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Absolutism

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Absolutism Peter the Great, Louis XIV, and Tokugawa Ieyasu Peter the Great One of Russia s greatest reformers When he came to power, Russia was still caught in the ... – PowerPoint PPT presentation

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Title: Absolutism


1
Absolutism
  • Peter the Great, Louis XIV, and Tokugawa Ieyasu

2
Peter the Great
  • One of Russias greatest reformers
  • When he came to power, Russia was still caught in
    the Middle Ages
  • Many people in Russia knew very little about
    western Europe
  • Geographic barriers didnt help its only seaport
    was frozen most of the year and that prevented
    travel
  • Religious differences also widened the gap

3
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4
  • Russia had converted to the Orthodox form of
    Christianity most of western Europe was
    Catholic or Protestant

5
Peter Takes a Trip
  • In the 1680s, Peter decided to take a tour of
    western Europe
  • He was fascinated by their modern tools and
    machines especially their ships
  • He was so inspired that upon his return to
    Russia, he began what is known as the
    Westernization of Russia

6
Westernization
  • He brought the Russian church under state control
  • Reduced the power of wealthy landowners
  • Hired European officers to train his soldiers
  • Introduced potatoes as a staple crop
  • Started Russias first newspaper and edited it
    himself

7
  • Raised the status of women by including them in
    social events
  • Ordered nobles to give up their traditional
    dress, and adopt a more European look
  • Opened schools

8
Building St. Petersburg
  • Peter wanted a seaport so Russia could trade
  • In 1703, he began building St. Petersburg which
    gave Russia access to the Baltic Sea

9
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10
Louis XIV
  • Most powerful ruler in French history
  • He weakened the power of nobles
  • Increased the power of government officials
  • He wanted to make France self-sufficient - he
    wanted everything to be made in France and not
    have to rely on imports
  • He gave tax breaks to French companies

11
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12
  • Put high taxes on imported goods
  • Promoted the growth of French colonies as sources
    of wealth
  • Started many wars to gain territory

13
The Legacy of Louis
  • His last years were sad not glorious
  • He realized that he had ruined France with all
    his wars
  • Upon his death, the people of France cheered
  • On the positive, France gained power, respect,
    and created a strong military
  • On the negative side, France was heavily in debt
    because of war

14
Tokugawa
  • One of the strongest leaders of Japan
  • Unified Japan and created a capital in Edo which
    would later become Tokyo
  • He put restrictions on the wealthy to prevent
    them from having too much control
  • Society was very structured
  • Confucian values were instilled

15
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16
Japan and Europe Collide
  • Europeans began coming into Japan in the 16th
    Century
  • They brought clocks, eyeglasses, tobacco, and
    firearms
  • Japanese business owners were happy to receive
    these new goods
  • They began purchasing swords from the Europeans
    which became the weapon of choice for Samurai

17
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18
  • But when the samurai clashed with the European
    musket, they proved defenseless thus the end of
    the samurai

19
Christianity in Japan
  • In 1549, Christian missionaries began arriving in
    Japan
  • By 1600, they had converted 300,000 Japanese
  • This upset Tokugawa, and by 1612 he banned
    Christianity and attempted to rid his country of
    Christians
  • Missionaries were killed and all Japanese were
    forced to demonstrate faithfulness to Buddhism

20
  • By 1639, Japan instituted a closed country
    policy
  • Commercial contacts with Europe ended
  • For more than 200 years, Japan remained closed to
    Europeans and the Japanese were forbidden to
    leave
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