Absolute Monarchs in Europe

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Chapter 5

• Absolute Monarchs in Europe
• 1500-1800

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• Spains Empire and European Absolutism
• -Charles V of the Hapsburg Empire controlled most
  of Europe between 1520 and 1555 Spain, Spains
  American Empire, Italy, Austria, the Netherlands,
  and Germany
• -After the Peace of Augsburg he divided his
  empire between his brother Ferdinand who received
  Austria and the Holy Roman Empire and his son
  Philip II, who inherited Spain, the Spanish
  Netherlands, and the American Colonies

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• -When the King of Portugal died in 1580, Philip
  II claimed the throne and took over the
  Portuguese Empire Africa, India, and the East
  Indies
• -Spain stock piled incredible wealth from the
  Gold and Silver mines of South America and Africa
• -Philip II felt an obligation to defend his
  Catholic religion against the Ottomans (Muslims)
  and Protestants
• -Defeated a large Ottoman fleet at Lepanto,
  but the Spanish Armada lost to the British in
  1588

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• - Due to great wealth from the Americas, Spanish
  nobles are now able to patronize the Arts
• -El Greco was a native born Greek who spent a
  great deal of time painting in Spain
• -Painted deeply religious figures of martyrs and
  saints using rich colors and distorted figures
• -Velazquez painted the royal family during the
  time period
• -Cervantes wrote Don Quixote, a book about a
  Spanish nobleman who becomes crazy after reading
  too many books about knights
• -Became the birth of the modern European novel

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• -The large amounts of gold and silver caused for
  rapid inflation in Spain
• -Nobles did not have to pay taxes leaving the
  burden to the lower classes
• -The Spanish relied heavily on foreign trade due
  to the guild system still in place
• -Spanish goods were more expensive that foreign
  goods
• -Spanish were giving money to their enemies

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• -The Seven Northern Provinces of the Netherlands
  defeated an army of Spanish soldiers by flooding
  the lowlands, became the Protestant Netherlands
  led by William of Orange
• -The remaining ten Southern Provinces became
  Catholic Belgium remaining under Spanish control

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• -The Dutch who had the largest merchant fleet in
  1636, 4,800 ships, became the leaders of trade
  in Europe
• -Traded grain from Poland, timber from
  Scandinavia, and gradually Amsterdam and the
  Netherlands became the center of banking in
  Europe
• -Rembrandt became a leading Dutch artist using
  contrast to show distinctive facial
  characteristics

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• -Many European rulers ruled by absolutism
  believing they were granted their power by divine
  right
• -The middle class usually supported the monarchs
  due to the stability they provided after the
  turmoil of religious, political, and economic
  unrest of centuries past
• -Rulers looked to free themselves from the
  nobility that once had an influence on their
  power

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• Frances Ultimate Monarch
• -Between 1562 and 1598, France fought a series of
  internal religious wars between Huguenots and
  Catholics
• -Resulted in an unstable government and a
  weakened nation
• -Henry IV became the first king in the Bourbon
  dynasty of France
• -Proved to be a strong leader, ended religious
  fighting, and strengthened the economy
• -Converted to Catholicism, but allowed
  Protestants to worship freely
• -Edict of Nantes gave freedom of religion
• -Stabbed to death by a fanatic

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• -Henrys son Louis XIII became the new king,
  however he was a weak leader
• -Cardinal Richelieu siezed the opportunity to
  have a wide influence on the king and became, in
  effect, the ruler of France
• -The Cardinal removed walls from nobles castles
  and Protestant cities
• -Also, looked to weaken the Hapsburg Empire by
  involving France in a 30 year war against them

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• -Descartes was part of a group of thinkers known
  as the skeptics, who placed doubt in the
  forefront of philosophical thinking
• -Became a leader in Enlightenment thinking and
  scientific method

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• -Louis XIV became the leader of France at an
  early age
• -The Thirty Years War had ended and France was
  the leading power in Europe
• -Because of his young age Cardinal Mazarin served
  as the temporary ruler of France until Louis came
  of age
• -He put in place high taxes and threatened
  nobles violence erupted over these policies and
  Louis would never forget the threat he felt

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• -When Louis finally took control at age 23, he
  strengthened the power of the central government
  and look to further weaken the power of the
  nobles
• -Louis with the assistance of Jean Baptiste
  Colbert looked to strengthen the French nation
  into a mercantilist power- making everything
  France needed, IN FRANCE
• -Protected French factories and expanded colonies
  to make them a source of raw materials and a
  market for French goods

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• -In 1685, after Colberts death, Louis cancelled
  the Edict of Nantes that allowed Huguenots to
  worship in France many skilled artisans and
  business people left
• -Louis lived life to the fullest spending
  incredible amounts of money on food, clothing,
  and on the Palace of Versailles, where the arts
  flourished
• -France had a dominant army under Louis, but
  failed to achieve in far reaching conquest as the
  European nations united under the League of
  Augsburg to battle against Louis

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• -England, Austria, and the Dutch joined together
  to wage war on France and Spain when, Spains
  king Charles II died without an heir
• -Louis grandson became king putting two Bourbon
  kings in charge of the two most powerful nations
  in Europe
• -The War of Spanish Succession lasted 12 years
  and ended with the Treaty of Utrecht
• -Britain gained Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, and
  the Hudson Bay

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