• France in the Age of Absolutism.• Strengthening the Monarchy.

• French Wars of Religion (War of the 3 Henrys)• St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre.

– Thousands of Huguenots massacred

• Henry IV came to the French throne in 1589.• Founded a new dynasty – Bourbon.

• Was a Huguenot, converted to Catholicism.

• “Paris is well worth a mass!” -

• Issued Edict of Nantes – religious freedom to Huguenots (French Protestants)

• Assassinated in 1610; son Louis XIII (8 yrs).

• Cardinal Richelieu – advisor.• Wanted to make the king supreme in Europe.

• Intendants – monarchy’s representatives in the provinces

St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre

Henry IV Edict of Nantes

Louis XIIICardinal Richelieu

• The Thirty Years War (1618-1648).• Protestant rebellion against the HRE.• Four periods of war

• Bohemia phase• Danish phase• Swedish phase (Gustavus Adolphus—king of

Sweden saves the Protestant cause)• French-Swedish phase

• Most of the fighting took place in Germany.• France kept out of the war; grew stronger.

• Policy of Cardinal Richelieu • Result: Germany devastated; Alsace to France.• Treaty of Westphalia (1648); independence to

Netherlands; Switzerland

• Louis XIV (king for 72 years, 1643-1715)– “the sun king”– Built a huge palace at Versailles

• Drained the French treasury

– Epitomized divine right of kings• “L’etat c’est moi”• Revoked the Edict of Nantes (1685)

– Financial advisor, Jean Baptiste Colbert

Thirty Years’ War

Treaty of Westphalia

Louis XIV

Versailles

Orangery

Hall of Mirrors

Gallery of Battles

VersaillesOpera Stage

Chapel Altarpiece

2,000 acres of grounds 12 miles of roads 27 miles of trellises 200,000 trees 210,000 flowers planted every year 80 miles of rows of trees 55 acres surface area of the Grand Canal 12 miles of enclosing walls 50 fountains and 620 fountain nozzles 21 miles of water conduits 3,600 cubic meters per hour: water consumed 26 acres of roof 51,210 square meters of floors 2,153 windows 700 rooms 67 staircases 6,000 paintings 1,500 drawings and 15,000 engravings 2,100 sculptures 5,000 items of furniture and objects d'art 150 varieties of apple and peach trees in the Vegetable Garden

Jean-BaptisteColbert

• The Wars of Louis XIV.• Balance of power – • The War of Spanish Succession.

• Fought in Europe, North America, and at sea.• Treaty of Utrecht.

• The Legacy of Louis XIV.• France gains a foothold in N. America – fur

trade.• Wars drained the French treasury.• France leading power in Europe (for a while).

• Russia in the Age of Absolutism.• Isolation of a New Dynasty.

• Geography separated Russia from Europe.• Sweden, Poland blocked access to Baltic Sea.• Ottoman Turks controlled the Black Sea.• To the west, vast Polish plains blocked trade.• None of Russia’s rivers flowed into the seas.

• Use of Cyrillic alphabet (Europe used Roman).• Time of Troubles (1604-1613)

– Over 30 leaders

• 1613 – new czar – Michael Romanov.

MichaelRomanov

• Peter the Great ruled from 1689-1725.• Sought to modernize Russia.• Wanted a warm-water seaport, end landlocked

situation.• Peter visited, met with leading scientists,

artisans.• 1700 – started a long war with Sweden.

• Russia wins in 1721 – gains access to Baltic Sea.• Decisive battle – Poltava.

• Capital moved from Moscow to St. Petersburg.• Forced nobles to shave off their long beards.• Created a new system of nobility.

• Czar granted nobles large estates with serfs.• Serfs’ conditions worsened.

Peter the Great

Peter the Great at the Battle of Poltava

• Catherine the Great (1762-1796).• German princess married to Peter III.• Peter III murdered by nobles who supported

Catherine.• Catherine’s policies.

• Supported art, science, literature, theater.• Continued expansionist policies of Peter.• Gained control of Black Sea, Crimea (Turks).

• First Partition of Poland (with Prussia and Austria).

• Poland disappeared from map of Europe until 1919.

• Added more than 200,000 square miles to her empire.

• Expanded eastward to Siberia – rich in natural resources.

• Set up colony in Alaska.

Catherine the Great

Peter III