Download Absolute Monarchs in Europe

Absolute Monarchs
in Europe
Spain’s Empire
Chapter 21.1
Quick Question…
What do you think of when you
hear the word “ABSOLUTE”
What are some synonyms for
this word?
Quick Introduction…
 What is an ABSOLUTE MONARCH?
 A king or queen who has total power, and seeks to
control all aspects of society
 What gives the king their power?

Divine Right – belief that God gave the king his
“right” to be king (God’s Representative)
Feudalism
Need for Central
Power
Renaissance
Evolution of
Absolutism
Growth of
Cities
Growth of
Nationalism
I. Spain’s Rise to Power
 In the 1500s Spain gained land, this meant that Spain
gained “power and influence.”
 Spain had an ABSOLUTE RULER, Charles V.
 What he controlled:

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Spain
Spain’s colonies in the New World
Parts of Italy, Netherlands, and Austria
Much of Germany
 Charles V split his land, and retired to a monastery
Phillip II of Spain
 His dad was Charles V (from the other slide)
 His dad left him Spain, and many of his other holdings
 Spain became very rich from their colonies in the New
World, this made Phillip very wealthy and powerful.
 Philip was a defender of Catholicism, (he hated the
Muslims and Protestants) so he sent his large naval
fleet to England to punish all non-Catholics.
Defeat of the Spanish Armada
 Who: English vs. Spanish
 When: 1588
 Where : English Channel
 Details:
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130 Spanish Ships attacked the English navy
English Navy outmaneuvered Spanish, and used
long range guns on them
 Results:
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Spain was weakened
English Navy became the strongest navy on the
Planet
Problems within the
Spanish Empire
 The massive wealth that Spain acquired, led to long-
term financial problems.
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Inflation – value of money is worth less, because so
many people have lots of it.
Tax Problems for the Lower Class, led to the near
elimination of Middle Class.
King had to borrow money from other countries, and 3
times he had to declare bankruptcy.
II. Birth of the Netherlands
The Dutch Revolt
 Phillip had to raise an army
to keep his subjects under
control.
 Many Dutch were Calvinist
(Spain was Catholic).
 The Dutch had a
prosperous Middle Class
 Phillip raised taxes in the
Netherlands and tried to
end Protestantism.
Dutch Revolt (cont’d)
 1566 angry protestant mobs swept
through Catholic Churches.
 1568 Phillip had 1500 protestants killed.
 1579 they claimed their independence
and became the United Provinces of the
Netherlands.
Independent Dutch Prosper
 United Provinces of the Netherlands
practiced religious toleration.
 They were a Republic (each province
had an elected governor)
 Stable gov’t led to economic growth
(large fleet allowed for lots of trading!)
Dutch Art
 During 1600s, the Netherlands became
what Florence had been in the 1400s
(remember the Renaissance?)

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The best banks and artists
Rembrandt van Rijn was the best.
 Portraits
of wealthy merchants
 Group portraits
 Sharp contrast of light and dark, showed
individuality of each person
Absolutism Dominates Europe
 Why did monarchs gain power?
1.
2.
3.
4.
Decline of feudalism
Rise of cities
Merchants supported monarchs
Crises

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Religious and territorial conflicts
Monarchs tried to regulate this by gaining
more power
Absolutism in France:
th
The Reign of Louis 14
Chapter 21
Section 2
III. Setting the Stage for Louis 14
A. Henry 4
 There were BIG problems in France with religious
connotations.
 The Catholics and the Huguenots (French
Protestants) were constantly fighting.
 There was a time of peace when Henry of Navarre (a
Huguenot prince) came to power


He converted to Catholicism in order to help the country
Signed the Edict of Nantes – meant religious
toleration for the Huguenots in France.
 He was assassinated by a fanatic who did not like
Setting the Stage for Louis 14: Louis 13
 B. Louis 13th


WEAK king
Richelieu was his main “advisor”
 He
pretty much ran the kingdom, not Louis
 He hated the Huguenots
 Strengthened his own power by weakening the nobles
influence (made them take down their fortified castles)
 New Thinking & Writing in France

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Skepticism – NOTHING CAN BE CERTAIN
Descartes – took these ideas and applied them to science
C. Louis 14
The Most Powerful Ruler of
 “I am the state”
– meaning that he was
France
France
 Began his rule when he was 4 years old
 Because he was so young when he took
over, he had an advisor – Mazarin.
 Mazarin’s “rule” caused the nobles to
revolt. Louis hated this and made up his
mind that he would become so powerful
that the nobles would NEVER rise against
him.

Louis excluded them from councils and taxed
them
The Actions of Louis 14
 Expanded the economy
 Jean Baptist Colbert – Minister of Finance used
Mercantilism to build France’s bank accounts
 Focused on making money in the New World (fur
trade)
 Over-turned the Edict of Nantes
 Persecuted the Huguenots, so they left, and took
jobs and money with them.
 Pampered himself
 Lived in TOTAL luxury, had 500 servants, cooks,
etc. who looked after his every desire.
 Patron of the Arts
 Ballet and the Opera
Louis 14 Extends France’s
Borders
 Under Louis’
leadership, France
became the most powerful nation in
Europe.

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Largest Population
French Army: Best trained, best
weapons, most soldiers
 With this large army, Louis began to
expand the French borders.

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Early in his campaigns he had success
Eventually his luck ran out
Hurt the people, b/c the high cost war
was paid with taxes
D. One Last War for the
French
 The French people wanted peace.
 What they got was another war

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The War of Spanish Succession
France and Spain were on the verge of unification
Other countries of Europe were scared that this would be
too much power for the Bourbon Kings.
Result: Spain and France were beaten, and the thrones
were not permitted to be unified.
French Expansion
Louis 14: Legacy & Death
Positives that Louis Brought
 Strengthened France in Art &
Literature
 Strengthened French Military
and influence in Europe
 Strengthened the French
Colonies in the New World
Negatives that Louis Brought
 Constant Warfare
 Lost of debts (palace and
fighting)
 High Taxes for the people
 Set the stage for the French
Revolution
 Louis died in his bed in 1715. The French people celebrated when
they heard the news.
Louis’ Palace:
The Palace at
Versailles
 The Palace at Versailles was
14 miles
outside of Paris.
 5,000 acres of forests, gardens, and
lawns
 1,400 Fountains, so many that they
could not even run them all at the
same time. (The workers would just turn them on when
Louis walked by, and turn them off when he walked away.)
 The cost to build them palace was
approximately $2.5 billion.
 It took 36,000 people to build the
Palace at Versailles.
People who wanted to speak to the
king could not knock on his door.
Instead, using the left pinkie finger,
they had to gently scratch on the
door, until they were granted
permission to enter. As a result,
many courtiers grew that fingernail
longer than the others
Why do you think that Louis built this palace?
Palace at Versailles
Palace at Versailles
Central European
Monarchs Clash
Chapter 21
Section 3

IV.
The
30
Years
War
When: 1618 – 1648
 Where: Bohemia (Czech Republic)
 Who: Protestants (with Lutheran help) and Catholics
 Details: Conflict over religion, territory, and for power among
European ruling families
 Results:
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Hurt Germany most (lost 4 million people)
Treaty: Peace of Westphalia
This was the last religious war in Europe
Europe became a group independent countries, rather than a
Catholic Empire
V. Formation of European Countries
 Central European Countries developed slowly. Western
European countries developed quickly.
Western Europe
 Serfs gained independence
and moved to cities to form
the middle class
 Strong Empires
 Strong Leaders
Central Europe
 Serfs were restricted from
leaving their farming
lifestyles, stuck in the lower
class
 Weak Empires
 Weak Leaders
The 7 Years War
 When: 1756 - 1763
 Where: Europe, India, North America
 Who: England vs. France (and their allies)
 Results: England gained the most
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They took all of France’s holding in the New World
England gained trading domination in India
Absolute
Rulers of
Russia
Chapter 21
Section 4
Russia’s Absolute Ruler: Ivan IV
 Ivan IV a.k.a “Ivan the Terrible”
 Came to the throne when he was
only 3 years old.
 At the age of 16 he crowned
himself czar (Caesar) and took
control

Why would he want to be
recognized as “czar?”
Two Stages of Ivan’s Life
 “Good Stage” – 1547-1560
 Married
Anastasia
 Expanded Russia’s lands
 Cleaned-up the Russian legal
system
WIFE (ANASTASIA) DIED / He thought she was poisoned.
 “Bad
Stage” – 1560-1584
Ivan
put together a “secret
police” who went around
hunting those suspected of
being traitors (killed 1000s)
Killed
his own son (oldest)
Details about killing his son
 In 1581, Ivan beat his pregnant
daughter-in-law for wearing
immodest clothing, causing a
miscarriage. His son, also named
Ivan, upon learning of this, engaged
in a heated argument with his father,
which resulted in Ivan striking his son
in the head with his pointed staff,
causing his son's (accidental) death.
This event is depicted in the famous
painting by Ilya Repin, Ivan the
Terrible and his son Ivan on Friday,
November 16, 1581 better known as
Ivan the Terrible killing his son
Russia’s Struggles
 After Ivan killed his oldest son there was only his
weak, youngest son to rule.
 He was too weak to lead effectively.
 He died without an heir.
 Then there was a question of who would now become
czar…enter Czar Peter the Great
 This began the rule of the Romanov Dynasty in Russia
(lasts 300 years)
Czar Peter I
 Known as Peter the Great
 6’8” tall
 Took over in 1696
 Strengthened the power of the czar (that is added to
his ABSOLUTE POWER)
 When Peter took over Russia was very backwards, in
that they still based their society on Vassals, serfs,
etc., Peter was determined to change this.
Peter’s Reforms
 In 1697, Peter made a grand tour of Western Europe.
 Peter wanted to learn about their customs and manufacturing
techniques.
 In order to make “Westernize” Russia, Peter had to strengthen
is ABSOLUTE POWER. Here’s what he did:
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Controlled the Russian Church
Reduced the power of the Upper Class, and created a Middle
Class
Enlarged the Russian Army (raised taxes to pay them)
Peter’s Westernization of Russia
 The Westernization Process
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Introduced Potatoes as a part of their diet
Started a newspaper
Allowed women to attend social gatherings
Had the Nobles start wearing Western Fashions
Education Focus: Navigation, Arts, and Sciences
St. Petersburg: Russia’s warm water port (named after
Peter’s Patron Saint)
Results of Peter’s Actions: Russia became modernized,
and better off as a result of his efforts.
Chapter 21
Section 5
Parliament Limits the
English Monarchy
Monarchs Defy Parliament
 First, you need to understand that a
MONARCHY is a form of
ABSOLLUTISM.
 The Monarchs (Kings and Queens) felt
that they were above the law (i.e. –
Parliament)

Parliament – English version of Congress
Monarchs vs. Parliament
Queen Elizabeth – she
had problems with the
parliament regarding
money
James I – he had problems
with the parliament
regarding religion
Charles I – fired the
Parliament – just got rid
of it!
Details: Charles I vs.
Parliament
 Charles fired Parliament
 Then he needed them back to get him some money –
 He “re-hired” them.
 The only way that Parliament would give him money is if he
signed the Petition of Right.
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No false imprisonment
No taxes w/o Parliament’s consent
No housing of soldiers in homes
No martial (absolute) law in peace time
 Charles signed it – then he IGNORED it.
 Parliament then withheld money – He fired them again…
English Civil War
 Why? – because the people were mad at
Charles for firing the Parliament (and
Parliament was mad too)
 When? – 1642 – 1649
Loyalists
•Supported Charles
•Called “Cavilers”
Also called “Royalists”
VS
Puritans
•Supported Parliament
•Called Roundheads
•Leader was Oliver Cromwell
Results of the English Civil
War
 Oliver Cromwell’s
Roundheads
defeated the Cavilers
and imprisoned
Charles
 They put him on trial,
sentenced him to
death – chopped his
head off.
Changes in Power
 Oliver Cromwell took over following the
civil war
 Formed a military state
 Very strict
 Charles II in power
 After Cromwell died, the people
wanted to have a king – Charles II
(Charles I son) took over.
 He got along better with the
Parliament, restoration took place
in England.
Glorious Revolution


1685 Charles II died with NO heir
His brother James II took over (but he was
catholic!)
 He
soon offended Parliament and voted
some Catholic friends into high office (against
the law)
 Parliament protested, so he fired them
 His wife then had a son and the people were
scared that a long line of Catholics would
rule.
Glorious Revolution
(cont’d)
HOWEVER, James had an older Protestant
daughter (Mary) who married William of Orange.
 Parliament invited William to overthrow James II.
He brought and army, James II was scared and fled
the country
 Thus, the Glorious Revolution began and ended
with no fighting
 William and Mary begin their reign and develop a
CONSTITUTIONAL MONARCHY :
There is a monarch in place,
however they are limited in
their power
