Western Civilization IIHIS-102

UNIT 3 - Absolutism and Empire, 1660-1789

Absolutism Effects of political and social upheaval of 1540-

1660 Desire for peace and security

Absolutism Form of government in which one body controls the

right to make war, tax, judge, and coin money Ultimate authority rested in the hands of the

monarch Monarchs ruled by divine right Monarchs answered to no one

Absolute monarchs demanded full control over: State’s armed forces Legal system Financial resources

Absolutism Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679)

Leviathan (1651) stated it was the nature of man to be at war with each other

A strong government was necessary to keep the order

Bishop Jacques Bossuet (1627-1704) He strongly believed in the divine rule of kings Absolute authority of kings Kings limited by the law of God

Ways to solidify power: Weaken the power of the nobility and the church Create an efficient, central bureaucracy

Absolutism Ways to handle nobility:

Pit the middle class against the nobility Modus vivendi: convince the nobles that their own

interests are tied to the crown’s Ways to handle clergy:

Protestant countries – Church already subordinate to the state

Catholic countries – Focus their authority over the church

Mercantilism Country must accumulate bullion to be prosperous Pushed for a state controlled economy Also pushed for the creation of colonies Main economic theory until 1776

Louis XIV (1643-1716)

Louis XIV (1643-1716) Louis came of age in 1651

Fronde died down Impacted Louis’ perception of nobility

Mazarin died in 1661 Louis named himself first minister

Securing absolute power Divine right of kings Modus Vivendi with nobility

Versailles 66.6 million livres for the château 91.7 million livres in operation costs

Palace at Versailles

Louis XIV (1643-1716) In 1661, France was on the verge of

bankruptcy Involvement in numerous war

Hired Jean Baptist Colbert as finance minister Rework the country’s finances Louis could afford to maintain the extravagances

Colbert was effective He was a mercantilist Focused on improving domestic goods Fixed problems with tax farming (25% to 80%) Raised taxes to bring in additional income

Jean Baptiste Colbert Chief Financial

Minister (1664 to 1683)

Louis XIV (1643-1716) Religion: what was good for him was good for

France Forced Catholicism to be only religion

Huguenots were pressured to convert Louis first offered bribes Then hired dragonnades to torment them Passed decrees to make their lives difficult

Edict of Fontainebleau (October 22, 1685) Revoked the Edict of Nantes Protestantism now illegal in France Over 200,000 Huguenots were forced to flee

Dragonnades terrorizing French Protestants

Wars of Louis XIV Louis had two objectives throughout his reign:

Diminish the power of the Habsburgs Promote royal interests

Louis wanted both internal success and international glory He wanted to show how powerful he was to the

rest of Europe From 1661 to 1715, France almost constantly

at war The War of Devolution (1667-68) Franco-Dutch War (1672-1678) War of the League of Augsburg (1688-1697) War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1713)

Maria Theresa Queen of

France

The War of Devolution (1667-68) In 1665, King Philip IV of Spain died

He was succeeded by his son, Charles II Part of his inheritance was Brabant

Louis argued that Charles II could not inherit this province

Local law prevented it It should “devolve” to the first wife’s daughter: Maria

Theresa Charles refused

Louis invaded the Spanish Netherlands in 1667 Spain was weak and ill-equipped French troops dominated in the beginning The United Netherlands did not like this

The War of Devolution (1667-68) Triple Alliance (1668)

Between Netherlands, England, and Sweden None were comfortable with Louis controlling the

Spanish Netherlands Louis did not have the troops to face the Triple

Alliance Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (May 2, 1668)

The Spanish Netherlands returned to Spain France got very little territory

Louis felt betrayed by the Dutch The French had helped the Dutch gain independence He believed the Dutch should have shown him some

loyalty

William III Prince of

Orange (1650-1702)

Franco-Dutch War (1672-1678) Treaty of Dover (1670)

England would help France get the Spanish Netherlands

France would help bring back Catholicism In 1672, Louis invaded the Spanish Netherlands

England provided naval support He quickly overtook three of the seven Dutch

provinces Dutch led by William III of Orange

Pushed the French out by 1673 Treaty of Nijmegen (August 10, 1678)

Negotiated due to financial strain France received Franche-Comté and a few cities

William of Orange becomes the leader of resistance against Louis

Emperor Leopold I (1658-1705)

War of the League of Augsburg In 1680s, Louis turned his attention to Germany

Wanted to exert his influence over the states in the Rhine League of Augsburg (1686)

Organized by Emperor Leopold I Designed to protect the Rhine against an invasion by

Louis Included a number of German states as well as Sweden

and Spain Two well matched armies:

France had had the most powerful army in Europe and his navy was far superior than the Dutch and English navies combined

Leopold had been successfully defeating the Turks in Austria

War of the League of Augsburg In September 1688, Louis sent troops into the

Rhine William became king of England in January 1689

He joined the League The war spread throughout the world

Most was fought on continental Europe In the Americas it was known as King William’s War It was mostly a war of attrition

Treaty of Ryswick (September 20, 1697) France was able to keep some territory, including Alsace All territory seized in the Rhine went back to pre-war

borders France had to recognize William as the legitimate king of

England

Charles II of Spain (1665-1700)

Lineage of Charles II of Spain

Habsburg Family Lineage

The Problem of Spanish Succession Controversy over Spanish throne in 1690s

Charles II had no direct heir to the throne The next person in line was Louis’ son, Louis le

grand dauphin Third in line was the Habsburg Emperor Leopold I

Negotiations began to protect the balance of power First Partition Treaty(1698)

In 1698, the First Partition Treaty was signed Joseph Ferdinand of Bavaria designated as heir to

the throne Charles agreed to this Joseph Ferdinand died in 1699 of smallpox

The Problem of Spanish Succession Second Partition Treaty (1700)

Throne would go to Leopold’s second son, Archduke Charles of Austria

Part of this agreement included having Italy go to France Charles did not like it as it meant dividing Spanish

territory Charles died on November 1, 1700

In his will, Charles selected Philip of Anjou as his heir Philip was grandson of Louis XIV He would have to renounce all claims to the French

throne He also had to keep the Spanish empire in tact

Philip took the throne as Philip V

War of the Spanish Succession Louis invaded the Spanish Netherlands in 1701 Most of Europe participated in the war

On one side was Spain and France On the other was Leopold, England, the Dutch, and

Austria The war was fought mainly in the Low Countries and

Germany Casualties were high on both sides (~400,000 were

killed) Also fought in the Americas as Queen Anne’s War

From the beginning, France was losing most of the battles In 1708, Louis was on the verge of defeat Began negotiations with other side

War of the Spanish Succession Alliance wanted Louis to use French troops to

oust Philip He refused

On April 17, 1711, Emperor Joseph I died This was Archduke Charles’ older brother Charles was now the Holy Roman Emperor (Charles

VI) The balance of power was once again threatened

If the alliance won, Charles would have both the Empire and Spain

Each of the members began negotiating separate treaties They were collectively known as the Peace at Utrecht

Peace at Utrecht (1713)It set down the following: Philip V would remain King of Spain and all its colonies Philip renounced any claims to the French throne for

him or any of his descendants Charles VI received the Spanish Netherlands and

Naples France would give England:

Hudson Bay Company in North America Caribbean island of St. Kitt’s

England would receive the right from Spain to transport and sell slaves from Africa to Spanish America This made them the principle slave traders in the Americas

End of Louis XIV’s Reign Aftermath of the Treaty of Utrecht:

France’s power was diminished from the war England emerged as the premiere naval power in

Europe Two main powers: France and England The Netherlands began their decline Spain was weakened even further by the war

Louis XIV died on September 1, 1715 of gangrene He outlived:

His son Le Grand Dauphin (d. 1711) Two grandsons and two great-grandsons

Louis of Anjou was heir to the throne He was Louis XIV five-year-old grandson

Brandenburg-Prussia

Rise of Brandenburg-Prussia Peace of Westphalia left a power vacuum in

the HRE Brandenburg-Prussia will fill that void

Brandenburg-Prussia included: The Duchy of East Prussia The Margraviate of Brandenburg The rulers came from the Hohenzollern family

Territories did not connect Land was controlled by Sweden or Poland This included Danzig

During the , Prussia acquires all this territory It becomes one of the most powerful countries in

central Europe

Great Elector Frederick William I (1640-1688)

Great Elector Frederick William I In 1640, Frederick William ascended to:

Duke of Prussia Elector of Brandenburg Both territories were in bad shape from the Thirty

Years’ War He had three goals :

Build up the agriculture and commerce Build up his army to protect the country Recapture territories lost during the Thirty Years’ War

To do this, he had to centralize the government The nobility (Junkers) were going to be his biggest

threat They still claimed special rights and privileges Included controlling their own finances,

administrations, judicial systems, armies, and foreign affairs

Great Elector Frederick William I Frederick William made his own modus

vivendi: They gave up their political power in their

provincial Estates-General The Junkers would not have to pay taxes and have

almost complete control over their peasants Restructured the military

Prussia became a formidable military power Attempts at expansion

Wars against Sweden and France He was unsuccessful Did give the army valuable experience

Great Elector Frederick III (1688-1713)

Great Elector Frederick III Frederick was not physically strong

He had been frail in health and was said to be physically deformed

He was not concerned with running the government Put power in the hands of his ministers Spent most of his time trying to imitate the court of

Louis XIV One of his main desires was to get the title of king

However, this could not be accomplished legally Brandenburg was inside the Holy Roman Empire Prussia was technically part of Poland Frederick was going to do whatever was necessary to

get that title

Great Elector Frederick III Frederick found that opportunity during the

War of Spanish Succession Emperor Leopold I wanted the help of the Prussian

army Frederick argued that he could be king as Prussia

was never part of the HRE As part of their compromise, Frederick received

the title of King in Prussia This title was used until 1772

Great Northern War (1700-1721) Joined forces with Russia against Sweden Acquired western Pomerania

King Frederick William I (1713-1740)

King Frederick William I (1713-1740) Frederick William was also known as the “Potsdam

Fürher” “I am going to place Prussian sovereignty on a rock

of bronze” He was an absolute monarch Believed in divine right but said “salvation belongs to

the Lord and everything else is my affair” Wanted Prussian independence from foreign

subsidies Needed to make himself along with the country

economical Reformed the household accounts

Fired all the court lackeys and pages Sold the crown jewels to pay off the country’s debts Gave his wife Sophia Dorothea a very small allowance

for her and their 14 children for living expenses

King Frederick William I (1713-1740) He developed commerce and industry

Placed on tariffs on foreign goods Prohibited the exportation of raw materials Created new industries to make Prussia more

independent He further centralized the government

Created the General Directory, the central authority of all his territories

All territories were subordinate to the Directory He was very strict with his underlings

What was good for him was good for everybody else Officials were fined if not in their offices by 5am Would dock six months’ salary if missed an important

meeting

King Frederick William I (1713-1740) Devoted to building up his army

Started with only 38,000 paid for mostly with foreign subsidies

End of his reign, it was 83,000 and he had a huge war chest

By 1740, Prussia was the third biggest military power behind Russia and France

Frederick William did promote good health Every year, his army was lined up and bled for “good

health” He was in front of that line each time

The Potsdam Giants This was his elite regiment and they could do no wrong Had to be a least six feet tall to join Many kings gave him gifts of tall men to get on his good

side

Maria Theresa of Austria (1740-1780)

Maria Theresa (1740-1780) Austria had a slightly modified version of

absolutism It occurred during the reign of Maria Theresa

She was the first female heir in the entire Habsburg line Because Austria followed Salic Law, her father

Charles VI needed to guarantee her succession Pragmatic Sanction (1713)

Issued by Emperor Charles VI Guaranteed her the right for Maria Theresa to

inherit the Austrian throne and all of Charles’ lands Most of the European countries accepted this

Maria Theresa (1740-1780) In 1740, Charles died

Maria succeeded to the throne Not everyone accepted her as monarch Included France, Prussia, Bavaria, and Saxony

War of Austrian Succession (1740-1748) Began when Prussia invaded Silesia Most of the major players of Europe were involved One side was France and Prussia The other Austria, Great Britain, and the United

Netherlands Fought in the colonies as King George’s War Neither side had a clear advantage

Maria Theresa (1740-1780) Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748)

Prussia made out best, receiving Silesia from Austria Austria also lost a number of duchies in Italy to Spain France was forced to give up territory in the Netherlands

but did get back Cape Breton Island Britain gave France back the fort of Louisbourg in Nova

Scotia Maria Theresa centralized the government

She combined Austria and Bohemia into one administration

New departments were set up to administer both the territories that answered directly to the monarchy

A supreme court was set up to handle all the judicial issues

Maria Theresa (1740-1780) She attempted to strengthen the economy

Only the monarch had the ability to collect taxes Clergy and nobility now had to pay property and

income taxes She set up strict tariffs on all imports

She also set about reorganizing the military The army was increased twofold She set up the Theresian Military Academy in 1751

She was not willing to make any radical reforms She was staunchly Catholic and very conservative

When her husband died in 1765, she named her son Joseph as her co-ruler

Peter I (1689-1725)

Peter the Great (1689-1725) Russia needed a warm water port

Baltic was controlled by Sweden Black Sea was controlled by the Ottoman Turks

Peter decided to go against the Turks Attempted to take Fort Azov in the summer of 1695 That failed horribly Over that winter, he built up a navy By June 1696, he was able to take Azov with 30

ships He still could not gain full access to the Black

Sea without a full navy Russia’s first navy was put into motion in October

1696

Peter the Great (1689-1725) Great Embassy (1697)

Peter wanted help from Europe to defeat the Turks Traveled throughout Europe as a member of the

Embassy, not “tsar” Hoped to get a better view into the customs and

traditions of western Europe The Embassy failed at securing any aid He learned a lot about ship building and running a

navy from both the Dutch and English In June 1698, the Streltsy revolted

They wanted to place Sophia back into power Peter had to return to Russia

Peter the Great (1689-1725) The revolt had been put down by the time Peter

returned However, he was not satisfied with the results Only 57 had been executed and the rest ordered into

exile Peter ordered that entire Streltsy be destroyed

From September 1698 to February of 1699, roughly 1,200 Streltsy were executed

Most of those bodies were left either gibbeted outside the Kremlin or unburied where they were executed

An additional 600 were tortured and exiled Even the families of the Streltsy were forced out of

Moscow Now Peter could focus on modernizing Russia

Peter the Great (1689-1725) He continued to reorganize the military

Peasants were conscripted for 25-year terms Goal: a standing army of over 200,000 men Improved on the navy

He made a few governmental reforms Centralized the government Replaced the Duma with ten Departments of State Set up new provinces and governors and councils

to run them Nobility and non-nobility were able to hold

positions in the government and gain rank through achievement

Peter the Great (1689-1725) He made numerous economic reforms based on

mercantilism He had new industries created and expanded old

ones Collect raw materials from untouched sources inside

of Russia He would conscript peasants to work in factories to

help boost commerce His changes did end feudalism in some areas In tsar-owned areas, the peasants were considered

state peasants and owned by the tsar He made educational reforms

He built elementary, military, and vocational schools He also simplified the Russian alphabet by removing

eight letters and changing the forms of others

Peter the Great (1689-1725) Peter’s biggest impact was his cultural reforms

He forced Russian men to shave their beards He had tailors design clothes that looked more European Those to refused to wear short sleeves would have their

sleeves cut He taught people western dancing He adopted the Julian calendar

Peter turned his attention back to his warm water port He knew it would be hard to keep control of Azov He turned his attentions back to the Baltic Sea The region was under the control of Charles XII of

Sweden

Peter the Great (1689-1725) Great Northern War (1700-1721)

Between Russia and Sweden Russia captured the Gulf of Finland in 1703 Set up the city of St. Petersburg as a new capital

city In 1708, Charles invaded Russia to capture Moscow Scorched earth policy When winter set in, Charles’ army took a hard hit Peace of Nystadt (1721) gave Russia warm

weather ports on the Baltic Sea Peter was now a major player in Europe

It came at a huge cost

Peter the Great (1689-1725) Many in Russia were not happy

Taxes were increased over 500% during his reign Nobility upset they had to work for their positions

and rank Even his son, Alexei, fled Russia in 1716 Supposedly wanted to be a monk instead of tsar When Alexei returned to Russia he was tortured

and sentenced to death In 1725, Peter named his wife, Catherine, to

be co-ruler and heir to the throne He believed that Salic Law was outdated

Peter died on January 28, 1725 He developed gangrene in his bladder

Charles II (1660-

1685)

Charles II (1660-1685) Not all countries embraced absolutism

United Provinces of the Netherlands remained a republic

England kept a mixed monarchy In 1660, Charles II assumed the throne of

England He had to do so under certain conditions He was raised a Catholic but he was required to rule

as a Protestant king He was required to accept a constitutional

monarchy He agreed to observe both the Magna Carta (1215)

and the Petition of Right (1628)

Charles II (1660-1685) With his ascension, the entire mood of England

changed Many members of court were glad to see the end of

Puritan control His court became the center for sexuality with risqué

behavior, dancing, and theater Thus he earned the nickname the “Merrie Monarch”

One of the first things he did was to try those who had been responsible for his father’s execution Those who were alive were tried and executed Oliver Cromwell’s body was dug up, drawn and

quartered, and his head put on the end of a pike in front of Westminster Abbey until 1685

His head was not buried until 1960

The mummified head of Oliver Cromwell

Domestic Policies There was still some tension between the king

and Parliament Cavalier Parliament (1661-1679)

It was heavily royalist but wanted to limit the power of the king

The focus of this parliament was religion Specifically they wanted to limit the threat of the

non-conformist (radical Protestant) groups Lord Chancellor, Edward Hyde, Earl of Clarendon,

put together a series of religious laws known as the Clarendon Codes

They made it difficult for non-conformists to meet and worship

Domestic Policies Then, in 1665 to 1666, London was hit with two

major disasters The Great Plague of London (July 1665-

September 1666) It killed between 75,000 and 100,000 people which

was 1/5 of London’s population At one point 7,000 were dying a week

The Great Fire of London (September 2-5, 1666) It destroyed the homes of 70,000 of London’s

80,000 inhabitants It did, however, have the benefit of ending the

plague

Great Fire of London (September 2-5, 1666)

Charles’ Foreign Policy Charles’ foreign policy began to negatively

impact his relationship with Parliament England became involved in two wars with the

Dutch Both were attempts to end the Dutch domination of

world trade, especially in the New World In one instance, the Dutch fleet was able to sail up the

Thames River and destroy most of the English fleet In the end, England lost both wars

In 1668, England joined the Triple Alliance against Louis XIV in the War of Devolution England was pressured into it by the Dutch Even though Louis conceded, it was not a popular war

with Parliament

Charles’ Foreign Policy Treaty of Dover (1670)

England would help France conquer the Spanish Netherlands

France would provide 6,000 troops and £200,000 to help bring back Catholicism to England

Louis did not trust Charles’ desire to convert England

He was more interested in the military benefits that England could provide

Third Anglo-Dutch War (1672-1674) This was part of the Franco-Dutch War After a series of failures, Parliament forced the

king to negotiate a peace with the Dutch in 1674

Charles’ Clash With Parliament Parliament was afraid that Charles would do two

things: Change his policies to favor Catholicism Become a more absolutist style of monarch

In 1669, a rumor spread that Charles wanted to openly convert to Catholicism Part of this included bringing Catholicism back to

England However, there is no proof that Charles planned on

officially converting before 1685 Royal Declaration of Indulgence (1672)

It suspended the restrictions on the recusants It also removed the criminal laws against being a

recusant Parliament forced Charles to withdraw it

Charles’ Clash With Parliament Parliament felt threatened by Charles’ actions

Test Acts of 1673 and 1678 Designed to keep England moderate Anglican Aimed at Catholics (only 2% of the total population) All public officials were required to denounce

transubstantiation and take oaths of allegiance and supremacy

They were also to receive communion in the Anglican church within three months of their appointment

Another issue was the line of succession Charles’ wife was unable to give birth to an heir Her pregnancies ended in either miscarriage or stillbirth Charles had 14 illegitimate children through his

mistresses

Catherine of Braganza Queen Consort

(1662-1685)

Problems with Succession Next was Charles’ brother, James Duke of York

He had openly converted to Catholicism in 1668 This made him unpopular as the next in line

Exclusion Bills (1679-1681) Parliaments attempted to ban James from succession Charles dissolved each Parliament to prevent its

passage Parliament split into two parties

Whig – Favored exclusion Tory – Supported James in line for the throne

On February 6, 1685 Charles died of renal failure On his deathbed, he converted to Catholicism

James II (1685-

1688)

James II (1685-1688) When James ascended to the throne in 1685,

he had two very distinct aims: Make himself the absolute monarch of England Reestablish the Catholic Church in England

Monmouth’s Rebellion (1685) Some Protestants began rallying around James

Duke of Monmouth He was one of Charles’ illegitimate sons The rebellion was quickly and violently put down Monmouth was executed in elaborate fashion

James used this opportunity to raise a large army Included placing Catholics in high military positions

James II (1685-1688) Parliament visibly opposed this move

James suspended Parliament in November 1685 He never called it again for the remainder of his

reign In 1686, James replaced many members of the

Court of King’s Bench Their rulings allowed the king to excuse certain

people from the oath required in the Test Acts Now Catholics could hold positions in government,

including high offices and positions in the Anglican Church

Also that year, a papal nuncio was appointed to England This was the first one since the reign of Queen Mary

James II (1685-1688) On April 4, 1687, James issued the Declaration

of Indulgence It suspended all punishments for recusants People were now permitted to worship any religion

other than Church of England It eliminated the religious oaths for public officials It essentially negated the Test Acts

Why did the people of England not revolt against James? He was old The two children by his first wife, Mary and Anne,

had been raised Protestant His second wife, Mary of Modena, had not produced

any children

James II (1685-1688) Protestants had already contacted William III of

Orange He was married to Princess Mary, the heir presumptive William and Mary were to take the throne when James

died On June 10, 1688 Queen Mary gave birth to a son

There was now a male heir who was to be raised Catholic

On June 30, nobles contacted William and Mary They promised him military aid if they were to come to

England to depose of James James heard about this but was not concerned He believed his army was powerful enough army to

repel such an invasion He did not to anything additional to prevent it

Mary of Modena Queen Consort (1685-1688)

The “Glorious Revolution” On November 5, 1688, William arrived in England

“Protestant winds” prevented the English navy from attacking the landing party

He had between 18,000-21,000 man army When he landed he was greeting with popular support

James fled to France (December 23) William allowed James to escape

No blood was shed in England There were, however, battles fought in Ireland and

Scotland Parliament now got its limited monarchy

The “Glorious Revolution” Convention Parliament confirmed the

succession of Mary and William to the throne Declaration of Right (February 13, 1689)

It stated that James, “by the assistance of diverse evil counselors, judges, and ministers employed by him, did endeavor to subvert and extirpate the Protestant religion and the laws and liberties of this kingdom”

William and Mary were the legitimate monarchs as James vacated the throne

Stipulated that if any member of the royal house converts or marries a Catholic, they will be excluded from inheriting the throne

Both had to agree to the terms of the Declaration if they were to take the throne

The “Glorious Revolution” Bill of Rights (1689)

Parliament’s approval was required for keeping a standing army and raising taxes

Free elections of Parliamentary members without interference from the monarchy

Guaranteed freedom of speech inside Parliament Protected the Protestants from another Catholic

monarch All monarchs must swear an oath on coronation

day to uphold the Protestant religion Confirmed succession through Mary’s line, not her

father’s If Mary did not have any children, the throne

would be passed on to her Protestant sister, Anne