Unit #2 – Part 2 or 3 or…: Absolutism Think about what you have learned thus far - PowerPoint Presentation

Unit #2 – Part 2 or 3 or…: Absolutism Think about what you have learned thus far about the political systems in European countries: If you were to take over a European country, which one would you take over?  Why? How would you go about doing this? Once you took over what would you do to keep & strengthen your power?

Causes of Absolutism Feudalism out, unified church out Religious/territorial conflict = uncertainty & fear, start a cycle Big armies required higher taxes to support them Peasants revolted against taxes Kings rules even more harshly

Characteristics of abs rulers Run by one, singular person Divine right and without consent Glorification of the State (Ruler) rather than local culture Controls/limits power of the nobility Economy is for the RULER not the citizens of the state No one is exempt from paying taxes War-Expansion is normal – discourage/distract domestic unrest Standing army Bureaucracies Secret police – controlled social gatherings, religious gatherings Control over all aspects of justice

Absolutism …in France

Huguenots Catherine de Medici Mother of King Charles IX – too young to rule Arranges a wedding for her daughter to a Protestant Prince (Henry, a Huguenot) in hopes of peace Has Protestants in Paris murdered instead St. Bartholomew ’ s Day 1572 Charles IX dies as does his mother Protestant Prince Henry “ converts ” to Catholicism Henry becomes King Henry IV

Henry IV heals France 1598 – Henry signs the Edict of Nantes Allows Protestantism, lets them live in peace Henry worked hard to rebuild France Assassinated in 1610 His son Louis XIII becomes King Weak king , but had a smart man advising him Cardinal Richelieu

Cardinal Richelieu Extremely ambitious man, despite his church position Two steps he took as Louis XIII ’ s advisor Limited Protestant rights Forbade Protestant cities to have walls around them Believed they were conspiracies against the Catholic King Limited power of nobility Forced them to tear down their castles

Louis XIV Most powerful ruler in French history “ L ’ etat , c ’ est moi ” – I am the state At first, the real power was Richelieu ’ s successor Cardinal Mazarin Louis XIV was four years old when he became king Ends 30 Years War But becomes very unpopular with the French due to high taxes

Louis XIV Violent riots (mostly nobility) against Mazarin – the Fronde Louis bitter about the nobles who rebelled and swore he would weaken them Nobles rebellion fails for three reasons Nobles distrusted each other Government was violent in its response Peasants and townspeople tired, were willing to live under an absolute monarch

Louis XIV M dies, Louis XIV takes over completely (age 22-23) Expelled nobles from all royal government posts Replaced them with intendants, or government agents Collected taxes, administered justice Louis had tight control over the nobility

The Sun King Louis XIV - the Sun King, reigns for 72 years Nobles wait on him in elaborate rituals 100 nobles awaited him when he awoke every morning Having his nobles at court had advantages Made them dependent on Louis Kept them away from homes, making the intendants more powerful His court - Versailles Visible manifestation of superiority & wealth One of the most magnificent royal palaces in the world

Economic growth Colbert – becomes Louis ’ finance minister Goal: make France super-rich and self-sufficient Q: What does self-sufficient mean? Gave government money & tax benefits to French companies BUT Colbert dies… Big mistake – cancels the Edict of Nantes in 1685 Q: What did the Edict of Nantes do? 1000s of Huguenot craftspeople & merchants left France Huge negative impact on French economy

Louis Disastrous Wars Under Louis, France becomes the most powerful nation in Europe 20 million residents (4 X as many as England, 10X as many as Holland) France invades countries to expand territory I nvades the independent Netherlands Dutch break open their dams, flood the land to prevent France from taking over France gained very little

France has Enemies European countries start to ally against France England, Austria, Sweden, Spain form alliance Spain ends up having a new king who is related to Louis XIV – Spain and France now allied Other European countries alarmed

War of Spanish Succession Allied countries attack France to prevent a merger with Spain 14 year long war England is the big winner – they get Gibraltar at the tip of Spain which controls access to Mediterranean War was expensive for France – about $21 billion in debt by end of the war (1715)

Free-write at end of notes Did absolute rulers use hard or soft power more effectively? Was Louis XIV a successful ruler? Why or why not?

So many names, so little time… Make an “absolute” monarchs matching (there will be 10’ish on the exam, along w/50-55’ish multiple choice) Include at least 8 of the monarchs covered in class & the textbook (listed below) A nswers should NOT be included on the paper & turn in by the end of the period for participation points Someone will be taking this “quiz” tomorrow, so make it good. Christian IV Gustavus Adolphus Suleiman I Maria Theresa James I Charles I Charles II James II William & Mary Oliver Cromwell Philip II William of Orange C. Richelieu Louis XIV Fred. William I Fred. the Great Joseph II

Hapsburgs background – you should already know this Massively successful family in central Europe Eventually gained control of HRE, gaining all important electoral vote Charles V pitched a hissy fit, gave up his throne, tuck tailed and run, to a fake monastery His two sons (Ferdinand and Philip) took it and Spain over…. HRE broke up in all but name with 30 Years W ar, but the Hapsburgs had a lot of territory, and they still had Prague, so they remained powerful

Ferdinands & Leopold I Ferdinand I inherited Austria and other lands in central Europe and the HRE (title) His sons, through a series of errors (mainly the 30 Years War) lost it But, in 1699 a great grandson named Leopold started to win it back Begins with Hungary France counters with an invasion to hold balance of power (and they hate Austria and Germany by now) Hold them off on one side, splits his army and moves east Reconquers Slovenia, Croatia, rest of Bohemia, Moravia Transylvania, Liechtenstein, part of Poland, and part of Germany Marched right to the door of Ottoman Empire in Sarajevo (Bosnia-Herzegovina) only to be repelled Kept power by ruling using only an inner circle of confidants The Hapsburgs were back baby!!!

Maria Theresa Son of Leopold keeps the empire together then dies Grandson Charles VI comes to the throne A fter years of trying only had a daughter: Maria Theresa So drafted Pragmatic Sanction —which agreed to recognize Maria Theresa as his rightful heir even though she was a woman Bribed all of Europe into recognizing it But when he dies, they all renege and thinking Austria now has a weak woman on the throne, they attack The French declared war, Czechs revolted, and Prussia attacked, triggering the War of the Austrian Succession

War of Austrian Succession (1740-1748) Short on Allies, Maria Theresa bribed Hungary into staying on her side Making her empire now Austria-Hungary Britain wants to keep balance of power (and sees a way to turn an international incident into a banking/colonizing opportunity) Join in, mainly giving her money and some help Turn around an colonize the heck out of the rest of the world while everyone else is fighting Fought her opponents to a stalemate and won back all seized land.

Austrian Golden Age Maria Theresa becomes the grandmother of Europe Has 16 kids that live to adulthood, marrying all of them off all around Europe; y oungest and most famous is Marie Antoinette E stablishes a court in Vienna Has largest land empire in Europe (outside of Russia) Created a expansive bureaucracy Eventually co-ruled with oldest son Joseph II Reforms the church—made the monarchy far less tied to Catholicism Removes final trappings of religion and politics left over from HRE Cleaned house with the nobles—made them intermingle Forced them to intermarry and move across the empire Revamped military Ended Polish-Lithuanian empire and partitioned it Took down Sarajevo and rest of Balkans Created a trading network, not with colonies but over European empire M usic flourished

Rise of Prussia Main state other than Austria to emerge from HRE Begins with political maneuvering of Frederick William the Great Elector – leader of Hohenzollerns dynasty Capital is Berlin Followed by so, Frederick William I, 1 st Prussian King Studied the history of the destruction of Thirty Years War and vows to always have a strong army Prussia becomes a military state Beginning of German unity, sort of Prussia will slowly take over the rest of the German state

Frederick the Great Frederick William’s son becomes King in 1740 Frederick II, also known as Frederick the Great Followed dad’s military policies, strong army Also encouraged religious tolerance and economic growth Considered himself “enlightened,” for example he thought serfdom was wrong, but did nothing about this. Brought Voltaire to court to learn from him but didn’t follow his ideas to their full extent Paternalistic: Believed a leader should be like a father to his people Quintessential “Enlightened Despot” Knew and like the ideas of Enlightenment and freedom but didn’t have the backing of the nobles and/or the guts to follow them

Review for exam 55’ish multiple choice questions 5-10’ish leader matching Review Chapter 15 (except Russia, Poland & Art) Review PowerPoints online DO SOMETHING with the information – don’t just re-read when possible Questions?