1. Unit #2 – Part 2 or 3 or…: Absolutism
Think about what you have learned thus far about the political systems in European countries:
If you were to take over a European country, which one would you take over?  Why?
How would you go about doing this?
Once you took over what would you do to keep & strengthen your power?

2. Causes of Absolutism Feudalism out, unified church out
Religious/territorial conflict = uncertainty & fear, start a cycle
Big armies required higher taxes to support them
Peasants revolted against taxes
Kings rules even more harshly

3. Characteristics of abs rulers
Run by one, singular person
Divine right and without consent
Glorification of the State (Ruler) rather than local culture
Controls/limits power of the nobility
Economy is for the RULER not the citizens of the state
No one is exempt from paying taxes
War-Expansion is normal – discourage/distract domestic unrest
Standing army
Bureaucracies
Secret police – controlled social gatherings, religious gatherings
Control over all aspects of justice

4. Absolutism
…in France

5. Huguenots Catherine de Medici Henry becomes King Henry IV
Mother of King Charles IX – too young to rule
Arranges a wedding for her daughter to a Protestant Prince (Henry, a Huguenot) in hopes of peace
Has Protestants in Paris murdered instead
St. Bartholomew’s Day 1572
Charles IX dies as does his mother
Protestant Prince Henry “converts” to Catholicism
Henry becomes King Henry IV

6. Henry IV heals France 1598 – Henry signs the Edict of Nantes
Allows Protestantism, lets them live in peace
Henry worked hard to rebuild France
Assassinated in 1610
His son Louis XIII becomes King
Weak king, but had a smart man advising him
Cardinal Richelieu

7. Cardinal Richelieu
Extremely ambitious man, despite his church position
Two steps he took as Louis XIII’s advisor
Limited Protestant rights
Forbade Protestant cities to have walls around them
Believed they were conspiracies against the Catholic King
Limited power of nobility
Forced them to tear down their castles

8. Louis XIV Most powerful ruler in French history
“L’etat, c’est moi” – I am the state
At first, the real power was Richelieu’s successor Cardinal Mazarin
Louis XIV was four years old when he became king
Ends 30 Years War
But becomes very unpopular with the French due to high taxes

9. Louis XIV Violent riots (mostly nobility) against Mazarin – the Fronde
Louis bitter about the nobles who rebelled and swore he would weaken them
Nobles rebellion fails for three reasons
Nobles distrusted each other
Government was violent in its response
Peasants and townspeople tired, were willing to live under an absolute monarch

10. Louis XIV M dies, Louis XIV takes over completely (age 22-23)
Expelled nobles from all royal government posts
Replaced them with intendants, or government agents
Collected taxes, administered justice
Louis had tight control over the nobility

11. The Sun King Louis XIV - the Sun King, reigns for 72 years
Nobles wait on him in elaborate rituals
100 nobles awaited him when he awoke every morning
Having his nobles at court had advantages
Made them dependent on Louis
Kept them away from homes, making the intendants more powerful
His court - Versailles
Visible manifestation of superiority & wealth
One of the most magnificent royal palaces in the world

12. Economic growth Colbert – becomes Louis’ finance minister
Goal: make France super-rich and self-sufficient
Q: What does self-sufficient mean?
Gave government money & tax benefits to French companies
BUT Colbert dies…
Big mistake – cancels the Edict of Nantes in 1685
Q: What did the Edict of Nantes do?
1000s of Huguenot craftspeople & merchants left France
Huge negative impact on French economy

13. Louis Disastrous Wars
Under Louis, France becomes the most powerful nation in Europe
20 million residents (4 X as many as England, 10X as many as Holland)
France invades countries to expand territory
Invades the independent Netherlands
Dutch break open their dams, flood the land to prevent France from taking over
France gained very little

14. France has Enemies European countries start to ally against France
England, Austria, Sweden, Spain form alliance
Spain ends up having a new king who is related to Louis XIV – Spain and France now allied
Other European countries alarmed

15. War of Spanish Succession
Allied countries attack France to prevent a merger with Spain
14 year long war
England is the big winner – they get Gibraltar at the tip of Spain which controls access to Mediterranean
War was expensive for France – about $21 billion in debt by end of the war (1715)

16. Free-write at end of notes
Did absolute rulers use hard or soft power more effectively?
Was Louis XIV a successful ruler?
Why or why not?

17. So many names, so little time…
Make an “absolute” monarchs matching (there will be 10’ish on the exam, along w/50-55’ish multiple choice)
Include at least 8 of the monarchs covered in class & the textbook (listed below)
Answers should NOT be included on the paper & turn in by the end of the period for participation points
Someone will be taking this “quiz” tomorrow, so make it good.
Christian IV
Charles II
William of Orange
Gustavus Adolphus
James II
C. Richelieu
William & Mary
Suleiman I
Louis XIV
Maria Theresa
Oliver Cromwell
Fred. William I
James I
Fred. the Great
Philip II
Charles I
Joseph II

18. Hapsburgs background – you should already know this
Massively successful family in central Europe
Eventually gained control of HRE, gaining all important electoral vote
Charles V pitched a hissy fit, gave up his throne, tuck tailed and run, to a fake monastery
His two sons (Ferdinand and Philip) took it and Spain over….
HRE broke up in all but name with 30 Years War, but the Hapsburgs had a lot of territory, and they still had Prague, so they remained powerful

19. Ferdinands & Leopold I
Ferdinand I inherited Austria and other lands in central Europe and the HRE (title)
His sons, through a series of errors (mainly the 30 Years War) lost it
But, in 1699 a great grandson named Leopold started to win it back
Begins with Hungary
France counters with an invasion to hold balance of power (and they hate Austria and Germany by now)
Hold them off on one side, splits his army and moves east
Reconquers Slovenia, Croatia, rest of Bohemia, Moravia Transylvania, Liechtenstein, part of Poland, and part of Germany
Marched right to the door of Ottoman Empire in Sarajevo (Bosnia-Herzegovina) only to be repelled
Kept power by ruling using only an inner circle of confidants
The Hapsburgs were back baby!!!

21. Maria Theresa Son of Leopold keeps the empire together then dies
Grandson Charles VI comes to the throne
After years of trying only had a daughter: Maria Theresa
So drafted Pragmatic Sanction—which agreed to recognize Maria Theresa as his rightful heir even though she was a woman
Bribed all of Europe into recognizing it
But when he dies, they all renege and thinking Austria now has a weak woman on the throne, they attack
The French declared war, Czechs revolted, and Prussia attacked, triggering the War of the Austrian Succession

22. War of Austrian Succession (1740-1748)
Short on Allies, Maria Theresa bribed Hungary into staying on her side
Making her empire now Austria-Hungary
Britain wants to keep balance of power (and sees a way to turn an international incident into a banking/colonizing opportunity)
Join in, mainly giving her money and some help
Turn around an colonize the heck out of the rest of the world while everyone else is fighting
Fought her opponents to a stalemate and won back all seized land.

23. Austrian Golden Age Maria Theresa becomes the grandmother of Europe
Has 16 kids that live to adulthood, marrying all of them off all around Europe; youngest and most famous is Marie Antoinette
Establishes a court in Vienna
Has largest land empire in Europe (outside of Russia)
Created a expansive bureaucracy
Eventually co-ruled with oldest son Joseph II
Reforms the church—made the monarchy far less tied to Catholicism
Removes final trappings of religion and politics left over from HRE
Cleaned house with the nobles—made them intermingle
Forced them to intermarry and move across the empire
Revamped military
Ended Polish-Lithuanian empire and partitioned it
Took down Sarajevo and rest of Balkans
Created a trading network, not with colonies but over European empire
Music flourished

24. Rise of Prussia Main state other than Austria to emerge from HRE
Begins with political maneuvering of Frederick William the Great Elector – leader of Hohenzollerns dynasty
Capital is Berlin
Followed by so, Frederick William I, 1st Prussian King
Studied the history of the destruction of Thirty Years War and vows to always have a strong army
Prussia becomes a military state
Beginning of German unity, sort of
Prussia will slowly take over the rest of the German state

25. Frederick the Great Frederick William’s son becomes King in 1740
Frederick II, also known as Frederick the Great
Followed dad’s military policies, strong army
Also encouraged religious tolerance and economic growth
Considered himself “enlightened,” for example he thought serfdom was wrong, but did nothing about this.
Brought Voltaire to court to learn from him but didn’t follow his ideas to their full extent
Paternalistic:
Believed a leader should be like a father to his people
Quintessential “Enlightened Despot”
Knew and like the ideas of Enlightenment and freedom but didn’t have the backing of the nobles and/or the guts to follow them

26. Review for exam 55’ish multiple choice questions
5-10’ish leader matching
Review Chapter 15 (except Russia, Poland & Art)
Review PowerPoints online
DO SOMETHING with the information – don’t just re-read when possible
Questions?