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ABSOLUTISM Absolute Monarchs

• Kings and Queens who held all of the power within their states’ boundaries.

• Control every aspect of society.• Believe in divine right; God created the

monarchy and the monarch acted as God’s representative on Earth.

• Monarchs answered only to God – not subjects.

Power Grows Because

• Feudalism ends• Cities grow• National Kingdoms help to centralize authority• Growing middle class & merchants back

monarchs because they support business & trade• Wealth of colonies pours into monarchy• Breakdown of church authority allow monarchs to

gain greater control

Absolutism in the 16th and 17th Centuries

• Religious & territorial conflicts between states led to continuous warfare

• Monarchs build huge armies & paid for by levying heavy taxes

• Monarchs create government bureaucracies to control countries’ economic, religious, & social life – frees them from limitations imposed by nobility/parliament

• Rulers increase the size of their courts to appear more powerful

Henry VIII 1491-1547

• Becomes king 1509 at age 17

• Athlete• Musician• Fluent in Latin,

Spanish, French & Italian

• Wanted a male heir!!

Catherine of Aragon

• Daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain

• 6 births - only one survives: Mary

• Married 18 years• Catholic

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Henry…The Act of Supremacy

• Devout Catholic – Pope titles him “Defender of the Faith”

• Asks Pope to annul (set aside) marriage• Pope refuses – Catherine’s nephew is the

Holy Roman Emperor Charles V

Reformation Parliament 1529

• Henry asks Parliament to pass laws ending the Pope’s power in England

• Parliament votes and approves the Act of Supremacy: Henry becomes the official head of the Church of England

• Seizes all Church land and wealth• Grants his own divorce to Catherine of

Aragon

Anne Boleyn 1501 - 1536

• Married for 3 years• 1 daughter: Elizabeth• Accused of adultery• Beheaded

Jane Seymore 1509-1537

• Gives birth to Prince Edward (Edward VI)

• Dies soon after birth

Anne of Cleves 1515-1537

• Chosen by a painting• German• Henry finds her

unattractive• Marriage annulled

after 6 months• “King’s sister”

Catherine Howard 1522-1542

• Married 3 weeks after marriage from Anne of Cleves is annulled

• Much younger than Henry

• Reputation for being promiscuous

• Has affairs prior to and during marriage

• Beheaded

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Katheryn Parr 1512-1548

• Loves another but cannot refuse the King

• Cares for Henry until his death in 1547

• Marries former suitor (Thomas Seymore)

• Dies 15 months later

Quick Recap

Tudor Reigns

• Edward VI 1547-1553

• Takes the throne at age 9

• Dies at 16 from tuberculosis

Mary I 1553-1558

• “Bloody Mary”• Orders heretics and

Protestants be put to death

• Throws Elizabeth into the Tower of London for Treason

Elizabeth I 1558-1603

• England experiences a “Golden Age”

• Never marries• Rumored to have a

relationship with Robert Dudley (married)

• England defeats the Spanish Armada making Britain’s navy the most powerful in the world

LOUIS XIV1638-1715• Becomes King at age 5 – takes control of

government at age 22• The Sun King –• “I am the State!”

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ART – Glorifies King The Palace of Versailles

PROOF OF POWER

• 36,000 laborers & 6,000 horses• 5,000 acres of gardens, lawns, &

woods• 1,400 fountains

Hall of Mirrors

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King’s Bedroom Queen’s Bedroom

Gardens Fountains