Conditions Allowing the Development of…

The Absolute Monarchy in Europe

-Rise of cities in Europe

-Growth of National Kingdoms

-Growth of the Middle Class

-Revolts Among the Middle Class and Peasants

-Increasing Wealth in the New World Colonies

-Breakdown of Powerful Church Authority

-Decline of Feudalism in Europe

-Economic and Religious Crisis

In Response the Absolute Monarch Does the Following…

-Reduces power of the nobles and other representative government bodies

-Creates new government bureaucracies

-Increases the size of his / her own courts

-Regulates religious worship, social gatherings, the economy

So What’s the ESSENTIALS of Absolutism?

-Monarchs have UNLIMITED power.

-This power comes from inheritance and DIVINE RIGHT.

-Monarchs are above the law.

All subjects must answer to the monarch’s commands without question.

-The monarch chooses the state religion.

It is common that the monarch then combines religious and political authority.

-Government exists for its own sake.

Again, the subject’s role is to serve the monarch.

Spanish Absolutism

• Imperialism - the creation and/or maintenance of an unequal economic, cultural, and territorial relationship, usually between states and often in the form of an empire, based on domination

Spanish Absolutism

• Mercantilism - The policy of building a nation's wealth by exporting more goods than it imports. Colonies are instrumental in this policy as they supply their parent nations with raw materials that are used to produce finished goods, and then exported back to the colonies. Colonies not only served as a source for the raw materials, but also as an exclusive market for the parent country.

Spanish Mercantilism• Spanish Empire

• Government• Maintained strict control over colonial empire ranging

from California to South America

• Religion• The Catholic Church converted thousands of Natives to

Christianity

• Encomienda System• Conquistadors were granted land on which the Natives

were forced to work• The death of most of the Natives resulted in the

Spanish bringing over Africans…

Spanish Absolutism

• Wealth from its empire in the Americas allowed Spain to become the most powerful nation in Europe

• Charles V• 1519-1556• Ruled Spain and the Holy Roman Empire• Faced constant threat of military action• Retired and allowed his son Philip II to rule Spain

Spanish Absolutism

• Philip II• Ruled from 1556-1598• Believed strongly in divine right• Promoted the power of the Catholic Church and

the Spanish Empire• Allowed Spain to experience a Golden Age during

his reign

Charles V

Spanish Absolutism

• Philip II

French Absolutism• France replaces Spain as the most

powerful European nation by the late 1600’s

• Increase royal power while decreasing noble power

• King Louis XIII• With the help of his minister Richelieu, King Louis

XIII suppressed the Huguenots and nobles

French Absolutism• Louis XIV – the

“Sun King”• Bishop Jacques Bossuet

strengthened his claim to absolute power

• The “Sun King” was God’s representative on Earth

King Louis XIV• Religious

Persecution• Persecuted the hard-

working and prosperous Protestant Huguenots

• Over 200,000 Huguenots emigrated to other kingdoms and brought their success and prosperity with them

King Louis XIV• Government• Expanded the bureaucracy,

appointing officials to collect taxes, recruit soldiers, and carry out his rule in the provinces

• Kept the traditional ways of collecting taxes and running the judicial system

King Louis XIV• Economy

• Unjust and complicated tax system left the poor to carry most of the tax burden

• Created huge disparity between economic classes• Under Louis XIV, France was a wealthy, powerful

state• Louis XIV’s lavish lifestyle, Versailles Palace, and

costly wars left France in debt

King Louis XIV

• Wars• Organized a highly disciplined army, the strongest

of Europe

King Louis XIV• The War of the Spanish

Succession • England, Dutch,

Netherlands, Austria• France and Spain could

never be united• France forfeits its North

American colonies• Drained French treasury

and created opposition to Louis XIV’s rule

Louis XIV’s advice to his son

• Read the document in your packet then answer the following questions using complete sentences:

1. Identify three recommendations Louis XIV makes to his son.

2. Why do you think Louis XIV made these recommendations?

3. What was the ultimate goal of Louis XIV during his reign?

Reactions to Absolutism in England

England’s Parliament managed to resist successfully the consolidation of royal power. The royal Tudor family ruled England from 1485 to 1603. These monarchs, who included Henry VIII and Elizabeth I, generally worked well with Parliament. Even though the Tudors believed in divine right, they saw great value in maintaining good relations with Parliament.

In 1603, however, the English throne passed to the Stuarts. Lacking the diplomatic skills of the Tudors, the Stuarts, with their absolutist tendencies, came into conflict with Parliament.

James I

The Stuart Monarchs

-James I looks to increase his power by claiming divine right.

-Clashes with Parliament frequently over financial issues.

-James eventually dissolves Parliament and imposes taxes of his own.

-Puritans desire to rid the Church of England of Catholic practice

-Stuart monarchs receive support from the English thinker Thomas Hobbes

James I Thomas Hobbes

The Stuart Monarchs (Continued)

-Charles I inherits the throne in 1625 and inherits his father’s absolutist policies.

Charles I does the following:

-Places his enemies in prison without trials

-Imposes extremely high taxes

-Angers the Puritan peoples

-Dissolves Parliament

Despite his snubbing of Parliament, he returns to them in 1640 for money to put down a Scottish rebellion. As a result, civil war breaks out between Parliament and Charles I.

The English Civil War

-The Puritan Revolution aka ECW: Charles’ supporters (the Cavaliers) vs. The Roundheads (Puritan group consisting of country landowners and town based manufacturers).

-Roundheads led by Oliver Cromwell. A skilled military commander, Cromwell’s disciplined army captured King Charles in 1647 and beheads him in 1649.

-The beheading of Charles signified that an absolutist ruler would not prevail in England.

Cromwell and the Commonwealth

After Charles’ execution, Parliament’s House of Commons abolished the monarchy, the House of Lords, and the official Church of England. England became a republic, called the Commonwealth, with Cromwell as its leader. England’s years as a republic were troubled, however. Charles II, the uncrowned heir to England’s throne, attacked England from Ireland and Scotland. Cromwell took the title of Lord Protector and ruled through the army. By the time of his death in 1658, many people had become tired of Puritan rule.

1610 1620 1630 1640 1650 1660 1670 1680 1690 1700

1603 - Stuart Dynasty takes

power in England

1625 – Charles I becomes King

1642 – 1649

English Civil War takes place

Execution of Charles I

England Restores the Monarchy

The Restoration

-In 1660, Parliament invited Charles II, son of Charles I, to become king of England. This marked the restoration of the Stuart monarchs. In 1685, his brother, James II, inherited the throne. James quickly became unpopular because of his Catholicism and his absolutist policies.

The Beheading of Charles I

The Glorious Revolution

-Parliament, in 1688, fearing the return of Catholic dominance, asked James’ daughter, Mary, and her Dutch husband, William, to take the English throne. William and Mary, both Protestants, arrived in England as James II fled to France, completing a bloodless transfer of power. This nonviolent overthrow is more commonly known as the Glorious Revolution.

William and Mary are forced to accept the English Bill of Rights before they take the English throne…

The English Bill of Rights

-Stated that the king must work regularly with Parliament.

-Stated that the king must give the House of Commons financial control.

-Abolished excessive fines and cruel or unusual punishment.

-Affirmed habeas corpus, meaning that no person could be held in jail without first being charged with a crime.

With the English Bill of Rights…

England becomes a LIMITED MONARCHY.

Ivan IV (the Terrible)

• Czar Ivan IV centralized royal power

• Introduced Russians to extreme absolute power

• Harsh ruling style and fits of violence earned him his nickname

• Ivan IV enforced his will by creating secret police

PETER THE GREAT

Peter the GreatVisited western Europe

Took control of church Reduced power

of landownersModernized

army

Tried to westernize Russia

Fought Sweden for Baltic land

Had St. Petersburg built

MARIA THERESA

-Rules from 1740 to 1780.

-Allies with former enemy France.

-Lost Silesia in War of Austrian Succession and did not regain it in

Seven Years’ War.

-Imposed limits on nobility.

FREDERICK THE GREAT

-Rules from 1740 to 1786.

-Allies with Austria’s former ally Great Britain.

-Gained Silesia in War of Austrian Succession and neither gained nor lost in Seven Years’

War.-Followed his father’s military policies.

Suleiman the Magnificent• Ruled the Ottoman Empire

from 1520 to 1566

• Modernized the army and added new territories to the empire

• Golden Age

• Stabilized the government and updated the system of law

• Chose able officials to help run the large bureaucracy

Mughal Empire

Akbar the Great (1542 – 1605)

• Ruled the Mughal Empire in India

• Strengthened the central government

• Made a larger and stronger empire than any in Europe at that time

• Key achievements:• Strengthened the army• Encouraged trade• Recognized diversity within the empire

and promoted religious tolerance

• Empire declined after his death