ABSOLUTE MONARCHIES IN EUROPE

Chapter 21

World History

BIG IDEA

• During a time of religious and economic instability, Philip II ruled Spain with a strong hand.

Charles V• A king from the Hapsburg

family of Austria

• He ruled a huge amount of land in Europe and the Americas:• Spain and their Colonial Empire• Parts of Italy• Lands in Austria• And the Netherlands

• He was elected Holy Roman Emperor and ran most of Germany

Charles V… Retires? • After agreeing to the Peace of

Augsburg, which stopped the 30 years war, he retired

• He split his lands:

• To his brother Ferdinand he gave Austria and the Holy Roman Empire

• To his son, Philip II, he gave Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Italian lands, and the Spanish American Colonies.

Philip II’s European Empire

Philip II’s World Empire

…but wait! There’s more!!!

Philip Seizes Portugal• Philip above being religious

and deeply suspicious, was very aggressive to add more land to his Empire

• In 1580, the king of Portugal dies

• Because Philip was the king’s nephew, he seizes the Portuguese throne, land, and colonial empire.

Philip II’s World Empire

Philip’s Empire Brings Gold

• Philip ‘s Empire brought him incredible wealth:

• By 1600, Spanish mines in the New World supplied Spain with 339,000 pounds of Gold

• From 1550-1650, the Spanish mined 16,000 tons of silver

• The “Royal Share” of each shipload was 1/4th to 1/5th

Philip as the Defender of Catholicism

• Philip being deeply loyal to the Catholic Church refused to let Protestantism into his empire

• He fights a war against the Ottoman Empire for the Pope

• He was also the king that launched the Spanish Armada against Elizabeth I of England.

“Golden Age” of Spain• Even though Philip was busy fighting wars in Europe, Spain enjoyed a Golden Age in Art and Literature as well…

• Artists such as El Greco and Velazquez painted fantastic portraits and scenes in brilliant colors with lifelike features

• The literary masterpiece of “Don Quixote” was written by Miguel de Cervantes was written in this era as well

El Greco

• El Greco was born in Crete, but lived in Spain for much of his adult life, specifically in Toledo, Spain

Diego Velazquez

• Velazquez was the official court painter of the royal family, but often painted his self portrait and scenes of everyday life as well.

Miguel de Cervantes

• Cervantes wrote Don Quixote de la Mancha

• This was a book about a poor noble who goes crazy after reading too many books on historic knights

• Some critics contend Cervantes was making fun of chivalry, others say Don Quixote is about frustration in a materialistic world.

The Spanish Empire Weakens• Too much gold meant Spain

endured severe inflation

• Inflation is when the value of money declines while the price of goods and services rises

• Spain’s inflation was caused by two reasons: gold and silver’s value was low and merchants raises prices

The Spanish Empire Weakens• Other reasons for Spain’s decline:

• Guilds still ran Spain’s craft industry• Spanish Merchants traded with French, English, and Dutch craftsmen rather then Spain’s

• Spanish nobles did not have to pay taxes• A Spanish middle class never develops • Spanish kings borrowed money from German and Italian banks to fight wars, where even Philip II had to declare Spain was “bankrupt” 3 times!

Trouble in the Netherlands

• In the “Spanish Netherlands” Philip needed to keep an army to control the Dutch

• The main issue was Spain was Catholic and the Dutch were protestant

The Foundation of the Netherlands• After 11 years of fighting,

the 7 northern provinces became the “United Provinces of the Netherlands”

• The 10 Southern provinces stayed with Spain and later became modern-day Belgium.

The Independent Dutch Prosper • The United Provinces of the Netherlands were a very

different country in Europe:

• They practiced religious toleration (Even the Pilgrims came there before Massachusetts)

• They were not a kingdom but a republic

• Each province elected a governor

• They began a golden age of art and trading after they left Spain

Dutch Art • The Netherlands become the 1600’s version of Florence

during the Renaissance.

• Artists such as Rembrandt van Rijn and Jan Vermeer painted subjects from kings to every day people using:

• Brilliant colors• Techniques• And the use of light and dark shadowing.

Dutch Trading Empire • The stability of the government of the Netherlands meant

the Dutch people could focus on economic growth

• For example: the Dutch found ways to make incredible profits on even farm goods items such as grain and tulip bulbs.

• The Dutch build the largest fleet of ships in the world, 4,800 ships by 1636.

• These ships helped the Dutch East India Company dominate the spice trade, and thus replacing Italians as the bankers of Europe.

Absolutism in Europe • Like Philip II of Spain, all European kings and queens of

this era strived to be Absolute Monarchs.

• Absolute Monarchs were kings and queens who held ALL of the power within their states’ boundaries

• Absolute monarchs also believed in Divine Right which was the idea that God created the monarchy and that the monarch was God’s representative on earth.

Absolutism in the Past…

Augustus Caesar Ramses II Genghis Khan

Absolutism in the Age of Absolutism

Philip II of Spain Louis XIV of France

Frederick II (The Great) of Prussia

Growing Power of European Monarchs

• The power Monarchs of Europe grew in this for the following reasons:

• The decline of Feudalism and growth of cities

• The growing middle class supported monarchs because they promised peace which was helpful for business

• The wealth of the colonies paid for monarchs’ ambitions

• Church authority broke down because of the Reformation

• Crises in Europe…

Crises Leads to Absolutism• The 1600’s was a period of great upheaval

• Continuous warfare over land and territory in Europe• This warfare meant armies needed to be built• These Armies meant more taxes • These taxes meant unrest and even, sometimes, revolt!

• The 1700’s meant monarchs would impose their rule • Some regulated religious worship and social gatherings • Some created new government agencies to control the economy• Most wanted to gain more power away from their people’s

government such as parliament• All of these monarchs strived to live like Louis XIV of France