Chapter 21: Absolute Monarchs in Europe

 1500-1800

“…the person of the king is the sacred, and to attack him in any way is an attack on religion itself. Kings represent the divine majesty and have been appointed by Him to carry out His purposes. Serving God and respecting Kings are bound together.”

 How are monarchs viewed by the speaker of this quote?

 Why do people accept the power of the monarch?

Theory of Absolutism

 What are absolute monarchs?

 Why do they think they possess all this power?

 Divine right

Comparison Chart

Democracy   Limited power   Power comes from the

people   Separation of church

and state   Government exists as

a guide for people

Absolute Monarchy   Total power   Power comes directly

from God   Religion is the reason

why the government exists as it does

  Disobeying monarch is much like disobeying God himself

Why absolutism?

Causes   Religious and

territorial conflicts created fear and uncertainty, loss of church’s power

  Growth of armies caused rulers to raise taxes to pay troops

  Taxes led to peasant revolts

Effects   Rulers regulated

religion to control the spread of ideas

  Rulers increased the size of their courts

  Rulers created bureaucracies to control the economy

Turmoil in France

  Religious wars lead to skepticism

  Edict of Nantes   Declaration of

religious toleration in France

  Cardinal Richelieu   Wanted to increase

the power of the monarchy

King Louis XIV

• Only 5’5” tall… • …when he wore high-heeled shoes • What does the clothing Louis XIV is wearing in this picture tell us? • Why was he often called “The Sun King”?

Palace of Versailles

Ivan the Terrible (1547-1584)

  Good period   Codified laws, added

land, ruled fairly

  Bad period   After death of wife

  Stole land from and executed boyars (land owning nobles)—Why?

  New nobility must remain loyal

  Killed oldest son

Impact of Peter the Great on Russia (1696-1725)

  Westernization   Using Western

Europe as a model for change

  Shipbuilding (Navy)

  Importance of warm water ports

  New capital   St. Petersburg

  Newspaper

  New food   Potatoes

  Women attained social status

  New clothing   Better education   Increased power of

the czar despite church’s resistance to change

Parliament Fights Back Against the Monarchy

  King James I   Charles I   Petition of Right (1628)

  No unlawful imprisonment

  Wouldn’t raise taxes without Parliament’s consent

  No housing soldiers in private homes

  No martial law in peacetime

  Charles ignored it, but why is it still important?

  English Civil War (1642-1649) fought as Charles’ popularity declined

  Result of war?

The Monarchy Overthrown

  Oliver Cromwell   Charles II

  Restoration   Habeas corpus

  James II   Glorious Revolution

  William and Mary   English Bill of Rights   Constitutional monarchy   Cabinet