Download Absolute Monarchs in Europe

Absolute Monarchs
in Europe
Spain’s Empire
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
Ferdinand and Isabella
• 1469-1504
• United Spain and caused its borders to grow
• Funded conquistadores (including Christopher
Columbus) to expand their empire to the New
World
• Turned Spain Catholic
• Got rid of all Muslims living in Spain
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.
• Ruled from 1519-1556
• 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
• Ruled from 1554 to 1598
• 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
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Who: English vs. Spanish
When: 1588
Where : English Channel
Details:
• 130 Spanish Ships attacked the English navy
• English Navy outmaneuvered Spanish, and used long
range guns on them
• Results:
• 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.
• 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.
Absolutism Dominates Europe
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Why did monarchs gain power?
1.
2.
3.
4.
Decline of feudalism
Rise of cities
Merchants supported monarchs
Crises
 Religious and territorial conflicts
 Monarchs tried to regulate this by gaining more power
Absolutism in France:
The Reign of Louis XIV 14th
III. Setting the Stage for Louis XIV (14)
A. Henry IV (4)
• Ruled from 1589-1610
• 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 him
Setting the Stage for Louis 14: Louis 13
• B. Louis 13th
• Ruled from 1610-1643
• 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
• Skepticism – NOTHING CAN BE CERTAIN
• Descartes – took these ideas and applied them to science
C. Louis XIV (14)
The Most Powerful Ruler of France
• “I am the state” – meaning that he was France
• Called himself “the Sun King”- the source of
light for all his people
• Began his rule when he was 5 years old
• Ruled from 1643-1715
• Ruled for 72 years: longest reign of all the monarchs
• Because he was so young when he took over, he
had an advisor – Cardinal 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 XIV
• 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 XIV Extends France’s Borders
• Under Louis’ leadership, France became
the most powerful nation in Europe.
• Largest Population
• French Army: Best trained, best weapons,
most soldiers
• With this large army, Louis began to
expand the French borders.
• Early in his campaigns he had success
• Eventually his luck ran out
• Hurt the people, b/c the high cost of war was
paid with taxes
D. One Last War for the French
• The French people wanted peace.
• What they got was another war
• 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 XIV: Legacy & Death
Positives that Louis Brought
Negatives that Louis Brought
• Strengthened France in Art &
Literature
• Constant Warfare
• Strengthened French Military and
influence in Europe
• High Taxes for the people
• Strengthened the French Colonies
in the New World
• Lost of debts (palace and fighting)
• 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
Palace at Versailles
Palace at Versailles
Central European
Monarchs Clash
IV. The 30 Years War
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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 of independent countries, rather than a Catholic
Empire
• After the war, there were over 300 German states. Of these, Prussia and
Austria emerged as two great European powers
The Emergence of
Prussia
Frederick the Great
• Ruled from 1740-1786
• Built large and efficient standing army
• Set up committee to levy taxes
• Won the Seven Years’ War
The 7 Years War
• When: 1756 - 1763
• Where: Europe, India, North America
• Who: England vs. France (and their allies)
• Results: England gained the most
• They took all of France’s holding in the New World
• England gained trading domination in India
V. Formation of European Countries
• Central European Countries developed slowly. Western European
countries developed quickly.
Western Europe
Central Europe
• Serfs gained independence and
moved to cities to form the
middle class
• Serfs were restricted from
leaving their farming lifestyles,
stuck in the lower class
• Strong Empires
• Weak Empires
• Strong Leaders
• Weak Leaders
Absolute Rulers
of Russia
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 daughterin-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 1696-1721
• 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 “Westernize” Russia, Peter had to strengthen his ABSOLUTE
POWER. Here’s what he did:
• 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.
Catherine the Great
• Ruled from 1762-1796
• Her reign is called Russia’s Golden Age
• Russia was revitalized under her reign, growing
larger and stronger than ever
• Became recognized as one of the great powers of
Europe
• Continued to modernize Russia
• Presided during the age of Russian Enlightenment
England
Henry VIII
• Reign from 1509-1547
• Led to the creation of the Anglican Church (English
Reformation)
• Separating from the Catholic Church
• Married 6 times
Queen Elizabeth
• AKA Elizabeth Tudor
• Became queen in 1558
• Led her kingdom to become leader of the
Protestant nations of Europe
• Laid foundation for a world empire
• Repealed laws favoring Catholics
• Act of Supremacy named Elizabeth ruler of both
church and state
• Balanced power between Spain and France
Parliament Limits the
English Monarchy
Monarchs Defy Parliament
• First, you need to understand that a
MONARCHY is a form of ABSOLUTISM.
• 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