1. Pursuit of Power
Chapter 14

2. Absolute or Restrained?
Power of kings

3. Henry IV of Bourbon
Marie de Medici
Louis XIII

4. During the Middle Ages, royal power was limited by
Feudal nobles
The Papacy

5. By the 17th & 18th centuries, feudalism had declined as had the Pope’s power.
Mercantilism and Imperialism caused kings to want more power for their nations.
Kings worked to make their power absolute.

6. Absolute: unlimited and unrestrained

7. Ways absolutists took more power:
finances, religion, and nobility.
Bigger standing armies/developed strong navies.
government bureaucracy.
territory

8. Justification
The kings were able to persuade people that God had given them a “DIVINE RIGHT” to rule, basing their claims on Romans 13:1-4.
They said they were not bound by man-made laws and only answered to God.

9. Read “Religious Defense of Absolutism” p. 357.
How did Bossuet say a king should regard his authority?

10. Richelieu
Absolutism in france

11. Cardinal Richelieu Chief Minister of Government
Strengthened the power of the king by
Destroying the Huguenots
Weakening the nobles

12. Cardinal Richelieu Persecution of Huguenots
Forced them to house French soldiers (Catholics didn’t have to.)
Took Huguenot children from their homes and sent them to be reared by Catholics.
Sent spies to Huguenot churches.

13. Huguenot Response to Richelieu
Some left France.
Some stayed and suffered persecution.
Others engaged in uprisings but were unsuccessful.
Some abandoned their beliefs under the intense persecution.

14. Thirty Years’ War Began in Bohemia
Protestant nobles v. New Catholic emperor
War spread to other parts of Europe

15. Thirty Years’ War ( )
The last great religious war fought in Europe.
Oddly, Richelieu had France enter the war on the side of the Protestants in order to prevent the Holy Roman Emperor from solidifying his power in Spain and Austria (surrounding France).
The Protestants and French won the Thirty Years’ War.

16. Results of Treaty of Westphalia

17. Treaty of Westphalia
The Treaty of Westphalia ended the war and had important consequences for Protestants:
1. recognized independence of Protestant provinces in Netherlands and Switzerland.
2. recognized many German states as independent, politically fragmenting Germany.
3. made France the strongest nation in Europe.

18. Louis XIV

19. Louis XIV became king when he was 5 years old.
France was ruled by Mazarin, the chief minister.
When Louis was 18, Mazarin died, and he didn’t appoint another minister.

20. Louis XIV: Absolute Monarch
One king
One law
One state
“I am the state.”

21. Louis XIV’s Measures Set French finances in order (Colbert)
Reorganize French army
loyal to king instead of their colonels.
Established lieutenants responsible to the king.
Required all his troops to wear identical uniforms.
“Well-trained, well-paid, and loyal troops”

22. Edict of Nantes
Edict of Nantes in 1598 had given Huguenots freedom of worship, control of a hundred fortified towns, and the right to maintain their own army and navy.
Louis XIV revoked this edict in 1685 in order to bring religious uniformity in France.

23. Edict of Nantes

24. Louis forbade Protestant worship and Protestant education.
Also destroyed Protestant churches and forced some Huguenots to serve as slaves aboard French ships.

25. Effects
In response to Louis XIV’s persecution, ¼-1/2 million Huguenots left France (merchants, businessmen, craftsmen).
Their services benefitted other countries.

26. Louis XIV’s Arrogance The Sun King: Everything revolved around him.
Magnificent palace at Versailles
“Elegance & grandeur were important; not utility.”
“Everything in Louis’s life became a pompous ritual designed to make the king the absolute center of attention.”
Immorality

27. Gardens at Versailles

28. Court at Versailles

30. Wars
Louis XIV tried to expand his territory and increase his influence by engaging in wars.
the Rhine, the Alps, & the Pyrenees.
Wars brought trouble to France.
Near bankruptcy

31. Absolutism spreads in europe

32. Three absolutist territories
Brandenburg-Prussia (Prussia)
Austria
Russia

33. Absolutism in Brandenburg-Prussia
30 years war left Germany fragmented in small, weak states.
Few natural resources, but Prussia’s asset was her efficient bureaucracy and the Prussian nobility – Junkers.

35. Frederick William (1640-1688) The Great Elector
Most powerful of German princes
Unified Prussia’s scattered territory
Established a strong Prussian army
Militarism

36. Frederick I (1688-1713) Imitated Louis XIV New palace
Beautified Berlin
Established the title “King in Prussia,” increasing Prussia’s prestige

37. Frederick William I (1713-1740)
Firmly established Prussian absolutism.
Believed in discipline & routine.
Strengthened Prussia’s military but didn’t want war.
Edict of Potsdam – invited Huguenots to settle in Prussia

38. “Prussia is not a state with an army but an army with a state.”

39. Frederick II (a.k.a. Frederick the Great)
Composer
Flutist
Poet
One of Prussia’s greatest military heroes
Abolished torture
Recognized religious freedom for Catholics & Jews

40. Absolutism in Austria

41. Hapsburg Dynasty Held the title of Holy Roman Emperor
Unable to create a strong absolutist state
Obstacles that hindered them:
Roman Catholic Church & nobility
Defense against greedy neighbors required cooperation of nobility
Could not unify because of different nationalities, languages, etc that they governed

42. Joseph II (1765-1780) Tried to create absolutist state
Forced Roman Catholic Church and nobles to pay higher taxes
Reduced taxes on peasants
Strengthened his central government, weakened local governments
Dissolved monasteries
Religious freedom to non-Catholics
Sudden & drastic changes did not last after he died.
Prussians paid 2X as much in taxes as the French.
Militarism helped create a German national state.

43. Joseph II of Austria

44. Absolutism in Russia Ivan the Terrible (1533-1584)
Built St. Basil’s cathedral
Cruel tyrant, murdered son
Taxed heavily
Czar
At his death peasants revolted

45. St. Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow

46. Peter the Great ( )
Of the Romanov Dynasty which ruled until 1917
Moved capital to St. Petersburg
Westernized and modernized Russia
Some Russians didn’t like the forced Westernization.

47. Peter also sought to expand Russian territory by accessing warm water ports (Baltic Sea-Sweden)
Peter seized greater control of the Russian Orthodox Church and refused to fill the position after the Patriarch died.

48. Catherine the Great (1762-1796)
Had her husband arrested & murdered
Allowed nobles to keep privileges if they served the state.
Exiled rebellious peasants to Siberia
Savagely suppressed revolts

49. Catherine also encouraged education.
She instituted government censorship.
She took property from the church and made it government property.
She continued to expand Russian territory.
She took some territory from the Turks on the Black Sea.
The desire of Russian czars to control the Black Sea led to international problems.

50. Absolutism Defeated in England
England did not become an absolutist state.

51. Parliament
England’s parliament had gained rights it refused to give up.
Magna Carta?
Right to grand or deny a king’s request for tax increases.
The Tudors (through Elizabeth I) had worked with Parliament and had its support.

52. James I ( )
James I (King James IV of Scotland) succeeded Elizabeth.
Raised Presbyterian, but opposed the Puritans efforts to purify the Church of England.
Ordered a new English translation of the Bible: the Authorized version, a.k.a. The King James Version, 1611

53. James I Demanded conformity to the Anglican church
Immoral private life
“Divine right”
Parliament questioned the extent of his authority.
Had to ask Parliament for money.
Dismissed Parliament when it refused.

54. Charles I (1625-1649) Intensified tension between king and Parliament.
Persecuted Puritans.
Didn’t have the army to force absolute authority.

55. Petition of Right (1628)
No taxation without representation (Parliamentary consent to tax)
No arbitrary imprisonment of subjects
Charles signed the document, but continued to fight with Parliament.
Charles tried to raise funds by selling knighthoods and by forcing loans.

56. Scots start a war to defend their religious freedom.
Charles needs Parliament’s support and agrees to cede other powers to Parliament.
Parliament must meet every 3 years
Parliament cannot be dissolved without consent
Only taxes passed by Parliament are legal

57. Civil War: Roundheads v. Cavaliers
Parliament & Puritans called Roundheads
Nobility & Anglicans called Cavaliers
Roundheads under Oliver Cromwell defeated Charles in 1645.
Charles was beheaded in 1649.

58. Oliver Cromwell (1649-1660) Had no program Ruled by trial & error
Dissolved Parliament
“Lord Protector”
Protectorate – ruled with a written constitution.
Very religious but gained a bad reputation in governance

59. The Restoration
Charles II, Charles I’s son becomes king at the request of Parliament
Called the “Restoration” because it restored the Stuart monarchy to power.

60. Habeas Corpus Act (1679)
Government cannot hold someone without charging him with a crime.

61. James II, brother of Charles II, succeeded him.
Faithful Roman Catholic
Firm believer in absolutism
Two protestant daughters
Had a son by second wife
People feared he would make England Roman Catholic again.

62. The Glorious Revolution (1688)
Mary, daughter of James, was married to William of Orange.
Parliament declared that James had overstepped his authority
Parliament invited William & Mary to be co-regents.

63. The English Bill of Rights (1689)
A condition Parliament put on William and Mary becoming regents.
Limited royal power
Established some civil liberties
Forbade future kings and queens from being Roman Catholic

64. Act of Settlement (1701)
Parliament had the right to choose the king/queen.
England ruled by Constitutional Law
No more “divine right of kings.”

65. Cabinet Government
A cabinet to advise the king was set up under the reign of George I, who was a German and did not speak English, yet became king because he was a descendant of James I.
Since he didn’t speak English, he had to rely on others to carry out the business of his government.

66. Robert Walpole – recognized as the first Prime Minister of Britain.
Executive powers shifted from the king to the chief ministers of the king’s cabinet.
Prime minister is the “First Minister.”

67. Balance of power

68. Maintain balance of power Changing alliances Constant enemies
Territorial advances
Alliances formed
Maintain balance of power
Changing alliances
Constant enemies
Prussia v. Austria
England v. France

69. War of the Spanish Succession (1702-1713)
France claimed the Spanish throne – 1700.
Grand Alliance: England & Netherlands
Treaty of Utrecht 1713
No unity of Spain and France
Spain surrenders possessions in Netherlands and Mediterranean to Austria.
Britain takes Canadian territories from France. (England & Scotland had united to form Britain.)

70. War of the Austrian Succession (1740-1748)
Pragmatic Sanction- Royal decree signed by rulers agreeing to respect the territorial boundaries of Austria.
Maria Theresa – Austrian empress

71. War of the Austrian Succession (1740-1748)
Frederick II of Prussia (Remember him?) had no intentions of abiding by the agreement.
Invaded Austria and took Silesia, rich in resources.
France attacked Austria.
Spain attacked Austria.
Britain defended Austria.

72. War of the Austrian Succession (1740-1748)
This war also reached the continents of North America and Asia.
The British defeated the French in North America.
The French defeated the British in India.
Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle 1748 ended the war with a status quo ante bellum, except for Silesia which Frederick II kept.

73. Seven Years’ War ( )
France versus Britain in the New World - a.k.a French & Indian War
Frederick II of Prussia moves on Austria again.
Diplomatic Revolution: France changed from opposing Austria to joining Austria to stop Prussian expansion. (Radical change in alliances)

74. Seven Years’ War ( )
Frederick II had a defensive alliance with Britain.
Britain funded Frederick’s war effort against France while Britain worked to destroy the French navy.
With no French navy, France could not hold her New World colonies.

75. Seven Years’ War ( )
In America, the British defeated the French and the Indians, taking many forts and capturing Quebec.

76. Seven Years’ War ( )
Frederick II invaded Saxony which provoked his enemies Russia, Sweden, Spain, and many other of the German States, to join France and Austria against him.
George III of England sent mixed signals.
A new Russian czar withdrew from the war, which ended the war.

77. Seven Years’ War ( )
Treaty of Paris 1763 signed by Britain, France, and Spain.
France loses all territory in mainland North America to British & Spanish.
France lost commercial holdings in India.
Spain lost Florida to Britain but picked up New Orleans and the vast Louisiana territory, which lay west of the Mississippi River.

78. Results of the Treaty of Paris

79. Partition of Poland Poland- no natural boundaries
Government weak & inefficient
Neighbors wanted Poland’s land
Prussia, Russia, and Austria divided Poland among themselves (partition).
After being divided 3 times, Poland disappeared from the map as a country until after WWI.