CRISIS AND ABSOLUTISM IN EUROPE Religious Wars of the 16 th Century And the Monarchs of Europe

Absolutism – a system in which the ruler has total power, a ruler whose power was not limited Divine Right of Kings = idea that kings received their power from God and were responsible only to God

The French Wars of Religion War fought between French Catholics and French Protestants influenced by John Calvin called Huguenots that lasted from 1562 to 1598 – Only 7% of the French population were Huguenots, but this included 50% of the nobility who threatened the French monarchy – The house of Valois, the current family ruling France, was strongly Catholic – one king, one law, one religion 1572 Saint Bartholomew’s Day Massacre – The French Queen Catherine de Medici convinces her son to order the killing of Huguenots who are in Paris for the royal wedding of Catherine’s daughter to Henry of Navarre who is Protestant. – 3,000 die in Paris and up to 10,000 – 70,000 total Catherine spares her new son-in-law

The last Valois king dies and Henry of Navarre is made king – He converts to Catholicism to gain acceptance “Paris is worth a mass” 1598 Henry ends the war by issuing the Edict of Nantes – Recognized Catholicism as the official religion of France, but gave Huguenots the right of worship and to fortify towns in which they have a majority Henry of Navarre is now Henry IV – He eliminated French debt and even built up a surplus – In 1610 Henry was stabbed to death by a fanatic Catholic and the throne passed to his young son Louis

Louis XIII and Cardinal Richelieu Since Louis XIII was a boy-king, his mother served as regent for several years Once he was old enough to rule, Cardinal Richelieu became his chief minister and advisor Richelieu was determined to strengthen the French monarchy – wants to make it absolute – Wanted to reduce the power of the Huguenots Took away some of the privileges granted to them in the Edict of Nantes – Saw nobles as a threat, so Richelieu started to suppress them and used spies to uncover plots and revolts

– Richelieu was also in charge of foreign policy Main enemy of France was the Hapsburg family and he sided with Protestants against the Hapsburgs in the Thirty Years’ War Cardinal Richelieu dies in 1642 and Louis is assassinated the next year, leaving as the new king the five year old Louis XIV

Louis XIV Becomes the most absolute monarch, led France during a time of great power, glory, and prosperity As a young boy, Louis had to flee Paris due to noble rebellions called the Fronde – Louis never again trusted the nobility At age 18 Louis declared he would run the gov’t himself – “L’etat, c’est moi” = “I am the state” – Chose the sun as his symbol, implying that France revolved around him and he was known as the Sun King Louis made all the military, political, and economic decisions

Louis built the enormous palace of Versailles twelve miles outside of Paris and moved the gov’t there – Required his nobles to either live there or visit regularly – Nobles became more concerned with rituals and ceremonies rather than fighting the monarchy – Life at Versailles was expensive, nobles had less money to raise armies Louis revoked (cancelled) the Edict of Nante and outlawed Protestantism Idea of a universal monarchy – Louis wanted to expand French territory and control western Europe – Modernized and enlarged the army – had the largest in Europe

Palace of Versailles Started with Louis XIII as a hunting lodge Louis XIV expanded 2 billion to build (in todays dollars) King Louis XIV had 200 servants Gardens – 1976 acres, 200,000 tress, 50 fountains with 620 jets of water, 210,000 flowers planted each year. 551,112 square feetOver 700 rooms 1250 fireplaces2153 windows 67 staircases6000 paintings 5000 pieces of furnitureCan hold up to 20,000 people

Hall of MIrrors Throne room Queens roomKings room

Exit ticket Who is in the painting? What do you think is going on in the painting? Take note of the background. What is the message of the painting? For example, why did the author paint this?

Warm up What is absolutism? What does an absolute monarch want to control? Who gave monarch’s this right? What 2 religions were fighting in the French Wars of Religion? What king converted to Catholicism and created the Edict of Nantes? Who was the boy-king and who was his advisor? Who was the most absolute monarch of France? What did he say? What was his symbol? What did he build and why?

Ivan IV the Terrible First to claim the title czar (caesar) and got rid of foreign rule Reforms during the “good period”: – Created a general council and a new legal code – Promoted military officers based on merit and reduced the power of the boyars (Russian nobles) Then his wife Anastasia died and Ivan becomes unstable and violent – Sends away his closest advisors, takes away land from 1200 boyars, and destroys whole towns because he thought they were plotting against him

Peter the Great Main goal was to transform Russia into a modern state – Wanted to make Russia more like Western Europe – Process of Westernization Reforms – Built Russia’s first navy and modernized the army – Brought the church under state control and started the first Russian newspaper Built St. Petersburg as his new capital, was modeled after western cities

Prussia and Frederick the Great Prussia was one of the German states, but it was fragmented Frederick the Great built a strong army for protection and made Prussia one of the most powerful German states, with Berlin as its capital

Thirty Years’ War Began as a religious dispute since the Peace of Augsburg did not recognize Calvinism – Also, since the 1450s all of the Holy Roman Emperors came from the Hapsburg family and the newly crowned Ferdinand decided to exert his authority – Would be both a religious conflict and a conflict between emperor and his nobles – Lasted from 1618 to 1648 Starts when new emperor Ferdinand tries to force Catholicism on the Protestants in Prague – In response they throw his two Catholic advisors out a window. They survive because they land in a dung/garbage heap – known as the Defenstration of Prague

The two sides – Catholic = Holy Roman Empire and Spain (Hapsburgs) – Protestant = Denmark, Sweden, Protestant German princes, and France (Richelieu wants to weaken the Hapsburgs) – England does not join the war The Peace of Westphalia ended the war in 1648, with France emerging as the dominant nation in Europe – Reinstated the Peace of Augsburg, now includes Calvinism – The German princes become sovereign and independent – Holy Roman Empire lost its power

The Thirty Years’ War was the most destructive war yet due to the musket and increased use of guns – The battles took place on German soil, causing much destruction Millions of Germans died, either in battle or starved to death

Charles of Spain and the Holy Roman Empire Became King Charles I of Spain as a teenager – Territory included Spain, the Low Countries (Belgium and the Netherlands), along with colonies in the Americas Three years later he bribed the electors to elect him as the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V – Borrowed the money from a German banking family called the Fuggers – He now controlled parts of Italy, Austria, and various German states he supported many Spanish explorers, along with Cortez, and brought much wealth to Spain

He fought against the Ottoman Turks, the French, and rebellious German princes, along with dealing with Martin Luther – Decided to give up his throne and retire to a monastery Gave his brother the Holy Roman Empire lands Gave his son Philip, Spain and all Spanish held territory

Philip II Became king of Spain after his father abdicated and Spain reached its height of wealth and power during his reign Philip was a devout Catholic and his goal was to make all his territory and Europe Catholic – He saw Spain as the nation God chose to save Catholic Christianity from Protestant heretics – He fought many battles and wars for this goal His greatest naval victory was when he defeated the Muslim Turks at the Battle of Lepanto in 1571

Dutch Revolt – Starts in the 1560s, the Dutch want religious freedom to practice Calvinism and they are tired of paying high taxes – Dutch Calvinists begin to destroy churches and refuse to declare allegiance to Philip – Philip sends an army to the Netherlands to put down the revolt and set up a court to punish the leaders The court was known as the Council of Blood that tortured and executed thousands – Resistance gathered in the north around a Dutch prince and the revolt went on for years until a truce was signed in 1609 – the seven northern provinces formed the independent state of the Netherlands while the southern provinces remained with Spain and Catholic

Philip had many problems with England, especially with its queen, Elizabeth I – He viewed her as a heretic queen since she was a Protestant, she refused to marry him after her sister died, she had aided the Dutch rebels, and she was allowing English ship captains to raid Spanish ships – These English “sea dogs” took much wealth away from Spain – Philip decided to invade England and return the country to Catholicism

In 1588 the Spanish Armada sailed towards England – It totaled 130 ships and 20,000 soldiers and also carried the Inquisition – Elizabeth rallied her troops to fight the Spanish – Due to English using fire ships and a storm that sank many ships, the Spanish Armada was destroyed and Philip failed in his goal to invade England Philip spent a lot of money on warfare that bankrupted Spain and caused it to gradually decline as a major power

Elizabeth I Elizabeth, the daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, became Queen of England in 1558 – During her reign, England became the leader of Protestant nations and she laid the foundations for a world empire Elizabeth worked to resolve religious conflicts In foreign affairs, Elizabeth played a balancing act with France and Spain, supporting one and then the other to make sure neither became too powerful – She used her marriageable status as a way to make alliances, although Elizabeth never married – she refused to share or limit her power

Since Elizabeth I never married, her heir was her cousin, Mary Stuart, the Queen of Scotland – Unfortunately, it was discovered that Mary was plotting with Philip II to overthrow Elizabeth and she was beheaded for treason When Elizabeth died in 1603, Mary’s son James became the new king of England

The Stuart Kings Mary’s son James was James I of England and also James VI of Scotland – Believed greatly in the divine right of kings, didn’t get along with Parliament – Had problems with English Calvinists called Puritans, who demanded that the Church of England be reformed They felt it was still too Catholic with elaborate ceremonies and the hierarchy James refused most of the reforms, but he did agree to the publication of an English version of the Bible, called the King James Bible

Charles I became king on the death of his father James I – He too believed in divine rights of kings and had problems with Parliament – Many people felt that Charles was trying to return to Catholicism (he married a Catholic princess) Thousands of Puritans went to America rather than live under his religious policies – Charles called Parliament to request money, but Parliament refused unless the king signed a petition that would place limits on his power – Charles dismisses Parliament and decides to rule on his own and tax the people and force bankers to give him loans – Personal Rule of Charles – Long Parliament – Charles is forced to recall Parliament years later when he is badly in debt

The English Civil War Conflict between Parliament and the king to determine the power of each in governing England Civil War breaks out in 1642 between supporters of the king (called Royalists) and supporters of Parliament (called Roundheads) – Parliament wins, mainly due to the New Model Army and its leader, Oliver Cromwell – Cromwell’s army was made up of extreme Puritans who believed they were doing battle for God In 1646 the king surrenders and Cromwell purges Parliament of everyone who had not supported him and what is left is known as the Rump Parliament

Cromwell then puts the Charles on trial for treason and in 1649 Charles I is publicly beheaded – This horrified much of Europe – Charles I was the first European monarch to be formally tried and executed by a court of law Parliament abolished the monarchy and declared that England was a commonwealth = a republican gov’t based on the common good of all the people – Cromwell soon dismisses Parliament and sets up a military dictatorship, ruling ruthlessly until his death in 1658

The Restoration Many people were unhappy under Cromwell’s rule so after his death, Parliament voted to restore the monarchy in 1660 – They invited Charles II, son of the slain monarch (Charles I), to take the throne Some changes – *Parliament got keep much of the power it had gained *The Church of England is restored as the state religion *The Habeas Corpus Act of 1679 = guaranteed that someone accused of a crime had the right to appear in court

The Glorious Revolution James II, brother of Charles II, is next to sit on the throne in 1685 – Problem arises in that James has become a devout Catholic who names many Catholics to positions of power – People aren’t too worried because James has two adult daughters who are Protestant who are next in line for the throne – Then James marries a Catholic princess who gives birth to a son – prospect of a Catholic dynasty A group of nobles invites James’ daughter Mary and her husband, the Dutch leader William of Orange, to invade England

It is a “Glorious Revolution”, with almost no violence and James II flees to France – Both William and Mary accept the throne, along with a Bill of Rights, which gave Parliament the right to make laws and levy taxes The Bill of Rights was central to England’s growth as a constitutional monarchy – Toleration Act of 1689 gave Puritans, not Catholics, the right of free public worship, although few people are persecuted for religion – Act of Succession – only Protestants could be monarchs and disinherited the Catholic branch of the Stuart line

The Trial of Charles I of England! In groups you will create a TV report on the trial of Charles I of England. It should last at least 5 minutes! – Include interviews showing the perspective of 1.Parliament2. Puritans 3. Royalists4. Charles I You will be presenting these today in class. They can be written or recorded.