Absolutism in Europe

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Absolutism in Europe
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What is Absolutism?

• Sovereign authority (powers) of state in hands of
  king who ruled by divine right
• Sovereign authority came from God
• Make laws
• Taxing
• Administer justice
• Determine foreign policy
• Control state bureaucracy
• Divine right rulers power derived from God

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Absolutism in France

• Chief theorist Bishop Jacques Bossuet
  (1627-1704)
• Govt came from God so humans could live in
  organized society
• Monarchy was most natural form of govt b/c God
  est. kings to rule all people

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Absolutism in France

• King received their power from God, so their
  authority was absolute (total)
• Not answerable to parliament
• Not answerable to people
• Only answerable to GOD
• But a kings power was not absolute (law of God)

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Absolutism in Russia
Serai - Capitol

• Mongolian Golden Horde controlled Russia,
  1240-1502
• Decentralized governance
• Native Russians ruled in name of Khan
• Collected taxes, tribute for Mongols
• Rule isolated Russia
• Princes of Muscovy became most powerful Russian
  princes
• Rulers challenged by boyars (landed nobility)

The Golden Horde, c. 1400
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Absolutism in Russia

• Enserfment of peasants, 1450s-1906
• Free peasants lived, worked on land, moving when
  land exhausted
• Monasteries restricted movement rights (taxes)
• Rule extended to all peasants, 1497
• Forbidden years peasants prohibited from
  leaving lands for year renewed until 1906

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Absolutism in Ottoman Empire

• Absolute authority of Ottoman sultan expressed
  through royal titles
• Shadow of God
• Deputy of God
• Sultans had absolute authority to guarantee
  justice, fairness, equity
• Sultan also had responsibility to protect poor,
  helpless from corrupt govt

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Frances Monarchy

• Standard of the Royal Family, the Bourbons

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Background

• Henry IV died, 1610
• First king of Bourbon Dynasty (Edict of Nantes
  guy)
• Son, Louis, becomes king as Louis XIII
• Regent Cardinal Richelieu
• Moved to increase power of Bourbons

Cardinal Richelieu
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Increasing Power of the French Throne

• Huguenots
• Had est. their own cities, allied with nobles
• Rebelled against Louis XIII (est. state within
  state)
• Richelieu walls undermined Edict of Nantes
• Nobility
• Destroyed castles of nobles not approved by king
• Increased taxes
• Hapsburgs (Spain Austria)
• Involved France in Thirty Years War

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Louis XIV

• Louis XIII died in 1643 succeeded by son, Louis
  XIV (5 yrs)
• Mom regent
• Cardinal Mazarin succeeds as Chief Advisor
• Gambler story (queens presence)
• Protestant policy unfulfilled promises of
  restoring Edict
• Louis took power when Mazarin died, in 1661
• Called self The Sun King
• Moved to limit power of opposition to himself

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Louis XIV Limiting Power of Others

• Nobles
• Louis excluded them from his councils
• Louix increased powers of bureaucracy
  (intendants)
• Palace of Versailles as symbol of his power
  (nobles required to move)
• Jean Baptiste Colbert
• Minister of Finance
• Mercantilist (colonies, French self sufficiency)

Jean Baptiste Colbert
Palace of Versailles
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Mercantilism

• Economic policy that viewed prosperity as a zero
  sum game
• Measured in gold / silver that a country had
• Best way to accumulate wealth positive balance
  of trade (exports imports)
• Government should be protectionist (tariffs
  colonies)

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Louis XIV The War Years

• Overriding concern was to bring glory to France,
  himself
• I AM the state
• Sought to protect NE border of France against
  Hapsburgs, Protestants
• Successful wars
• Fought two wars, against Spanish Netherlands and
  Dutch Netherlands to straighten border

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Louis XIV The War Years

• 1689 League of Augsburg
• Alliance vs. France concerned w/ Louis XIVs rise
  to power
• Maintain balance of power
• Main players
• Britain, Holland, Sweden Austria Spain
• France weakened by bad harvest
• Also weakened by too many wars!

(From L James II, William III, Louis XIV,
Leopold I)
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Louis XIV The War Years

• 1701 - Louis XIVs grandson, Philip, became King
  of Spain
• Phil could have unified Spain, France under one
  crown
• Rest of Europe panicked
• War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1714)
• French, Spanish vs. England, Austria, Dutch,
  Portugal
• Treaty of Utrecht ended war, Phil kept throne,
  but no unifying France, Spain
• Big winner Britain (got French colonies, trade)

Philip V, King of Spain And grandson of Louis XIV
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Czars of Russia

• Coat of Arms of Romanovs

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Ivan the Terrible

• Background
• Came to power in 1533, at age 3
• Mom was regent
• Had problems with Boyars (nobles became regents
  at age 8)
• Seized power at age 16 and called self Czar,
  which means Caesar (reference?)
• Married Anastasia Romanov

Ivan IV, The Terrible
Boyar, boyarina
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Ivan the Terrible The Good Years

• Won victories against
• the Mongols
• Defeated other
• Russian states
• Added land to
• Muscovy
• Restricted movement
• of peasants
• (becoming serfs)

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Ivan the Terrible The Bad Period

• Bad Period (1560-1584)
• Anastasia died under mysterious circumstances
• Mercury poisoning!
• Ivan resigned as Czar
• Some boyars had betrayed Ivan in a war
• Boyars, church, knew Muscovy would collapse
  without Ivan
• Begged him to return
• Ivan agreed to return, with some conditions

Death of Anastasia
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Ivan the Great The Bad Period

• Formed Oprichnina
• Separate land
• Best parts of Muscovy were put under Ivans
  direct control
• Created oprichniki
• Ivans secret police
• Tortured, murdered enemies of Ivan (esp. boyars)
• Seized lands and gave to loyal boyars
• 1581 killed own son, Ivan, in an argument

Symbol of Oprichniki
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Time of Troubles (1584-1613)

• Ivan died, 1584 weak successor died in 1598
  without heir
• No strong leader among boyars civil war
• Rise of false Dmitris
• Claimed to be son of Ivan
• 1613 election of Romanov as Czar

Election of Michael Romanov
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Peter the Great (1672-1725)

• Became co-tsar in 1682, with brother, Ivan
• Regent aunt Sophia
• 1689 wrestled control from Sophia, but Peters
  mom stepped in as Regent
• 1694 Mom died
• 1696 sole Tsar w/ death of Ivan

Young Peter in full regalia
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Russia vs. Europe, in 1700

• Serfs boyars
• Serfs peasants tied to land
• Boyars nobles
• What was happening in Europe? Rise of middle
  class!
• Religion
• Russian Orthodox
• Focused on Moscow, not Rome

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Russia vs. Europe, in 1700

• Mongol rule through Golden Horde isolated Russia
  from Renaissance, Age of Exploration
• Geography of Russia isolated it from rest of
  world
• Sheer size of country
• Lack of warm water ports wars vs. Swedes,
  Ottomans

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Peter the Great

• The Great Embassy (1697-98)
• Peter visited the West to build alliance vs.
  Turks
• Also to learn Western customs
• Learned techniques of building / manufacturing
• Tried to keep identity secret, but
• Goal was to westernize Russia (eventual military,
  commercial competition w/ West)

Statue of Peter working as Shipwright in Holland
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Peter the Great

• Peter as Absolute Monarch
• Eastern Orthodox Church brought under state
  control
• Imposed high taxes on peasants to pay for
  westernization
• Increased size of army and trained it in modern
  European style
• Reduced power of boyars (sound familiar?)

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Peter the Great

• Westernization of Russia
• Introduced potato
• Established Table of Ranks
• Bureaucracy based on merit, not birth
• Lessened boyars authority, control
• Introduced western fashion
• Established beard tax
• Ordered boyars to dress in western fashion

Peter cutting off boyars beard
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Peter the Great

• Building of new capital
• Old capital, Moscow, was landlocked
• Peter wanted Window to the West , a port city,
  as capital
• Fought Sweden to gain a warm water port
• 1703 began construction of St. Petersburg
• 25-100k serfs died building city
• When completed, Peter ordered boyars from Moscow
  to move to new capital

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Peter the Greats Legacy

• Died in 1725 w/ no kids wife became Empress
  (precedent)
• First Autocrat of Russia
• Autocrat one who rules with unlimited
  authority, power
• Took absolutism to its logical conclusion
• Russian tsar became most powerful monarch in
  Europe, until 1906