The Age of Absolutism 1500-1800

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The Age of Absolutism1500-1800
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Introduction

• Throughout the 1500s, global discoveries and
  exploration brought new wealth and prestige to
  Europes monarchs.
• The Age of Absolutism takes its name from a
  series of European monarchs who increased the
  power of their central government and had few
  limits on their power. It was a time of many
  wars, but also great achievements.
• Characteristics of Absolute monarchies
• Centralization of power
• Concept of rule by divine right
• Tried to reduce the power of the
• nobility and the church

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• As we learn about the great monarchs of Europe,
  ask yourself
• How did they come to power?
• How did they increase their power?
• How did they handle threats to their power?
• Why would some people want a monarch?
• Why would some people not want a monarch?
• Why dont we have as many monarchs today?

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SPAIN
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Charles V

• Charles V became King of Spain in 1516 when he
  was just a teenager. He was a member of the
  powerful Hapsburg family of Austria.
• In 1519, he became king of the Holy Roman Empire
  as well.
• This expanded his territory to include Spain,
  Belgium, the Netherlands, Spains colonies in the
  Americas, parts of Italy, Austria, and various
  German states. His empire was so vast, he claimed
  the sun never set over it.

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Charles V

• Charles V fought to keep Europe Catholic in the
  face of the Protestant Reformation. After many
  devastating wars, he signed the Peace of
  Augsburg, which gave each German prince the right
  to decide whether his state would be Catholic or
  Protestant.
• All this warfare brought Spain a lot of debt.
  However, gold and silver from the Americas
  brought Spain fabulous wealth.
• Charles V divided his empire between his brother
  and his son, Phillip II.

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Phillip II

• The Spanish empire reached its peak under Phillip
  II due to gold from the Americas. He also fought
  to keep Europe Catholic, without success (The
  Dutch Revolt).

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• Spain also fought England. English sea dogs
  like Sir Francis Drake were authorized by the
  Queen to attack Spanish ships bringing treasure
  from the Americas.
• Phillip II assembled the Spanish Armada to sail
  up the English Channel.
• In 1588, the British Navy defeated the Spanish
  Armada.

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Spanish Art

• El Greco (Domenicos Theotocopoulos)
• Most of his work was religious.
• He is known for his elongated features.

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The Holy Trinity (1579), View of Toledo (1600)
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Diego VelazquezLas Meninas1656
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Spanish Literature Miguel de Cervantes Don
Quixote
Quotes from the novel 1) Cervantes describes
Quixote's growing obsession with knight-errantry,
saying, "he so immersed himself in those romances
that he spent whole days and nights over his
books and thus with little sleeping and much
reading his brains dried up to such a degree that
he lost the use of his reason" (Book 1, Part
1). 2) Cervantes explains the Don's desire to
leave his village and take up the profession of
knighthood "he was spurred on by the conviction
that the world needed his immediate presence."
(Book 1, Part 2).
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Spanish Decline

• Spain ultimately declined due to
• the defeat of the Armada
• the high cost of fighting so many wars
• and internal problems. Phillip II tried to
  micro-manage the empire and didnt trust anyone.
• Spain also kept its traditional agricultural
  economy instead of industrializing like other
  European nations.

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France
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Religious Conflict

• Soon after the Protestant Reformation began in
  Germany, it spread to France. By the 1560s, 10
  of the Frenchmen were Huguenots, or French
  Calvinists. Noble Huguenot families threatened
  the Catholic absolute monarchy of France.
• Fighting between Catholics and Protestants broke
  out in 1562
• The St. Bartholomews Day Massacre was a major
  example of tension between French Catholics and
  Protestants. The Catholic monarchy ordered the
  killings of Protestant members of the nobility in
  order to keep their absolute power.

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St. Bartholomews Day Massacre

• 10 years later in 1572, Marguerite de Valois (a
  Catholic princess) was to marry Henry of Navarre
  (a Protestant nobleman)
• The night before the wedding, there was an
  attempted assassination against Admiral de
  Coligny, a Protestant nobleman and leader.
  Catherine de Medici, the Queen of France, is
  traditionally held responsible for the attack.
  Catholics in Paris feared that Protestants would
  take revenge on the citys Catholics. The
  monarchy decided to assassinate the Protestant
  nobility.
• Tension in the city exploded and the violence
  spread as average citizens joined in the killing.
  The fighting spread to other French cities as
  well. The death toll was between 2,000 and
  70,000.

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One morning at the gates of the Louvre, 19th
century painting by Édouard Debat-Ponsan.
Catherine de Medici is in black. The scene from
Dubois (above).
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Different Interpretations of the Massacre

• Traditionally, Catherine de Medici is held
  responsible for the attacks. However, modern
  historians focus on four ringleaders of the
  initial conspiracy, three of whom were Italian
  advisers to the court.
• Some believe Charles IX feared a Protestant
  uprising and decided to strangle it before it
  gained strength.
• Some argue it was the violently anti-Huguenot
  city of Paris itself that was responsible. The
  city was on the verge of revolt anyway, and the
  Guises (Catholic family responsible for initial
  assassination attempt on Coligny) exploited this
  situation. These are political interpretations.
• However, average Catholics did much of the
  killing thus, religion was also a factor. Many
  Parisian Catholics were incited by extremist
  preaching they thought they were doing Gods
  will.

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• Putting it in perspective
• It is important to note that Protestants "could
  be as bloodthirsty as Catholics. Earlier Huguenot
  rage at Nimes (in 1567) led to... the massacre of
  a hundred or so Catholics, mostly priests and
  prominent laymen, at the hands of their
  Protestant neighbors. Few towns escaped the
  episodic violence and some suffered repeatedly
  from both sides. Neither faith had a monopoly on
  cruelty and misguided fervor. (Raymond Mentzer)

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Henry IV

• (The Protestant nobleman who tried to marry a
  Catholic princess)
• In 1593, Henry IV accepted the crown by
  converting to Catholicism.
• In 1598, he granted some rights to Huguenots by
  issuing the Edict of Nantes, giving them limited
  freedom of worship. This was significant because
  it broke with the conformity of the past (one
  king, one law, one religion).
• Henry IV went on to become one of Frances most
  respected rulers, bringing great financial
  achievements and success.
• Unfortunately, in 1610, he was stabbed and killed
  by a fanatic Catholic.

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Louis XIII and Cardinal Richelieu

• Louis XIII was a very young king, and his mother
  initially ruled for him.
• When he was old enough to rule, Cardinal
  Richelieu became his most trusted adviser.
• In order to reduce the power of the Huguenots,
  Richelieu laid siege to the Huguenot city of La
  Rochelle and punished them by tearing down their
  walls and forcing them to follow Catholicism.

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Louis XIV

• historys (and the SOLs) best example of an
  absolute monarch
• son of Louis XIII
• Where his father was weak, Louis was strong and
  confident. He chose the sun as his personal
  symbol, implying the world revolved around him.
• Louis demanded control of all military,
  political, economic, and religious issues. This
  centralization of power weakened the power of the
  nobility.
• Louis also increased his power by building a
  fabulous palace at Versailles and requiring
  nobles to visit him there.
• In 1685, Louis revoked the Edict of Nantes,
  outlawing Protestantism. 200,000 French Huguenots
  were forced to flee the country.

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The Palace at Versailles was a big symbol of the
absolute monarchs power.
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• Louis extravagant lifestyle demanded a lot of
  money, but he also wanted to increase the size
  and prestige of the French military. He wanted to
  expand Frances territory through war.
• The most costly war was the War of Spanish
  Succession, in which he tried to claim the throne
  of Spain for his son. After many defeats, in
  1713, he accepted the Treaty of Utrecht, an
  English victory, but he remained in power.

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Russia
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Ivan IV (Ivan the Terrible)

• In the 1500s, Russia lagged behind the rest of
  Europe in both technology and centralization of
  power.
• Russia was run by boyars, or landowners, until in
  1546 Ivan IV claimed the title of czar (after the
  Latin caeser) and tried to become an absolute
  monarch.
• Initially, he brought several good reforms to
  Russia. He created a council of merchants and
  nobles and promoted military officers based on
  merit rather than status. He defeated the Tatars
  and expanded Russian territory.

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• During the 1560s, Ivan changed for the worse.
• He became paranoid and ruthless, creating his own
  police force to carry out his will. He seized
  land from the boyars and ordered thousands of
  people killed.
• In 1581, Ivan beat his pregnant daughter-in-law
  for wearing immodest clothing, which may have
  caused a miscarriage. His son, upon learning of
  this, engaged in a heated argument with his
  father, which resulted in Ivan striking his son
  in the head with his pointed staff, causing his
  son's (accidental) death.
• This event is depicted in the famous painting by
  Ilya Repin, Ivan the Terrible and his son Ivan on
  Friday, 16 November 1581 better known as Ivan the
  Terrible killing his son. (Wikipedia)

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• The death of Ivans son left Russia without an
  heir to the throne.
• This ushered in the chaotic Time of Troubles
  until 1613, when Michael became the first ruler
  of the Romanov dynasty

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Peter the Great

• Peter became czar in 1682 when he was still a
  child. He was an impressive man tall, strong,
  and energetic. He was determined to modernize
  Russia and build a strong navy.
• He also encouraged westernization, or bringing
  elements of Western culture to Russia. He
  traveled Europe, often in disguise, to learn ship
  building and other ideas about modernization.

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• Peter brought the church under state control,
  built up Russian industry, started the first
  Russian newspaper, and supported education.
• He even personally cut off the long coats and
  beards of the boyars so they would look more
  Western. For these efforts, he is considered the
  founder of modern Russia.
• Peter also founded St. Petersburg on land won
  from Sweden, giving Russia a warm-water port. The
  city is more Western in architecture, and is
  still a cultural and educational center.

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Catherine the Great

• German princess who married the grandson of Peter
  the Great
• Catherine seized power from her husband, Peter
  III, who was murdered, and became czarina
• Catherine considered herself the true successor
  to Peter the Great and wanted to continue his
  policy of westernization and reform. She reformed
  Russias legal and educational systems, removed
  trade restrictions, and promoted the arts and
  sciences.

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Central Europe

• Central Europe was different from the rest of
  Europe. It was ruled by the Holy Roman Empire,
  but smaller states had a lot of power as well.
• The Thirty Years War was a continent-wide
  conflict between Catholics and Protestants over
  control of the HRE. The Treaty of Westphalia
  ended the war, brought religious tolerance to
  both Catholics and Protestants, and weakened the
  HRE.
• Austria and the Hapsburgs v. Prussia and the
  Hohenzollerns

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Look at Central Europe what a mess! Where are
Germany and Italy?
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Frederick the Great

• Leader of Prussia
• emphasis on military power
• seized Austrian provinces, intensifying the
  rivalry
• fought the 7 years war, with Prussia emerging as
  strongest military in Europe

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England
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The Tudors

• Henry XIII split with the Roman Catholic Church
  so he could divorce his wife.
• Henrys daughter Mary (Bloody Mary) briefly
  returned England to Catholicism
• When Mary died, Elizabeth became queen. She
  refused to marry and weaken her power. She had a
  good relationship with Parliament, which was
  strengthened during this time.

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The Stuarts

• King James I was the first to challenge
  Parliament he wanted to rule as an absolute
  monarch.
• His son, Charles I, wanted to rule as an absolute
  monarch too. He fought with Parliament over this.
  He also clashed with the Puritans.
• In 1642, the English Civil War began.

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Oliver Cromwell

• Oliver Cromwell was the leader of Parliaments
  resistance to the king (Roundheads).
• He defeated the Royalist army and won the English
  Civil War.
• Then he dismissed all members of Parliament who
  disagreed with him. They put Charles I on trial,
  found him guilty, and executed him in front of
  his own palace.
• England became a commonwealth under Cromwell.

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Restoration of Charles II

• When Cromwell died, Parliament decided to bring
  back the monarchy. This was known as the
  Restoration. They invited Charles II (Charles Is
  son) to be king.
• Charles II allowed the theatres to reopen and
  passed the Habeas Corpus Act of 1679,
  guaranteeing the right of the accused to a public
  trial. However, the plague returned, along with
  the Great Fire of London.

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Glorious Revolution

• England didnt want Charles IIs Catholic son
  James to be king, so they offered the crown to
  his Protestant daughter Mary and husband William
  to be joint rulers. This became known as the
  Glorious Revolution.
• This was very important because Parliament
  essentially crowned the new king and queen! But
  before they could rule, they had to sign the
  English Bill of Rights, which among other things
  prevented the king from passing taxes without the
  consent of Parliament.

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• Thus, England became a constitutional monarchy,
  or a monarchy limited by law. England had
  rejected the notion of an absolute monarch with a
  divine right to rule.
• The foundations of English freedoms include the
  jury trial, the Magna Carta, and common law.
• The English Civil War and the Glorious Revolution
  prompted further development of the rights of
  Englishmen.

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• Now, ask yourself
• What are some examples of absolute monarchs
  (SOLs)?
• How did they come to power?
• How did they increase their power?
• How did they handle threats to their power?
• Why would some people want a monarch?
• Why would some people not want a monarch?
• Where is the monarchy today? Where have all the
  monarchs gone?

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Got monarch?