Download Chapter 21-Absolute Monarchs in Europe-Sections 1-3

Absolute Monarchs in Europe
Chapter 21
Section 1-Spain’s Empire and
European Absolutism
A Powerful Spanish Empire
• Philip II– Son of Charles V
– Inherited Spain, the Spanish
Netherlands and Spain’s
American colonies
– Philip was shy, serious,
deeply religious, and
aggressive for the sake of his
empire
A Powerful Spanish Empire
• Philip II’s Empire– Controlled Portugal’s holdings,
strongholds in Africa, India, and
the East Indies
– Received 1/4th to 1/5th of each
ships treasure
– Supported an army of 50,000
– Defended and supported
Catholicism against Muslims
Golden Age of Spanish Literature
• During the 16th and 17th century Spain
experienced a golden age in arts
• El Greco– Means “the Greek”
– Paintings represented the deep Catholic faith of
Spain
– Were often hard to understand
• Diego Velazquez– His paintings reflected the pride of the Spanish
monarchy
Golden Age of Spanish Literature
• Don QuixotePublished in 1605
– Called the birth of the
modern European
novel
– Written by Miguel de
Cervantes
– Story surrounds a poor
man who read to many
novels about kings,
than went crazy
The Spanish Empire Weakens
• Inflation and Taxes
– Inflation-The decline in
the value of money
– Causes of Spanish
inflation
• Population had increased
and due to the increased
need for goods merchants
raised prices
• The value of the silver
bullion had decreased
The Spanish Empire Weakens
• Making Spain’s
Enemies Rich
– Spain bought most of
their products from
France, England and the
Netherlands
– To finance their wars
they borrowed money
from German and
Italian bankers
The Independent Dutch Prosper
• The Netherlands won their
independence from Spain in 1579
• They had the best banks and the
best artists in Europe during the
1600’s
• Rembrandt van Rijn– Painted wealthy middle-class
merchants and groups
• Famous works also included The Night
Watch and a series of paintings about
Jesus
The Independent Dutch Prosper
• Dutch Trading
Empire– Had the largest fleet of
ships in the world
• 4,800 ships
– Dutch East Indian
Company• Dominated the spice
trade and the Indian
Ocean trade
Absolutism in Europe
• Absolute Monarchs– Kings or Queens held
all the power within
their states boundaries
• Divine Right– The belief that God
created the monarch
and monarchy to act as
representatives of God
Section 2-The Reign of Louis XIV
Religious Wars and Power Struggles
• Henry IV– In 1589 became the 1st
king of the Bourbon
dynasty in France
– He was decisive, fearless
in battle and a clever
politician
– Converted to
Catholicism to make the
people of France happy
Religious Wars and Power Struggles
• Edict of Nantes– Declaration of
religious tolerance
that allowed the
Huguenots to set
up their own place
of worship
Religious Wars and Power Struggles
• Cardinal Richelieu– A strong minister appointed by
Louis XIII to compensate for his
weakness
– Took two steps to increase the
power of the Bourbon monarchy
• Moved against the Huguenots
– Felt Protestantism was an excuse for
conspiracies against the Catholic Church
• Sought to weaken the power of nobles
Writers Turn Towards Skepticism
• Skepticism– The idea that
nothing can
ever be known
for certain
• To doubt was
viewed as the
first step to
discovering
the truth
Louis XIV Comes to Power
• Louis XIV– Most powerful ruler in
French History
– Viewed the state and
himself as one and the
same
– His goal was to become
so strong that the nobles
could never threaten him
Louis XIV Comes to Power
• Intendants-Government agents who
collected taxes and administered justice in
France under Louis XIV
• Jean Baptiste Colbert-Minister of France
who believed they should be self sufficient
– Fan of mercantilism
– Gave tax breaks to French companies
– Recognized how vital France’s colonies
were in terms of receiving raw materials
Louis Fights Disastrous Wars
• By 1660 France had a
population of 20 million
people
• France’s army was superior to
the other European Countries
in:
– The size of their army
– Their training
– Their weaponry
Louis Fights Disastrous Wars
• The War of Spanish
Succession– Lasted from 1701 to 1714
– Charles II of Spain had promised
the throne to France’s Philip of
Anjou
– England, Austria, Dutch
Republic, Portugal and several
German and Italian states joined
forces to prevent the union of the
France and Spain thrones
Louis Fights Disastrous Wars
• The War of Spanish Succession
– Treaty of Utrecht-Stated that
Philip could remain king of
Spain as long as both thrones
remained separate
– England emerges as the big
winner
• They captured the fort at
Gibraltar
• Received permission to send
slaves to Spain’s American
colonies
• England also received Nova
Scotia and Newfoundland
(In modern day Canada)
Louis Fights Disastrous Wars
• Louis’ Death and His Legacy
– Positive Effects:
• France ranked as the best
European country in terms of art,
literature, and statesmanship
• Strongest military power in Europe
– Negative Effects:
• The Palace of Versailles plunged
France into debt
• There was resentment over high
taxes and Louis’ abuse of power
Section 3-Central European
Monarchs Clash
The Thirty Years’ War
• The Thirty Years’ War
– A conflict over religion,
territory, and power among
European ruling families
that lasted from 1618 to
1648.
• It can be broken down into
two main phases:
– The Hapsburg Triumphs
– The Hapsburg Defeats
The Thirty Years’ War
• The Hapsburg Triumphs
– Hapsburg armies from Austria and Spain crushed
Protestant forces in Germany and those hired by
princes as well as the Czech uprising
– Ferdinand II paid his 125,000 man army by
allowing them to loot the areas they attacked
The Thirty Years’ War
• The Hapsburg Defeats– 1630 Gustavus Adolphus of
Sweden and his 23,000 man army
drove the Hapsburg army out of
Germany
– 1635 Cardinal Richelieu sent
French troops to help German
and Swedish protestants
fighting the Hapsburgs
The Thirty Years’ War
• Peace of Westphalia-1648
– Weakened the Hapsburg states of Austria
and Germany
– Awarded France German territory
– Made German princes independent of the
Holy Roman Empire
– Ended religious wars in Europe
– Created a method of negotiations for
reaching peace
States Form in Central Europe
• Economic Contrasts in the West
– Serfs in the west moved to towns and
gained economic power through
capitalism
– The aristocracy in Central Europe
passed laws to restrict the serfs ability
to gain freedom
• The Ottoman Empire and Holy
Roman Empire had been severely
weakened by the 1600’s
Persia Challenges Austria
• Frederick “The Great”– Loved music, philosophy and
poetry
– His father feared he wasn’t
militarily savvy enough to rule
– When he and his friend ran away
his punishment was to watch his
friends beheading
– He encouraged religious tolerance,
legal reform and felt a king should
act like a father to his people
Persia Challenges Austria
• The Seven Years’ War– 1756 Frederick attacked
Saxony as a result all major
European powers were now at
war
• Britain and Persia on one side
• Austria, France, and Russia on
the other
• The war was fought in Europe,
India and North America
• The War ended in 1763 with no
major territorial changes