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CH. 7: CRISIS AND ABSOLUTISM IN EUROPE 1550 - 1715 I. EUROPE IN CRISIS: THE WARS OF RELIGION A. THE FRENCH WARS OF RELIGION • The religiously motivated conflicts of the early sixteenth century, culminating in the Peace of Augsburg (1555), had not even remotely decided the religious situation in Europe. In the second half of the century, Calvinism and Catholicism continued to be militant faiths bent on defeating one another. • The so-called wars of religion in the later 1500s were not entirely motivated by religious issues, however. Like all historical conflicts, they were partly based on economic, social and political considerations as well. • Perhaps the most devastating conflict in this era was the series of French civil wars from 1562 to 1598. The Schmalkaldic War Surrender at Breda, Eighty Years’ War I. EUROPE IN CRISIS: THE WARS OF RELIGION A. THE FRENCH WARS OF RELIGION Catherine de’Medici • French Protestants, called Huguenots, made up only about 7% of the population of France, but nearly half of the aristocracy. Consequently, the Huguenots were wealthy and powerful. • The leaders of the Huguenot movement were the Bourbon family, who ruled the semi-independent nation of Navarre and were close in line of succession to the crown of France. This made them dangerous to the Valois kings. • An extreme faction called the ultra-Catholics was led by the Guise family. They drew support from the north and northwest of the country, and they were able to recruit large private armies. • Towns and cities tended to favor the Huguenot cause, not for religious reasons, but because they resented the authority of the monarchy, which had sided with the ultra-Catholics. These gave the Huguenots bases from which to operate. I. EUROPE IN CRISIS: THE WARS OF RELIGION A. THE FRENCH WARS OF RELIGION • The conflicts raged for over thirty years and nine separate civil wars. Fighting was notably brutal on both sides. Sieges routinely turned into wholesale slaughters. On St. Bartholomew’s Day (Aug. 24), 1572, Catholic forces massacred 2,000 Protestants in Paris, and another 8,000 in the rest of France. • In 1594, Prince Henry of Navarre, the leader of the Huguenot cause, became the sole heir to the vacant French throne. In order to be crowned, he hastily converted to Catholicism. • To secure the end of the wars, Henry (now Henry IV of France) signed the Edict of Nantes in 1598. This treaty recognized Catholicism as the official religion of France, but allowed freedom of worship and full citizenship for Protestants. St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre Henry IV I. EUROPE IN CRISIS: THE WARS OF RELIGION PREVIEW • Philip II and Militant Catholicism • The England of Elizabeth • Pgs. 212 - 214 Philip II of Spain The Spanish Armada Elizabeth I of England I. EUROPE IN CRISIS: THE WARS OF RELIGION B. PHILIP II AND MILITANT CATHOLICISM Philip II of Spain Battle of Lepanto • Catholic rulers of the late sixteenth century were typified by Philip II of Spain (reigned 1556 – 1598), son of Charles V. Philip regarded himself as the champion of the Catholic Church, and the Spanish people as the instrument of God’s will. • In many areas, Philip was remarkably successful in establishing Spain as the dominant power in the world. He collected tremendous wealth from Spanish colonies in the Americas, he added Portugal to his domains, and he led the Catholic League to victory over the Turks at the Battle of Lepanto in 1571. • Philip’s reign was also characterized by several important failures. I. EUROPE IN CRISIS: THE WARS OF RELIGION B. PHILIP II AND MILITANT CATHOLICISM • Philip inherited the Spanish Netherlands, 17 provinces that are now the Netherlands and Belgium. He tried to dominate these important merchant centers and impose Catholicism on the Calvinist population. • Conflict broke out in 1566 over the desecration of Catholic churches. This became a full-scale revolt of the seven United Provinces under William the Silent, Prince of Orange. The Eighty Years’ War (1568-1648) ended in the independence of the Dutch Republic. • Philip’s attempt to dominate Protestant England also led to costly defeat, as we shall see. • By Philip’s death in 1598, the Spanish treasury was empty, the army was no longer the best in Europe, and the American colonies were ravaged by English pirates. I. EUROPE IN CRISIS: THE WARS OF RELIGION C. THE ENGLAND OF ELIZABETH • Elizabeth Tudor (ruled 1558-1603), illegitimate younger daughter of Henry VIII, came to the throne of England during trying times. Her half-sister, Bloody Mary, had persecuted Protestants and divided the nation. Elizabeth passed an Act of Supremacy, making her the sole authority in government and religion. She established a Protestant English church that was moderate and did not harass Catholics. • Elizabeth also followed a moderate course in international politics. She attempted to play Spain and France off of one another to prevent either from becoming too powerful. • At the same time, Elizabeth issued letters of mark to English privateers like Sir Francis Drake, who raided Spanish shipping in the New World. This, of course, angered Philip II. Elizabeth I of England Sir Francis Drake I. EUROPE IN CRISIS: THE WARS OF RELIGION C. THE ENGLAND OF ELIZABETH Spanish galleons • Philip II had long wanted to invade England. As the former husband of Bloody Mary, he believed that English Catholics would welcome him as a savior. • In 1588, Philip gathered a great fleet of warships and troop transports, called an armada. The plan was to sail across the English Channel and deliver an army to seize London. • Fortunately for Elizabeth, English naval forces had several key advantages over the Spanish. They had faster and more maneuverable ships with professional crews, they had longer-range cannons, they had experienced admirals like Drake, and they had fire-ships. • In a series of engagements between July and August, 1588, the English fleet defeated the Armada and drove the Spanish out of the Channel. England had been saved, and Spain had wasted a huge amount of money, ships and lives. II. SOCIAL CRISES, WAR, AND REVOLUTION PREVIEW • • • • Economic and Social Crises The Witchcraft Trials The Thirty Years’ War Pgs. 216 - 218 II. SOCIAL CRISES, WAR, AND REVOLUTION A. ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL CRISES • From the mid-1500s to the mid-1600s, the economy of Europe experienced a severe decline. Factors that contributed to the crisis: • Italian mercantile cities had been economic leaders in the Renaissance. By the 1550s, they had lost control of international trade to the Spanish. The central European economy declined. • By 1600, the Spanish economy was entirely dependent on silver imported from the New World. The availability of specie combined with a lack of skilled artisans created rampant inflation. Military disasters and pirate raids caused the availability of silver to fluctuate, and the Spanish economy to collapse by 1620. • Warfare, plague and famine in central Europe (more on this later) contributed to a declining population. This led to destabilization and social unrest. II. SOCIAL CRISES, WAR, AND REVOLUTION B. THE WITCHCRAFT TRIALS Execution Sabbat • Belief in witches and black magic were not new. Europeans have a long tradition of blaming misfortune on witchcraft. From 1550 to 1650, however, a widespread witch-hunting craze ravaged central Europe. Historians have not explained this phenomenon. • Witch trials usually occurred in villages or small towns, with a few cases in large cities. The accused were usually poor and unprotected individuals. 75% were women, mostly single or widowed, and over 50 years old. • Under judicial torture, the accused often confessed to attending black masses, performing spells, and consorting with demons. In total, more than 100,000 people were tortured, found guilty and executed for witchcraft in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. • The witch hunt craze had played out in most places by 1650. Again, there is no satisfying explanation as to why. Hammer of Witches II. SOCIAL CRISES, WAR, AND REVOLUTION C. THE THIRTY YEARS’ WAR • The Peace of Augsburg (1555) had not solved the religious questions of the Holy Roman Empire. The same arguments led to the outbreak of the Thirty Years’ War, the most destructive war in history up to that point. • The emperor Ferdinand II attempted to enforce Catholicism on his entire state, including Calvinist Bohemia. The Bohemians elected as their king Frederick V, Elector of the Palatinate. This would have challenged Ferdinand’s rule as emperor, especially since the other Protestant states in Europe supported him. • The first stage of the war was thus a religious conflict. Catholic Spain and Bavaria sent large armies to support Ferdinand, while Frederick relied on the other Protestant electors of Saxony and Brandenburg. The Catholic forces soundly defeated the Protestants at the Battle of the White Mountain in 1620, and there the war could have ended. Defenestration of Prague II. SOCIAL CRISES, WAR, AND REVOLUTION C. THE THIRTY YEARS’ WAR • The original cause of the war had been settled, but Ferdinand continued to antagonize the Protestant princes, who felt they had no choice but to rebel. • For entirely political reasons, other European nations became involved. Cardinal Richelieu, prime minister of France, joined the Protestant cause in order to weaken the Spanish Hapsburgs. Gustavus II Adolphus of Sweden also intervened on the Protestant side. • For a generation, foreign armies marched through Germany, raiding the countryside for food and horses. The German people suffered greatly from violence, starvation and disease. In total, 8,000,000 died. • The war ended in 1648 with the Peace of Westphalia. The Peace gave the princes of Germany absolute freedom to choose the faith of their state and conduct foreign relations. The Holy Roman Empire was Gustavus II Adolphus effectively dismantled, and France emerged as the dominant power in Europe. II. SOCIAL CRISES, WAR, AND REVOLUTION PREVIEW • Revolutions in England • The Stuarts and Divine Right • Civil War and the Commonwealth • The Restoration • A Glorious Revolution • Pgs. 219 - 221 SECTIONS I AND II HOMEWORK • Answer each question in a half-page response with complete sentences. Be accurate, be specific, be complete. Due tomorrow. • 1. Explain the sequence of events that led to the Edict of Nantes. • 2. Read Elizabeth I’s “Golden Speech” on pg. 215. Identify the phrases that convey her feelings towards her subjects. • 3. How did the Peace of Westphalia impact the Holy Roman Empire? How did it impact the German principalities? II. SOCIAL CRISES, WAR, AND REVOLUTION D. REVOLUTIONS IN ENGLAND • The mid-seventeenth century was a violent and tumultuous time. In addition to the Thirty Years’ War in Germany and the Eighty Years’ War in the Netherlands, there were violent revolutions in other parts of Europe. • In England, two separate civil wars between King Charles I and Parliament were fought over what form of government would rule the nation. A further revolution was necessary to settle the question once and for all. II. SOCIAL CRISES, WAR, AND REVOLUTION E. THE STUARTS AND DIVINE RIGHT • Queen Elizabeth I died in 1603 with no direct heirs. The throne passed to her cousin once removed. He became King James I of England and VI of Scotland. He was the first of the Stuart dynasty, descended from Mary, Queen of Scots. • James was a believer in the divine right of kings, a philosophy that was not popular with Parliament. Furthermore, James was in favor of a centrally-organized Church of England, which was upsetting to the Puritans, who wanted to retain autonomy. • The conflict between monarch and Parliament became worse under James’s son, Charles I. In 1628, he attempted to raise taxes without Parliament’s consent and introduce rituals into Anglican worship that were similar to Catholic rites. These acts offended the House of Commons, which included many influential Puritans. King James VI & I House of Commons II. SOCIAL CRISES, WAR, AND REVOLUTION F. CIVIL WAR AND THE COMMONWEALTH Battle of Naseby Execution of Charles I • Tensions led to civil war in 1642, when soldiers of Parliament (Roundheads) fought against the Royalist forces (Cavaliers). At first, the fighting was inconclusive; neither side was very well disciplined. • An obscure member of Parliament and a devoted Puritan named Oliver Cromwell took over Roundhead forces and created the New Model Army. This professional force defeated Charles in 1646 at the Battle of Naseby. He attempted an escape the following year. • As leader of the army, Cromwell took the lead in reforming the government. He purged the membership of Parliament, engineered the execution of Charles, and helped establish the Commonwealth of England. • By 1653, Cromwell had become frustrated with republican rule. He dissolved Parliament and set himself up as a military dictator. He was king in all but name until his death in 1658. II. SOCIAL CRISES, WAR, AND REVOLUTION G. THE RESTORATION • With Cromwell dead, the Commonwealth soon collapsed and Charles’s son, Charles II, was restored to the throne in 1660. Charles II’s reign (1660-1685) was troubled by disasters (plague, fire), war (Dutch Wars, War of Devolution) and personal scandal (eleven illegitimate children, Catholic sympathies). • Charles had no legitimate children, so his natural heir was his brother, James Stuart. James was an avowed Catholic, which caused concern within Parliament. Some in government (the Whigs) attempted to pass the Exclusion Bill to prevent James from becoming king, but Charles dissolved Parliament before it could vote. • Others in Parliament (the Tories) believed that James posed little threat to the nation. He was elderly, and his two daughters were both Protestant. Late in life, however, James and his second wife produced a son, also named James, who would be a Catholic heir to the throne. Stuart dynasty James II II. SOCIAL CRISES, WAR, AND REVOLUTION H. A GLORIOUS REVOLUTION William & Mary James Francis Edward Stuart • Rather than have a Catholic dynasty in England, Parliament invited James II’s son-in-law William, Prince of Orange, to take the throne. In 1688, William, his wife Mary, and a small army invaded from the Netherlands. Rather than fight, James II and his family fled to France. This was the “Glorious Revolution.” • William (III) and Mary (II) took the throne in 1689. At the same time, they signed the English Bill of Rights. It asserted Parliament’s rights to raise taxes, make laws, and raise an army. The king could not govern without the consent of Parliament, which destroyed divine right monarchy and created constitutional monarchy. • The Bill of Rights also gave citizens the right to bear arms, and access to jury trial. The Toleration Act of 1689 allowed citizens to freely worship in any Protestant denomination. Catholicism was still officially banned, yet no further religious persecutions would take place in England. III. RESPONSE TO CRISIS: ABSOLUTISM PREVIEW • • • • • • France Under Louis XIV Richelieu and Mazarin Louis Comes to Power Government and Religion The Economy and War Pgs. 223 - 226 Richelieu Mazarin Louis XIV III. RESPONSE TO CRISIS: ABSOLUTISM A. FRANCE UNDER LOUIS XIV • After the political and social upheaval of the first half of the seventeenth century, some European nations sought stability by increasing the authority of the monarchy. Based on the theory of divine-right kingship, the idea ran that by concentrating power in the hands of the monarch, the noble class would not be able to effectively rebel. This form of kingship is called absolutism. • The reign of Louis XIV of France (1643-1715) is seen as the greatest example of absolutism in action. During his majority (1661 on), Louis had unquestioned authority over taxation, legislation, justice, bureaucracy and foreign policy. • During Louis XIV’s reign, France came to dominate the political and social atmosphere of Europe. French aggression led to several global wars. Every court in Europe tried to copy the style and grandeur of Louis’s Versailles Palace. Louis XIV, the Sun King Versailles Palace, Orangerie III. RESPONSE TO CRISIS: ABSOLUTISM B. RICHELIEU AND MAZARIN Richelieu at La Rochelle Faubourg Saint-Antoine • Between the Edict of Nantes in 1598 and the coronation of Louis XIV in 1643, France experienced a prolonged period of political struggle and uncertainty. During the rule of Louis’s father, Louis XIII, France was held together by the king’s first minister, Cardinal Richelieu. • Under the cardinal’s leadership, the Huguenots were stripped of their political rights and independence. Richelieu, through his spy network, uncovered several aristocratic plots to destroy the government. The plotters were executed and their power diminished. • When Louis XIV came to the throne, he was only four years old. During his minority, France was ruled by Cardinal Mazarin. A conspiracy of nobles, called the Fronde, fought two rebellions against the young king in 1648 and 1650-53. Mazarin defeated both uprisings, executed their leaders, and took their property for the Crown. With the nobility crushed, the power of the monarchy could grow without limits. III. RESPONSE TO CRISIS: ABSOLUTISM C. LOUIS COMES TO POWER • Upon Cardinal Mazarin’s death in 1661, Louis XIV took personal control of the French government. At the age of 23, and with a reputation for frivolity, few took him seriously when he announced that he would personally handle all of the day-to-day decisions of the government. • Louis meant business. For the next 54 years, he reviewed the work of all his government ministers on a daily basis. He stuck to a strict schedule, working eight to ten hours a day on government affairs. No decision was made without his consent. • Louis styled himself as the source of light for the people of France: the Sun King. Under his personal rule, France became the most powerful and prosperous nation in Europe. The Sun King The Hall of Mirrors, Versailles III. RESPONSE TO CRISIS: ABSOLUTISM D. GOVERNMENT AND RELIGION Louis’s royal council Versailles, Marble Court Huguenots in Germany • Louis held court at the palace of Versailles. This was Louis’s home, governmental offices, and cultural center of France. Nobles came to Versailles to attend the king and to ask for jobs. • Louis’s political rivals were the wealthiest nobles and the royal princes. To limit their power, he barred them from the royal council. He invited them to stay at Versailles where he could watch them and distract them with opulent living. • Louis personally appointed officials and expected absolute loyalty from them. On the local level, where nobles and town councils managed affairs, Louis bribed them. In this manner, he ran the state. • In order to create religious unity in France, Louis persecuted the Huguenots. He renounced the Edict of Nantes and destroyed Protestant churches. Hundreds of thousands of Huguenots fled France. III. RESPONSE TO CRISIS: ABSOLUTISM E. THE ECONOMY AND WAR • Louis’s plans for French domination of Europe were extremely expensive. In order to manage the nation’s finances, he turned to Jean-Baptiste Colbert, who employed mercantilist principles. • Colbert reformed the economy by subsidizing new industries, building roads and canals, implementing tariffs and creating a merchant marine. • Colbert’s reforms generated so much wealth for the Crown that Louis XIV could raise a standing army of over 400,000 men. This was a necessary improvement, as Louis engaged in the War of Devolution, the Franco-Dutch War, the War of the Grand Alliance, and the War of the Spanish Succession all between 1665 and 1713. • Through Louis XIV’s military campaigns, he was able to add some territory to the eastern border of France and to crown a member of the Bourbon family as king of Spain. Jean-Baptiste Colbert French army uniforms III. RESPONSE TO CRISIS: ABSOLUTISM PREVIEW • • • • • Legacy of Louis XIV Absolutism in Central Europe The Emergence of Prussia The New Austrian Empire Pgs. 226 - 227 III. RESPONSE TO CRISIS: ABSOLUTISM F. LEGACY OF LOUIS XIV Louis XV • Louis XIV’s military adventures and economic experiments were successful in the short term. France was the cultural center of Europe, it had gained territory in the Netherlands, and it had a stable absolutist political system. • The wars of Louis’s reign had devastating longterm consequences. Upon his death in 1715, France was bankrupt and every other European nation was an enemy. Constant war had depleted the resources and population of the nation. • Louis repented of his free-spending and aggressive ways. He warned his great-grandson and heir, Louis XV, not to spend too much or war too much. Unfortunately for France, Louis XV was only five years old at his coronation. III. RESPONSE TO CRISIS: ABSOLUTISM G. ABSOLUTISM IN CENTRAL EUROPE • The Thirty Years’ War had devastated Germany. The Holy Roman Empire no longer existed, and with it had gone all centralized political authority. Three hundred independent states were left to fend for themselves in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. • The most powerful German territories, like Saxony and Bavaria, had suffered politically after the Peace of Westphalia. In their place, a new power center arose in central Europe: Prussia. • After the loss of the old Empire, the Hapsburg family regrouped and established a new empire centered around their hereditary lands in Austria. III. RESPONSE TO CRISIS: ABSOLUTISM H. THE EMERGENCE OF PRUSSIA • In the mid-1600s, Brandenburg-Prussia was a geographically divided territory with no natural borders and several warlike neighbors. In order to protect his state, Frederick William Hohenzollern, called the Great Elector, raised a professional standing army of 40,000 men. • To manage the army, Frederick William The Great Elector and Family created the General War Commissariat, which later became the principle office of government. It was staffed by generals from landed aristocratic families, called the Junkers, who supported the Great Elector’s rule. • Frederick William’s son, Frederick III, assumed office of his father in 1701. He was secure enough in his power and territory to declare himself the first king of Prussia as Frederick I. III. RESPONSE TO CRISIS: ABSOLUTISM I. THE NEW AUSTRIAN EMPIRE • The Hapsburgs were the dukes of Austria. They controlled territory in what is now Austria, the Czech Republic and Hungary. With their defeat in the Thirty Years’ War, the Hapsburgs shifted their focus away from Germany and focused on southeastern Europe. • The Austrian army, under Charles V, Duke of Lorraine, defeated the Ottoman Turks at the Battle of Mohacs in 1687. After the victory, Austria claimed all of Hungary, Transylvania, Croatia and Slavonia. By the end of the eighteenth century, the Empire covered most of southeastern Europe. • The new Empire was composed of more than a dozen states, with their own customs and laws. The only institution that held them together was the emperor himself, who was hereditary duke of Austria, king of Bohemia and king of Hungary. Hapsburg rule was never centralized or absolutist, as a result. III. RESPONSE TO CRISIS: ABSOLUTISM PREVIEW • Russia Under Peter the Great • Military & Governmental Changes • Cultural Changes • St. Petersburg • Pgs. 227 - 229 SECTIONS II AND III HOMEWORK • Answer each question in a half-page response with complete sentences. Be accurate, be specific, be complete. Due tomorrow. • 1. Trace the sequence of events that led to the English Bill of Rights. • 2. What steps did Louis XIV take to maintain absolute power? • 3. How did Frederick William build a centralized state in Prussia? Why was the Austrian Empire not able to do the same? III. RESPONSE TO CRISIS: ABSOLUTISM J. RUSSIA UNDER PETER THE GREAT • In the fifteenth century, Russia was an economic and social backwater still under the domination of the Tatars. By the sixteenth century, the princes of Muscovy had gained control of the state and, in 1547, Ivan IV the Terrible declared himself czar of all Russia. • Ivan killed his only son and heir, so after his death, a period of chaos followed (the Time of Troubles). This lasted until 1613, when Prince Michael Romanov of Moscow was elected czar by the Zemsky Sobor. The Romanovs would rule Russia until 1917. • The most influential of the Romanov czars was Peter the Great (reigned 1689-1725). Peter was an absolutist monarch who used his supreme authority to reform Russian society. He toured Europe in the early years of his reign, and adopted modern German military and industrial techniques. By the time of his death, Russia was a powerful participant in European politics. Ivan the Terrible Peter the Great III. RESPONSE TO CRISIS: ABSOLUTISM K. MILITARY & GOVERNMENTAL CHANGES Russian army, 1715 Russian navy • Peter the Great’s major goal was to reform Russia’s military along modern lines. He created an officer corps made up of Russian aristocrats and foreign professionals. He instituted a draft system which created a permanent standing army of 210,000 men who served for 25-year terms. Peter also created the first Russian navy, a project for which he had tremendous enthusiasm. • Peter attempted to reform the civil administration of the state as well, but he was much less successful. He wanted a bureaucracy of efficient, patriotic and honest servants, but he managed them through intimidation and threats of execution. Peter wanted to create a society based on law and order, but instead he made Russia into a brutal police state managed by corrupt administrators. III. RESPONSE TO CRISIS: ABSOLUTISM L. CULTURAL CHANGES • Peter the Great’s reforms also included changes to Russian culture. He wanted the Russian people to dress and act like “civilized” citizens of the West. A handbook of etiquette was published at Peter’s command, which advised courtiers not to spit on the floor or scratch themselves at the dinner table. • Peter also demanded that Russian aristocrats cut their traditional long beards and wear short coats rather than their usual long dress-like apparel. This may have come as something of a shock to the Russian nobility, but Peter enforced his wishes, sometimes personally. • Traditionally, women had been segregated from men in Russian society. Following European conventions, Peter insisted that women be allowed to mingle with men at court functions. He even introduced the idea of dancing to his court. Consequently, the influence of women in high society increased tremendously. Traditional coat Formal court ball III. RESPONSE TO CRISIS: ABSOLUTISM M. ST. PETERSBURG • The ultimate goal of Peter the Great’s reforms was to make Russia an important and powerful Western power. In order to do this, Peter reasoned, he needed access to the Baltic Sea. • Sweden controlled the Baltic coast, including all of what is now Finland. Russia declared war on Sweden, and the two nations fought the Great Northern War (1700-1721), which led to Russia’s acquisition of a port and Sweden’s demise as a world power. • Peter began constructing a new city on swampy ground in 1703. By 1724, St. Petersburg was completed. The beautiful, Westernstyle metropolis became the capital of Russia, and remained as such until 1918. St. Petersburg The Hermitage, St. Petersburg IV. THE WORLD OF EUROPEAN CULTURE PREVIEW • Mannerism • The Baroque Period • Pgs. 230 - 231 IV. THE WORLD OF EUROPEAN CULTURE A. MANNERISM • The social and spiritual turmoil of the mid1500s brought an end to the secular positivism of the Renaissance. People were less certain about the world around them; they were anxious and concerned about spirituality in a new way. • These tensions found expression in the art of the period. The Renaissance concern with balance, proportion and realism were replaced by a style called Mannerism. Mannerist painters used distortions of perspective and elongation of forms to convey emotion and religious significance. • The most famous of the Mannerist artists was El Greco, a painter from Crete who studied in Italy and worked in Spain. El Greco’s works use distorted human figures and unnatural color schemes to create a mood of anxiety and dread. “Opening the Fifth Seal” “View and Plan of Toledo” IV. THE WORLD OF EUROPEAN CULTURE B. THE BAROQUE PERIOD “Martyrdom of St. Peter” by Caravaggio Paris Opera House • In the late 1500s, Mannerism was replaced by the Baroque style. The Baroque movement began in Italy and was embraced by both the Catholic Church and the great monarchs of the era, especially the Hapsburgs of Spain and Austria. • Baroque art includes both painting and architecture. The style attempts to combine the technical excellence of the Renaissance with the resurgent religious passion of the sixteenth century. Paintings use dramatic effects such as lighting and shading to create striking images and spiritual significance. • Baroque architecture emphasizes grandeur and elaborate decoration. This is in line with the Renaissance architectural style, as well as making a visual statement of power. The princes and kings on the late sixteenth century wanted to awe their own subjects and other monarchs with these opulent buildings. IV. THE WORLD OF EUROPEAN CULTURE B. THE BAROQUE PERIOD • The greatest architect and sculptor of the Baroque period is Gian Lorenzo Bernini. His works, including the interior of Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome, exhibit a great deal of dynamism and action. • Bernini’s most famous work, and perhaps the best example of the Baroque aesthetic, is his Throne of Saint Peter. This ornate chair cover features statues of Church fathers holding it up while angels and rays of light crown its top. • Female artists, like Artemisia Gentileschi, contributed to the Baroque movement. Gentileschi’s portraits of women from the Bible combine realism, drama and atmosphere to typify the Baroque style. “Judith Slaying Holofernes” IV. THE WORLD OF EUROPEAN CULTURE PREVIEW • • • • A Golden Age of Literature England’s Shakespeare Spanish Literature Pgs. 231-232 IV. THE WORLD OF EUROPEAN CULTURE C. A GOLDEN AGE OF LITERATURE • Along with advances in the visual arts, the period from 1580 to 1640 also saw elaboration in literature from the major powers of western Europe. Specifically, the greatest examples of the era come from England and Spain. • While poetry, the novel, and nonfiction writing reflected the developments of the period, it was changes in the writing of theater that are most memorable, especially in English. IV. THE WORLD OF EUROPEAN CULTURE D. ENGLAND’S SHAKESPEARE • The Elizabethan period in England (the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries) saw an enormous amount of cultural creativity and energy. This is most evident in theatrical works, especially those of William Shakespeare. • Theater in Shakespeare’s day was a prosperous business. His Globe Theater seated 3,000, and admission was as little as a penny so that the poor could attend. Theater appealed to all segments of society, but especially to the middle class. • Shakespeare is regarded as the principle genius of the period for two reasons. His command of and creativity with the English language is unparalleled. His profound understanding of human psychology enabled him to create realistic, compelling characters. The Globe Theater Shakespeare’s “Richard III” IV. THE WORLD OF EUROPEAN CULTURE E. SPANISH LITERATURE Lope de Vega Don Quixote & Sancho Panza • As in England, theater was an immensely popular form of entertainment in Spain. The pre-eminent writer of Spanish theater in the late sixteenth century was Lope de Vega, who may have written as many as 1,500 plays. These were mostly fast-paced comedies meant to satisfy paying customers. • The greatest work of Spanish literature from this era is not a play, but a novel. Don Quixote, by Miguel de Cervantes, tells the story of an idealistic and deluded knight of La Mancha and his sober-minded squire Sancho Panza. The two represent two sides of the Spanish character, and by the end of the novel they realize that they need one another’s perspective to succeed. IV. THE WORLD OF EUROPEAN CULTURE PREVIEW • • • • Political Thought Hobbes Locke Pg. 233 SECTIONS III AND IV HOMEWORK • Answer each question in a half-page response with complete sentences. Be accurate, be specific, be complete. Due tomorrow. • 1. Why was it so important that Peter the Great have a seaport on the Baltic? • 2. How did Mannerist and Baroque art reflect the mood and cultural themes of the era? • 3. When was the “golden age” of Spanish literature? Who set the standard for playwrights? What was his goal as an author? IV. THE WORLD OF EUROPEAN CULTURE F. POLITICAL THOUGHT • The social upheaval of the seventeenth century caused monarchs and politicians to be obsessed with order and power. This focus was reflected in the art and literature of the time, but perhaps most directly in works of philosophy. • Political philosophers became prominent all over Europe in the sixteenth century, including Rene Descartes of France and Samuel von Pufendorf of Germany. • In England, the radical changes brought about by the Civil War, the Commonwealth and the Glorious Revolution caused political theorists to look at questions of authority in new ways. Two very different perspectives arose in the late 1600s. Samuel von Pufendorf IV. THE WORLD OF EUROPEAN CULTURE G. HOBBES Thomas Hobbes The Leviathan • Thomas Hobbes was a political thinker of the mid-1600s. He was horrified by the brutality of the English Civil War, in which he saw tendencies towards anarchy. • In his principle work, Leviathan (pub. 1651), Hobbes argued that human existence is essentially “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short.” He said that government, then, is a social contract that people voluntarily enter into in order to improve their lives through order. • In Hobbes’s view, political authority should be absolute in order to suppress the savage instincts of the populace. Rebellions should be crushed and civil order preserved at all costs. IV. THE WORLD OF EUROPEAN CULTURE H. LOCKE • The opposite view was taken by John Locke in his book, Two Treatises of Government (pub. 1690). He viewed the natural state of man as one of freedom and equality. He was the first to discuss natural rights, which included life, liberty and property. • For Locke, government existed to protect citizens’ natural rights. It was the duty of citizens to support their system of government, unless the government violated their rights, in which case they were free to form a new one. • Although his ideas were later used to justify the American and French revolutions, Locke was not an advocate of democracy. He believed that political rights should only be for the landed aristocracy. Nevertheless, his concept of natural rights was adopted by Thomas Jefferson and others in the eighteenth century. John Locke Declaration of Independence