1. What was the significance of England’s defeat of the Spanish Armada?
The defeat weakened Spain and opened the way for more European ventures in the Americas. Spain’s wealth gave it the appearance of being strong.

2. Why did the Dutch revolt against the Spanish?
The Dutch revolted because Philip of Spain raised taxes and tried to crush Protestantism .

3. What are the characteristics of the political system of absolute monarch?
Absolute monarchs held all the power and wanted to control all aspects of society. They believed they ruled by divine right (the idea that God created the monarchy and that the monarch acted as God’s representative on Earth).

4. How does the artwork of Spain and the Netherlands reflect their culture?
For Spain, religion and the monarchy were central to Spanish culture and those themes are reflected in the artwork. For the Netherlands, civic leaders and the middle class were central to Dutch culture so they are featured in Dutch artwork.

5. What role did religion play in the struggle between the Spanish and the Dutch?
Philip II of Spain though it was his duty to defend Catholicism and tried to crush Protestantism in the Netherlands.

6. What impact did the French religious wars have on French thinkers?
French thinkers had witnessed the religious wars with horror. What they saw turned them toward skepticism (the idea that nothing can ever be known for certain). They expressed attitudes of doubt toward churches that claimed to have the only correct set of doctrines.

7. How did Jean Baptiste Colbert intend to stimulate economic growth in France?
Colbert believed in the theory of mercantilism. He tried to make France self sufficient. He wanted France to manufacture everything that they needed instead of relying on imports. Colbert gave government funds and tax benefits to French companies.

8. What was the result of the War of Spanish Succession?
France and Spain were not allowed to unite. German and Italian states joined together to prevent the union of the French and Spanish thrones. Great Britain would gain Gibraltar (a fortress that controlled the entrance to the Mediterranean) from Spain. The Austrian Hapsburgs took over the Netherlands.

9. How did the policies of Colbert and Louis XIV affect the French economy? Explain both negative and positive effects.
Helped: Their policies helped build up and protect French industries. Hurt: They drove out the Huguenots (artisans and business owners that were followers of Calvin’s principles) and overspent on buildings and wars.

10. To what extent did anti-Protestantism contribute to Louis’s downfall?
When Louis XIV canceled the Edict of Nantes (protected the religious freedom of the Huguenots) it cost France many skilled workers. Wars against Protestant countries damaged the French economy.

11. What were the major conflicts in the Thirty Years’ War?
The major conflicts were religious and territorial disputes as well as power among European ruling families.

12. How did the Peace of Westphalia lay the foundations of modern Europe?
The Peace of Westphalia ended religious wars. It also recognized Europe as a collection of independent states and established a modern way of negotiating.

13. How did Ivan the Terrible deal with his enemies during his “bad period”?
Ivan used his secret police to rule by fear and intimidation. He ordered them to hunt down the boyars and peasant and kill them. He also used the secret police to hunt down and kill people that he considered traitors.

14. Why did Peter the Great believe that Russia’s future depended on having a warm-water port?
Peter believed that having a warm water port was necessary for building the Russian economy and being able to compete with western Europe. All other Russian ports were cold water ports that froze over during the winter and thus keeping Russian goods from leaving the country.

15. What were some of the ways that Peter tried to westernize Russia?
Peter introduced potatoes, which would become a staple of the Russian diet. He started Russia’s first newspaper. He raised the status of women by having them attend social gatherings. He ordered the nobles to give up their traditional clothes for Western fashions. He advanced education by opening a school of navigation and introducing schools for the arts and sciences.

16. Why was the death of Charles I revolutionary?
This marked the first time that a reining monarch faced a public trial and execution.

17. What rights were guaranteed by the Habeas Corpus Act?
The right to have a judge decide whether a prisoner should be tried or set free. A monarch could no longer put someone in jail just for opposing the ruler. Also, prisoners could not be held indefinitely without trials.

18. What are the characteristics of the political system of limited monarch?
Under a limited monarchy (constitutional monarchy), laws are written by a legislative body that limits the ruler’s power.

19. How did ideas such as democracy influence the Glorious Revolution?
The Glorious Revolution established that Parliament, an elected body, could limit the power of the monarch.

20. Explain the developments in democratic-republican government prior to and during the English Civil War.
Prior to and during the English Civil Way, Parliament gained influence and power, and the power of the monarch was diminished.