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The Age of Absolutism 1500-1700
As the feudal order declined following the Black Death and the Protestant Reformation • European monarchs began to assert their absolute power • Instead of armored knights on horseback and nobles they needed large standing armies, gunpowder weapons and educated commoners to administer the kingdom and run its finances
In Spain • The Power of the monarchy Increased Under Charles V and Philip II
CHARLES V • In 1519, Charles V inherited a huge empire. He became king of Spain and was also the heir to the Hapsburg empire. • Ruling two empires involved Charles in constant warfare. • Eventually, Charles gave up his titles and divided his empire.
PHILIP II • During his 42-year reign, Philip worked to expand Spanish influence, strengthen the Catholic Church, and make his own power absolute. • Philip reigned as an absolute monarch. He asserted that he ruled by divine right. • Philip saw himself as guardian of the Roman Catholic Church. • Philip fought many wars as he attempted to advance Spanish Catholic power.
In the 1600s, Spanish power and prosperity slowly declined • LACK OF STRONG LEADERSHIP • The successors of Philip II were far less able leaders than he. • ECONOMIC PROBLEMS • Costly overseas wars drained wealth out of Spain almost as fast as it came in. • Treasure from the Americas led Spain to neglect farming and commerce. • The expulsion of Muslims and Jews from Spain deprived the economy of many skilled artisans and merchants. • American gold and silver led to soaring inflation.
Rebuilding France • From the 1560s to the 1590s, religious wars between Huguenots (French Protestants) and the Catholic majority tore France apart. • To protect Protestants, Henry IV issued the Edict of Nantes, which granted Huguenots religious toleration and let them fortify their own towns and cities. • Henry then set out to heal the shattered land. Under Henry, the government reached into every aspect of French life. • By building the royal bureaucracy and reducing the power of the nobility, Henry laid the foundations for royal absolutism.
Louis XIV: The Sun King • The Fronde uprising traumatized Louis when he was young. • He claimed divine right. • He compared himself to the sun around which everything revolves • He centralized government, or brought everything to depend on his rule, run from his palace. • His palace at Versailles became a symbol of his absolute power.
Royal Power was strengthened in France Under Louis XIV • Louis was quoted as saying, “L’etat, c’estmoi”—“I am the state.” • During his 72-year reign, Louis did not once call a meeting of the Estates General. • Louis expanded the bureaucracy and appointed intendants, royal officials who collected taxes, recruited soldiers, and carried out Louis’s policies in the provinces. • Louis created the strongest army in Europe, which he used to enforce his policies at home and abroad.
Court Life at Versailles • King severed dual functions: that of courtier and that of administrator. • Both functions were aimed at state-building. • The Fronde (French civil war) had taught Louis to distrust the nobility, so he appointed officials from middle-class origin. • He continued the practice of selling titles (“nobles of the robe” as opposed to “nobles of the sword”).
Châteaux de Versailles • King’s residence and center of government. • Spent vast sums of money on expansion. • Royal apartments were at the center of the complex.
The Tudors and the Stuarts • The Tudors believed in divine right, but also recognized the value of good relations with Parliament. When Henry VIII broke with the Roman Catholic Church or when he needed funds, he consulted Parliament. Elizabeth both consulted and controlled Parliament. • The Stuarts also believed in divine right and repeatedly clashed with Parliament. When he needed funds, his own. James I dissolved Parliament and collected taxes Charles I ignored the Petition of Right, dissolved Parliament, and ruled the nation for 11 years without it.
Henry VIII • Was born 28 June 1491 and reigned as King of England from 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled.
Elizabeth I • Was born 7 September 1533 and reigned as Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death on 24 March 1603. Sometimes called the Virgin Queen, Gloriana or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the last of the five monarchs of the House of Tudor.
James VI and I • Born 19 June 1566 was King of Scotland as James VI, and King of England and King of Ireland as James I. He was the first monarch to be called the king of Great Britain. He ruled in Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 until his death and he ruled in England and Ireland from 24 March 1603 until his death.
Charles I • was the king of Great Britain and Ireland from 1625 to 1649. Like his father, James I, and Grandmother Mary, Queen of Scots, Charles I ruled with a heavy hand. His frequent quarrels with Parliament ultimately provoked a civil war that led to his execution on January 30, 1649.
Triumph of Parliament in England • The English Civil War pitted supporters of Charles I against the forces of Parliament, under Oliver Cromwell. Cromwell’s army defeated the forces of the king. Parliament put Charles on trial and condemned him to death as “a tyrant, traitor, murderer, and public enemy.” After the execution of Charles I, the House of Commons abolished the monarchy, the House of Lords, and the official Church of England. It declared England a republic, known as the Commonwealth, under the leadership of Oliver Cromwell. In executing the king, parliamentary forces sent a clear signal that, in England, no ruler could claim absolute power and ignore the rule of law.
