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ABSOLUTISM IN FRANCE AND SPAIN
AP European HistoryMs. Tully
CRISES OF THE 17TH CENTURY
“Little Ice Age” – bad harvests, starvation for lower classes
Economic crises – high food prices, inequitable wealth, recession
Population decline – war, famine, plague
Chaos of religious wars – yearning for order
Social uprisings
STATEBUILDING IN THE 17TH CENTURY
Rise of absolutism & constitutionalism (limited monarchy)
Shared goals Protecting and expanding frontiers Raising new taxes Consolidating state control
Shared obstacles Slow communication/lack of information Cultural and linguistic differences Power of nobility & other autonomous groups
(church, town councils, guilds)
Achievements Greater taxation Growth in armed forces More efficient bureaucracies Increased obedience from subjects
Sovereignty: When a state possesses monopoly over the instruments of justice and the use of force within clearly defined boundaries.
NEW MILITARIES FOR NEW STATES IN 17THC
Monarchs (not nobles) controlled armies Officers loyal to
monarchs Explosive growth in
size (esp. in France) New professional
standards – uniforms, training, discipline
ABSOLUTISM IN WESTERN EUROPE
Sovereign power or ultimate authority in the state rested in the hands of a king who claimed to rule by divine right Make laws, tax, administer justice, control bureaucracy,
determine foreign policy Divine-right monarchy – government was divinely
ordained so that humans could live in an organized society Bishop Jacques Bossuet (1627-1704), Politics Drawn
from the Very Words of Holy Scripture Kings authority was absolute – no other institution could
put checks on their power Louis XIV of France best example of Absolute
Monarchy
FOUNDATIONS OF ABSOLUTISM
Success of Henry IV (r. 1589-1610) Lowered taxes on peasants Religious toleration Improved commerce and infrastructure Laid foundations for growth of state power
Regency of Marie de’Medici Louis XIII a child Appointed Armand Jean du Plessis (1585-
1642) – Cardinal Richelieu
Cardinal Richilieu Chief minister from
1624-1642 Created policies
that strengthened power of monarchy
“Where the interests of the state are concerned, God absolves actions which, if privately committed, would be a crime.”
Intendants Royal commissioners Nobles of the Robe – appointed directly by
monarchy Oversaw financial, political, and judicial business in
generalities (32) Enforce royal orders Inform central gov’t about generalites Undermine influence of regional nobility
One People, One Faith 1627 – Huguenots stripped of military and political
independence Siege of La Rochelle – major commercial port with
connections to Holland & England Foreign Policy – Weaken Habsburgs
French engagement in Thirty Years’ War
Cardinal Jules Mazarin (1602-1661) Richilieu’s successor Ruled during regency of
Anne of Austria Continued Richilieu’s
centralizing policies The Fronde
Revolt led by nobility – outraged by taxation & threatened by absolutism
Factionalism and popular riots left French wishing for peace and strong monarchy
Necessary compromise between monarch & nobility
LOUIS XIV AND ABSOLUTISM (R. 1643-1715)
Devout Catholic, divine right of kings – fostered myth of “Sun King”
Bureaucracy New councils of state
from bourgeoisie – “No intention of sharing power with them”
Never called meeting of Estates General
No chief minister Administration centered
at Versailles
Religion a tool for national unity 1685 – Revoked Edict of Nantes 1685- Edict of Fontainebleau
Destruction of Huguenot churches and schools
Convert to Catholicism or leave “One king, one law, one faith”
Absolute in theory, collaboration/manipulation of nobles in practice
Desire to enhance glory of dynasty
LIFE AT VERSAILLES
Set a standard for the rest of Europe – influential in etiquette, style, politics, etc…
Former hunting lodge, built 1660-1688
Many functions Residence for king and royal family Reception hall for state affairs Office for king’s government Home for thousands of royal officials
and aristocratic courtiers
Symbol for French absolutism and state power
Louis engaged nobles in daily court life at Versailles – excluded/distracted them from real power Court ceremony with
Louis at center Active involvement in
activities a prerequisite for obtaining offices, titles, and pensions
Elaborate order, ceremony, etiquette
ECONOMIC ISSUES AND COLBERT
Jean-Baptiste Colbert (1619-1683) – controller of general finances under Louis XIV
Mercantilism – government regulation of economic activities to benefit the state (dominant economic theory of 17th & 18th centuries) Nation’s international power
thought to be based on wealth, specifically gold/silver supply (bullion)
B/c resources limited, state intervention needed to secure largest part of limited resource
To accumulate gold – sell more than buy
Colbert wanted France to be self-sufficient Supported old industries and created new ones –
esp. textiles Reinforced system of state inspection &
regulation Formed guilds Tax incentives to craftsmen
No domestic tariffs, high foreign tariffs Improved infrastructure – built roads and canals Creation of merchant marine Results
Initial success, but ultimately self-defeating Louis XIV spent all the $ on wars Heavy taxation continued to weigh on peasants
LOUIS XIV’S WARS
France at war for 33 of 54 years of Louis’ reign
Desire to increase royal power and glory
Francois le Tellier – Secretary of War New large and
professional army Overall goal – expand
France to its “natural” borders & protect from invasion – Four Major Wars
1667 – Invasion of Spanish Netherlands and Franche-Comte Triple Alliance of Dutch, English, and Swedes
forced Louis to sue for peace Only acquired a few towns in Spanish
Netherlands Resented Dutch for forming alliance
1672 – 2nd Phase of Dutch War France invaded United Provinces Dutch opened dikes to flood cities against French Alliance of Brandenburg, Spain, and HRE forced
Louis to end war Treaty Nijmegen, 1678
France received Franche-Comte
War of the League of Augsburg (1689-1697) France annexed Alsace and Lorraine,
occupation of city of Strasbourg New coalition against France – League of
Augsburg: Spain, HRE, United Provinces, Sweden, England
Caused economic depression and famine in France
Treaty of Ryswick ended war France had to give up most of previous
conquests
War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1713) Charles II of Spain died childless, named
grandson of Louis XIV as successor Potential to upset balance of power – Spanish
and French thrones united? Grand Alliance – English, Dutch, Austrians,
Prussians Fighting in Europe and North America Peace of Utrecht, 1713
French and Spanish crowns could never be united France surrendered N.A. territories Represented balance of power principle Completed decline of Spain as great power
THE DECLINE OF SPAIN IN THE 17TH CENTURY
Spain developed standard features of absolutist monarchy in 16thC Permanent bureaucracy, standing army,
national taxes Developed an international absolutism
based on silver bullion from Peru Inquisition continued dogmatic
orthodoxy 1609 Philip II expelled all the Moriscos –
destructive to Spanish society
Reasons for decline Agricultural crisis Population decline Loss of artisans and merchants Failure to invest in productive
enterprises Intellectual isolation Trade competition with England and the
Dutch
Economic mismanagement Expenditures exceeded income – esp. with
wars Habsburg dynasty extravangant Lengthy conflicts with French during 17thC
Spanish aristocrats didn’t want to give up lifestyle
Ignored new technological/scientific/intellectual trends
Don Quixote, Miguel Cervantes – symbol for Spanish decline