Chapter 18 European Monarchs

Absolute Monarchs As a teenager, Charles became King Charles I of Spain He was next in line in the absolute monarchy, a ruler whose power was not limited by having to consult nobles, common people, or other representatives

Absolute monarchs Absolute monarchs believed in divine right and tried to impose their rule across Europe from 1500-1700

Spanish monarchs Charles v The position of the Holy Roman Empire became open He expanded Spain’s territory to parts of Italy, Austria, and various German states

Charles v Charles wanted Europe to be Catholic because his power was closely related to the Catholic Church The Protestant movement was growing and threatening his power

Charles V Charles was forced to sign the Peace of Augsburg – which gave each German prince the right to decide whether his state would be Catholic or Protestant He supported exploration

Charles v Charles had more success in the Americas then he did in Spain Charles V gave up the throne in 1556 He ended up splitting the Spanish empire and his dreams of unifying Europe failed

Philip ii Spain reached great wealth because of vast amount of gold and money coming in from the new world and Spanish colonies Married Queen Mary I of England to spread Catholicism

Philip ii Queen Elizabeth I of England was allowing her ships to attack Spanish ships that were coming back from America The attackers were called sea dogs, one of the most famous ones was Sir Francis Drake who once took down 30 Spanish ships

Phillip II Philip counteracted by ordering his navy into the Spanish Armada England ended up setting 8 ships on fire Philip was very controlling which created fractions in their government

French Monarchs henry iv By 1560 every one in ten men and women were Huguenots They challenged the Catholic religion in France and adopted the idea, “one king, one law, one religion”

Henry iv The Queen ordered killing of the Huguenots at a wedding in Paris which became known as Saint Bartholomew’s Day Massacre

Henry iv Henry the Navarre escaped death that day by denying his religion Henry issued the Edict of Nantes which gave Huguenots limited freedom of religion and the power to rule in areas with the majority live

Henry iv Edict of Nantes was remarkable because it gave freedom of religion and did not make people follow the religion of the monarch Henry went to restore war torn country by paying all of France’s debt and created a surplus

Louis xiv The greatest example of an absolute monarch Raised to be a king at a young age and actually became king at the age of 18

Louis xiv He chose the Sun as his symbol and became known as the Sun King Louis established a strong monarch in France that lasted over 100 years

Louis xiv He deprived his nobles of influence, they declined in status even more when his built his palace of Versailles Louis ruled over religion as an absolute monarch by crushing the edict of Nantes and freedom of religion by Huguenots Because of his expensive taste, the French treasury was always an issue Once he had money to build a vast army, he went to war four times Wars cost France dearly, he even had to melt down the royal silver to pay off some of his debts