Absolute Monarchs

Philip II

Elizabeth I

Henry IV

Louis XIV

Peter the Great

Frederick the Great

Catherine the Great

Philip II 1556-1598 Spain Catholic Pol: increased Hapsburg family power; made Castille

(Madrid) center of Spain Soc: Supported Inquistion, put down Aragon revolt in

1590s, Golden Age: 1550-1650, Cervantes wrote Don Quixote

Ec: great wealth from overseas trade, heavy inflation War(s): Netherlands revolt, 1567 (independence declared,

1581); naval victory over Turks in the Med. Sea, 1571; Spanish Armada defeated by English, 1588 - *Turning Point

Elizabeth I

1558-1603 England Anglican Pol: never married –”The Virgin Queen”,

increased navy, balance of power Soc: Elizabethan Age, middle class “gentry”

source of Tudor stability, lowest rank - “yeomen”

Ec: English “sea dogs” raided Spanish ships; heavy debt

War: Spanish Armada defeated, 1588

Henry IV (Bourbon dynasty)

1589-1610 France Protestant-con. To Catholicism Pol: “Paris is worth a Mass”, Assassinated 1610;

Cardinal RICHELIEU real power in France, 1624-1642 Soc: Edict of Nantes (1598)-protected Huguenots (Prot.);

intendants were middle class govt. officials Ec: improved economy War(s): 30 Years War (1618-1648) – R. joined with

Protestant side to defeat Spanish & Austrian Hapsburgs in the German states

Louis XIV

1643-1715 France Catholic Pol: Longest reign, Sun King, “I am the state” Soc: Versailles, Repealed Nantes Edict (1685) Ec: tax burden on the poor, projects & wars left

France in near ec. Ruin War(s): Fronde rebellion (1648-53), War of

Spanish Succession (1701-13) – lost to Britain & allies

Peter the Great

1689-1725 Russia Eastern Orthodox Pol: built St. Petersburg, settlements in Siberia, Alaska;

made R. a European power; goal was to modernize and westernize

Soc: Turned R. to the west, church under his rule, serfs have little freedom

Ec: reforms had limited success, beard tax War(s): defeated Sweden (1721) & gained access to

Baltic Sea; failed to win Black Sea port from Turks

Frederick the Great

1740-1763 Prussia Lutheran Pol: attacked Maria Theresa’s Austria, P.

becomes European power Soc: military glorified, Junkers (nobles) with

great power Ec: retained territory of Silesia War(s): War of the Austrian Succession (1748),

Seven Years War (1756-1763)

Catherine the Great

1762-1796 Russia Eastern Orthodox Pol: Seized throne from weak husband, took

Black Sea port (Crimea peninsula), helped carve up Poland

Soc: influenced by enlightenment thought Ec: plight of serfs actually worsened War(s): crushed revolts, defeated Turks to gain

warm –water port