Absolute Monarchs

Absolute Monarch- a king or queen who has unlimited power and seeks to control all aspects of society/life

King Suleiman I - Emperor of Ottoman Empire

Charles V

Charles V Divided His Empire Philip II (son) Spain Netherlands American colonies Ferdinand (brother) Austria Hungary Holy Roman Empire

Monarchs focus on riches Surprise! People like to be rich, those that are rich like to be more rich. Kings and Queens are no exception!

Silver, Silver, Silver Inflation- increase in prices and drop in the value of money Ships of silver coming from colonies = more silver = not as valuable

2. Size of their courts = Facade of Power & Prestige Original clout chasers More people you have around you the better Feelings of importance Impressions of power

B. Rich don’t pay taxes! In Spain, Philip II didn’t make the rich pay taxes. Why do you think he did this? What effect would this have on the regular people? What effect would this have on the government? (hint: what is the point of paying taxes?)

3. Bureaucracies created to control government People like to have positions with official titles. For example, Assistant Financial Accountant to the Outland Colonies or Official Breadmaker to the Royal Court. Why would people want these? Who would fill these? Whose gives them directions?

C. Imported Goods Under Philip II, those in charge of the economy liked foreign goods. They bought things from France or England and used German and Italian banks. They did not support their own merchants and artisans. What effects might this have?

4. Regulate Religion Remember our friend King Henry VIII from England? Well he was not alone in wanting to control religion in his country to suit his own beliefs and/or interests. Monarchs often showed preference to their religions.

Divine Right The idea that monarchs are God’s representatives on earth and are therefore answerable only to God

D. Netherlands Rebellions Spain (and Philip II) was Catholic but Spanish Netherlands was largely Protestant. Duke of Alva was sent to stop Protestant rebellion in Sp. Netherlands. 1568 kills 1500 Protestants and suspected rebels = 11 year war for independence.

Exit Question: What type of king/queen would you be? How would you rule to ensure that you don’t fall victim to some of the same mistakes that King Philip II of Spain made?