regain Silesia. Prussia became
very powerful.

The Seven Years’ War was sparked by Frederick attacking Saxony an Austrian ally. Soon every European power
was involved. France lost colonies in North America and Britain gained sole economic domination of India.
Ch. 21 Section 4: Absolute Rulers of Russia
Ivan the Terrible
boyars
Romanovs
Peter the Great
St. Petersburg
Catherine the Great
Westernization
Terms & People
Ivan the Terrible – ruled justly until his wife died, and then began his “bad period”
Peter the Great – czar and reformer whose goal was the westernization of Russia, so he advanced education,
modernized the military and built a port on the Baltic Sea
Boyars – a land owning noble in Russia
St Petersburg – the “Window in Europe” and was a sign of the Russian ruler’s wealth and power
Romanovs – the ruling family of Russia that ruled for 300 years
Catherin the Great – ruled with absolute authority but also tried to reform Russia
Westernization – use of western Europe as a model for change, used by Peter the Great

What were some of the positive effects of Ivan’s rule, what were some of the negative effects, and what
does his son’s shortcoming lead to for Russia?

Positive effects of Ivan’s rule: He won many great victories, added lands, started the code of laws and ruled
justly

Negative effects of Ivan’s rule: He turned against the Boyars, he organized a police force to hunt down and
murder people that he considered traitors, executed many boyars, their families and the peasant who worked their
lands thus causing thousands to die, took their land and give it to boyars who had remained loyal to him or lose
their land, and killed his oldest son leaving his weaker son as his heir.

Son’ shortcomings lead to for Russia: to the “Time of Troubles” where heirs died, boyars were fighting for
power and imposters tried to claim the throne

What are two ways Russia differed from Western Europe, who is the ruler who comes to power who looks
to change this, and what are the FIRST steps he takes to learn how to do so?

Ways in which Russia differed from Western Europe: Serfdom lasted much longer in Russia than in western
Europe, serfs were treated like property, Boyars knew little about western Europe as they were cut off from the
Renaissance and Age of Exploration, There were geographic barriers since Russia had no warm-water ports so
ports choked with ice for most of the year. There were religious differences too. Russians were Eastern
Orthodox and most western Europeans were Catholics or Protestants who Russians viewed as heretics.

Peter the Great is the ruler who comes to power who looks to change this.

The First steps that he took were: Peter traveled in German section of Moscow and was fascinated by modern
tools and machinery in the foreign shops. He knew that Russia needed a warm-water port to compete with
western Europe. Then he went on the “Grand Embassy”, a long visit to western Europe to learn about European
customs and manufacturing techniques.

List and explain four different changes Peter makes to Russia to westernize the country?

He increased his power as an absolute ruler to force the change. He brought the Russian Orthodox Church
under his control and set up the Holy Synod to run it under his direction.

He reduced the power of the great landowners by giving positions of authority and grants of land to lower-ranking
men to gain their loyalty.

He modernized the army by hiring European soldiers to train Russian soldiers with European weapons and
tactics. He built a huge army and raised heavy taxes to pay for the army.

He introduced potatoes which became a staple of their diet, started the first newspaper, raised women’s status by
letting them attend social gatherings, make nobles dress in western fashions and cut their beards or pay a tax,
and opened schools of navigation and arts and sciences. He even encouraged people to travel to other countries
to study.

What did Peter build to shows his power, why was it the Window on Europe, and how is it similar to
another great palace by a different absolute monarch?

St. Petersburg

It made travel to the West easier

It is similar to Versailles in that it was built to show Peter’s wealth and power. The nobles were forced to leave the
comforts of Moscow and to live in St. Petersburg, By the time Peter died Russia was also seen as a great power.

List and explain some of the positive reforms Catherine sought to accomplish, and some of the positives
changes she accomplished during her rule.

Positive Reforms: Created a commission to review and recommend laws. She sought to allow religious
toleration and abolish torture and capital punishment. These were not accomplished.

Positive Changes that she did accomplish: Put down serf rebellion and gave nobles complete power over the
serfs which kept the nobles loyal to her.

She defeated the Ottoman Turks to control the northern shore of the Black Sea (warm water) and the rights to
straits leading to the Mediterranean Sea.

Russia, Prussia, and Austria divided up the weak Poland into three sections each taking a piece.

She had vastly enlarged the Russian empire becoming a great power
Places to be able to identify on a map:
Atlantic Ocean
Mediterranean Sea
Black Sea
North Sea
Russia
France
Austria
Baltic Sea
Prussia
Spain
Poland
Ottoman Empire
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