THE AGE OF ABSOLUTISM

FRENCH WARS OF RELIGION

• PLAYERS– French Catholics: about 93% of the French

population (including the king)– Huguenots: about 7% of the French

population, but 40-50% of the French nobility

• Protestants were persecuted

• Towns and provinces assisted nobles in trying to limit the power of the monarchy

HENRY OF NAVARRE

HENRY IV (1589-1610)Domestic Policies:– was a Huguenot, but realized a

Protestant would never be accepted by Catholic France.

– issued the Edict of Nantes recognizing Catholicism as the official religion of France, but giving Huguenots the right to worship and enjoy political privileges.

First Bourbon monarch

LOUIS XIII (1610-1643)

Came to the throne when he was just a boy

His Mother, Marie de’ Medici, ruled as regent until he was 15

Kingdom was actually ruled by Cardinal Richelieu (1624-1643)

SPAIN AND MILITANT CATHOLICISM

CHARLES I (1516-1556)

• Also known as Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1519-1558)

• Was a Hapsburg (German) by birth

• Helped make Spain the most powerful nation in Europe during the Age of Discovery

PHILIP II (1556-1598)

The “Most Catholic King”

Married Mary I of England

Ruled the largest empire in the world (parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa, and almost all of South America)

Philip II continued

Domestic Policies:– Insisted on strict conformity to Catholicism– Strong monarchical authority (power of the king)

Foreign Policies:– Strengthen Catholic influence world-wide– Wage war on non-Catholic nations– Increase colonial possessions

Sent the Armada to England in an effort to defeat Elizabeth I, believing that his defeat would overthrow Protestantism and return England to a Catholic nation

ENGLAND: THE TUTORS AND ELIZABETHAN AGE

TUTORS:HENRY VIII (1509-1547)

• Broke from the Catholic Church• Had 6 wives

EDWARD VI (1547-1553)• Became king

at 9 years of age• Died in his early teens• Maintained Protestantism in

EnglandMARY I (1553-1558)

• Known as “Bloody Mary”• Changed England’s religion

back to Catholicism• Married Philip II of Spain

ELIZABETH I (1558-1603)• “The Virgin Queen” – never

married• One of the best loved English

monarchs

Domestic policy:– Worked well with Parliament– Implemented a new Act of

Supremacy naming her the head of both church and state

– Repealed laws favoring Catholics

Elizabeth I continued

Foreign Policy:– Held a moderate view– Tried to keep a balance

of power between Spain and France

– Tried to avoid war– Defeated Philip II’s

Spanish Armada

ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL CRISES IN EUROPE (1560-

1650)

ECONOMIC CRISES:

• INFLATION– Caused by the great influx of gold and silver

from the Americas– A growing population increase the demand for

land and food, driving up prices

Warfare, plague, and famine caused a population decline by 1650 and led to the creation of social tensions

SOCIAL TENSIONSBelief in witchcraft:

An intense hysteria caused many people to be charged with witchcraft (a carry over from the Inquisition’s search for heretics)

Common people were most often accused (single or widowed women were targeted)

The Thirty Years War:Cause: Disputes between Calvanists and Catholics and a

struggle between France, Spain, and the Holy Roman Empire for European leadership

Results: most destructive conflict Europe and yet experienced, The major contenders gained new territories (France emerged as the dominant power), brought and end to the Holy Roman Empire, and The Peace of Westphalia stated all German states could determine their own religion.

REVOLUTION IN ENGLAND

JAMES I (1603-1625)

• First Stuart king• Believed in the

“Divine Right of Kings”

• Alienated Parliament• Was also James VI of

Scotland

CHARLES I (1625-1649)

• King of England during the English Civil War

• Did not work with Parliament

• Beheaded by Oliver Cromwell and the Roundheads

THE COMMONWEALTH

• Ruled by Oliver Cromwell (1653-1658)

• Governed as Lord Protector (actually a kind of military dictator)

• His son, Richard, succeeded him after his death

CHARLES II (1660-1685)

• Came to power in the time known as “The Restoration”

• Dissolved Parliament in England and ruled alone until his death

• Had no heirs, so his brother inherited the throne

JAMES II (1685-1688)

• Last Roman Catholic monarch in England

• Parliament feared his belief in absolutism and planned changes to the Church of England

• His foes orchestrated the “Glorious Revolution”

WILLIAM AND MARY (1688-1702)• Came to power as a result of the “Glorious Revolution”• Ruled jointly until Mary’s death in 1694• Signed the English

Bill of Rights• Marked the beginning

of England’s

Constitutional Monarchy• They were both Protestant

RESPONSE TO CRISIS: ABSOLUTISM

LOUIS XIV (1643-1715)(1643-1661) Cardinal

Mazarin helped rule as regent

The Sun King

Accomplishments:• Epitome of an

absolute monarch• Built the Palace at

Versailles

Louis XIV continuedDomestic Policies:

• Maintained complete authority by distracting nobles and princes with court life, to keep them out of politics

Foreign Policies

• Waged war on neighboring countries

When he died in 1715, he left France in great debt and surrounded by enemies

Frederick I (1701-1713)First king of Prussia

Domestic Policies:

• Patron of the arts

• Wanted to make Prussia a strong nation

Foreign Policies:• Militaristic (fought other countries)

Accomplishments:

• 4th largest army in Europe

AUSTRIACharles VI (1711-1740)• Brought Austria into its

widest expansion• signed the Pragmatic

Sanction of 1713, giving power to his daughter upon his death

Maria Theresa (1740-1780)• Promoted commerce and

agriculture• Financial and educational

reforms

RUSSIA

Ivan IV (1533-1584)Accomplishment:•Known for his cruelty, which earned him the nickname “the Terrible”

– Was probably mentally unstable– Killed his own son

Domestic Policies:•Wanted to get rid of the nobility

Foreign Policies:•Increased the size of Russia

Peter the Great (1682-1725)First Romanov ruler

Domestic Policy:•Tried to “westernize” Russia

(make Russia more like Europe)

Foreign Policy:•Built a large navy•Increased the size of Russia

Accomplishments:•Created the city of St. Petersburg

ASSIGNMENT

• Examine the portraits of Louis XIV, Peter the Great, and Elizabeth I on the following slide

• Complete a primary source framework analysis for each one

• Write a short essay describing how the portraits portray the concept of absolutism. Include a personal critique of your favorite portrait (what you like about it).

Elizabeth I

Louis XIV

Peter the Great

EUROPEAN CULTURE

MANNERISM – reflected a new environment of anxiety and uncertainty in European culture by deliberately breaking down the Renaissance principles of balance, harmony, and moderation (elongated figures were used to show suffering, emotions, and religious ecstasy)

El Greco was probably the most famous artist of this movement

The Baroque Movement:Sought to bring together the

classical ideals of Renaissance art with the spiritual feelings of the 16th century religious revival

Largely reflected the search for power through magnificent and rich detail and elaborate drama

The Golden Age of Literature:

Drama and Theater – William Shakespeare is the most famous of all the dramatists and perhaps the best example of “Elizabethan” literatureLope de Vega was also a great Spanish

playwright

Novels – Miguel de Cervantes is the most notable Spanish novelist of the time and his novel Don Quixote has been called one of the greatest literary works of all time

POLITICAL THOUGHT

Thomas Hobbes – claimed that before society was organized, humans were guided not by reason and moral ideals but by a ruthless struggle for self-preservation. Promoted a social contract in which people agree to be governed by an absolute ruler with unlimited power in order to preserve society, and rebellion must be suppressed.

Political thought continued…

John Locke – argued against the absolute rule of one person. Believed that before society, humans lived in a state of equality and freedom based on natural rights. Said that the contract between people and government involved mutual obligations and government was established to protect people’s rights.

His ideas can be found in the Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution