Download Royal Power and Conflict

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Absolutism: unlimited power on an individual or group
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Divine Right: idea that monarchs received their power
directly from God and are only responsible to Him
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Charles V: Holy Roman Emperor
 Divided Hapsburg lands between Ferdinand and Philip II
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Philip II (r. 1556-1598)
 “Defender of the Catholic Faith”
▪ Inquisition: Autos Da Fe
▪ Marranos & Moriscos
▪ Dutch Independence
 Prudent King (cautious and hard-working)
 Unified the Government (capital city – Madrid)
 Spanish Armada:
▪ Fleet of warships; sent to attack England
▪ 130 ships; 33,000 men
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Cervantes – Don Quixote
 Presents a new hero
 Symbolized the decline of Spain
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Inflation became a concern
Philip II’s successors lacked
governing skills
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Was Physically and mentally weak
No heirs to the throne
European monarchs plotted for control
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Henry IV (r. 1589-1610): Henry of Navarre
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Edict of Nantes (1598): allowed Protestantism
Restored the crown’s treasury, repaired roads, etc.
Tried to restore discipline to the military
Laid the foundation of absolutism
Cardinal Richelieu:
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Louis XIII gave power over to him
Destroyed castles to end noble control of France
Gave local authority to intendants, non-nobles
1625: Huguenots revolted against Louis XIII
▪ Lost at La Rochelle (1628)
▪ Lost rights to live in independent towns
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Louis XIV (r. 1643-1715)
 Became king at age 5, began to rule alone at 23
 Absolute Rule:
▪ Feared disorder if a strong monarchy did not exist
▪ Lived through the Fronde as a youth
▪ Supported by the church (Jacques Bossuet)
 Court Life:
▪ Moved the government and courts to Versailles
▪ Kept a close eye on his nobles
 Government Policies:
▪ Carefully chose advisors
▪ Separate authorities for separate duties
▪ Two key aides: Colbert and Tellier
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Louis XIV (continued)
 Taxation
▪ Tax burden was on the poor
▪ Little desire for higher output b/c of higher taxes
 Religious Policy
▪ Persecuted Huguenots; many left France
▪ 1685: repealed the Edict of Nantes
 Expansion and Conflict (War of Spanish Succession)
▪ England, Austria, and the Dutch allied together
▪ Treaty of Utrecht: France and Spain can’t unite
 Legacy
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Brilliant cultural period
Nobles lost ability to govern
Peasants and middle-class resented the wealthy
Nobles wanted to regain power under Louis XV
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Charles V tried to revive the H.R.E. as the
strong center of trade/politics in Europe
Unlike the Eastern Empires – individual
states developed independently
 Protestant Reformation allowed a political
gathering and stronghold for German princes
 Attacks from the French and Ottoman Empire
proved to be to much on the defense
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Thirty Years’ War: Religious conflict continued after
the Peace of Ausburg
 Ferdinand of Stryia was in favor of the Hapsburgs and caused
the Czechs to revolt
 Spain sent aid – Denmark, England, and Sweden joined
together against the Hapsburgs
 Approx. 1/3 of German population killed
 Peace of Westphalia: recognized Calvinism as a religion
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Austria: received land in Italy and the Netherlands
 Pragmatic sanction: allowed female succession and stated that
Hapsburg land could not be divided
 Maria Teresa succeeded Charles VI in 1740
▪ Strengthened the Austrian throne - improved bureaucracy
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Prussia: enemy of Austria during the 1700s
 Fredrick William “the Great Elector”:
▪ Allied with the Junkers (nobles) = absolute power
▪ Only nobles could own land, exempt from taxes
▪ Fredrick I inherited the throne (weak ruler)
 Fredrick William I: a powerful ruler
▪ United all functions into one beaucracy
▪ Devoted to the military (regiment of giants)
 Fredrick II “Fredrick the Great”:
▪ Rejected the pragmatic sanction (seized Austrian land)
▪ 1748: the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle – recognized Prussia
▪ 1756-1763: Seven Years War: G.B. & France competed for land
(ended with the Treaty of Paris)
The Tudor Dynasty
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Henry VII (r. 1485-1509)
 Aristocracy became dependent on the crown
 Used diplomacy to avoid war
 Used marriages to strengthen royal power
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Henry VIII (r. 1509-1547)
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Viewed as the most powerful Tudor monarch
Developed a strong Navy
Married six times
Worked with Parliament to accomplish his goals
Seized monastic lands and redistributed them
Edward VI (r. 1553-1558)
 Inherited the throne at 9 yrs. old – died at 15 yrs. old
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Mary I (r. 1553-1558)
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Was devoutly Catholic; supported by the people
Married Philip II of Spain; restored Catholicism
Went to war with France – lost the port of Calais
Died in 1558 without an heir to the throne
Elizabeth I (r. 1558-1603):
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Also known as the “Virgin Queen”
Speculation on who would succeed her
Respected by her subjects
Elizabethan Court & Government: advised by nobles
Social & Economic Policy: (monarch, gentry, yeomen)
▪ Statute of Apprentices (1563); Poor Laws (1595 & 1601)
 Foreign Policy: Relied on the Channel for protection
▪ Mary Queen of Scots
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Elizabeth did not leave an heir
1603: The English throne passed to James Stuart
of Scotland (Mary Q. of Scots’ son)
King James VI (I):
 United England and Scotland
 Began the Stuart Dynasty
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Opposition to the Crown
 James I believed in divine right (resentment in Parl.)
 Ended the war with Spain and made reparations to Spain
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Religion and the Monarchy
 Puritans wanted a “pure” church, began to emigrate
 1604: Bible translated into English (completed in 1611)
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Charles I (1625-1649):
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Opposed the Puritans; believed in divine right
Appointed Wm. Laud Archbishop of England
Asked Parl. for money to fight France and Spain
1628: forced to sign the Petition of Right (limited power)
Tried to force Catholicism on the Scots and English
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1640: Scots invaded England, Charles calls Parliament, dissolves it
3 weeks later
Forced to call them back, lasted over 20 years
 Abolished Charles’ courts; executed Laud
Ireland rebelled and refused to accept the Church of England
19 Propositions was rejected by Charles and he led troops into the
House of Commons
 Roundheads (led by O. Cromwell) and Cavaliers were gathered for
war
 Charles was forced to surrender in 1649; was executed
 Parliament forced the remaining opposition out
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Commonwealth: state ruled by
elected officials
 Cromwell placed England under
military rule
 Navigation Acts (1651) passed
to benefit English imports
 Cromwell allowed freedom of
religion
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 Enforced Puritan rules in
government
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No strong leader when
Cromwell died in 1658
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The Restoration: Charles II returned (1660)
 Did not challenge Parliament
 Allowed the Clarendon Code
▪ Church of England made the official church.
 Constitutional Monarchy was established
 John Milton’s Paradise Lost
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A Bloodless Revolt: James II succeeded Charles
 1685: claimed that he had absolute power
 Was forced to flee England (the Glorious Revolution)
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1689: they agreed to govern according to Parliament’s
statutes
Parliament passed the Bill of Rights
 King could not raise taxes w/o Parliament's consent
 King could not suspend laws
 Right to trial by jury, no cruel and unusual punishment
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1689: James II led the Irish to recapture England
Act of Settlement (1701): excluded Catholics from
inheriting the throne
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1702: Anne, Mary’s sister succeeded William
 New order of succession since Anne did not have any
children; The house of Hanover
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Act of Union (1707) united Scotland and England
 Scotland able to retain religion and laws
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George I succeeded Anne in 1714, wasn’t English
 Sir Robert Walpole became Prime Minister
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1760: George III became king
 Expanded the British Empire
 American Revolution