Absolutism in France, Austria, Prussia, Russia Test

Henry IV

* won the St. Bertholomew’s Day Massacare
* became king of france
* Rule 1589-1610
* Was Protestant but converted to catholicism to secure crown
* Said that “Paris is well worth a mass” meaning that the offers of Paris made converting to Catholicism worth it
* Reduced nobles’ power & prevented peasant abuse by landlords
* Sought to heal france aka "I want there to be no peasant in my kingdom so poor that he cannot have a chicken in his pot every Sunday."
* Some hated his compromises & was stabbed to death by fanatic in 1610
* started the groundwork for Absolutism but building the royal government and reducing noble influence
* govt reached all areas of French life
* Improved roads & built bridges
* Administered justice
* Revived agriculture

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St Bartholomew’s Day Massacre

* An event during the civil war in France which lasted from 1562-1598 and was French Catholics vs Hugenots
* __________ was when Catholics attacked Hugenots and there was 6 weeks of slaughter of Huguenots
* ___________ symbolized the complete breakdown of order in France.

Huguenots

* French Protestants
* after the Edict of Nantes was revoked there was a major blow to the French economy

Edict of Nantes

* Outlawed persecution of Huguenots
* was revoked when Lous XIV sought religous unification
* Hounded, bullied, & bribed Huguenots to convert
* Protestant schools & churches closed and ministers were exiled
* If people didnt convert people were forced to be galley slaves (row on ships)


* Children baptized Catholic


* Resulted in 250,000 to emigrate from France

Peace of Westphalia

Series of treaties aimed at creating a general European peace and was responsible for ending the 30 years war

Thirty Years War- reasons for, gain and loss of power, regions involved

Regions Involved: Bohemian, Danish, Swedish, French

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Resons: religious, dynastic, territorial, and commercial rivalries.

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Gain and Loss of Power: France gained the most territory, The Habsburg rulers lost much their power and Germany was divided into more than 360 separate states

Louis XIII

* Son of Henry IV
* Rules 1610-1643
* Inherited throne at age 9 with his mom and Richeliau ruling

Louis XIV

* King at age 4 with Cardinal Mazarin led France as Chief Minister


* Groups protested royal power, drove Louis from his palace


* longest reign in Europe (72 years)
* Established lavish style for European monarchs
* controlled all aspects of nobility
* 100 privileged nobles waiting to dress Louis XIV
* Only 4 chosen, a grand honor
* Lesser nobles waited in palace hoping to be noticed
* Royal attention determined noble’s success or failure
* Took full control at 23 and declared that “I am the state” meaning he took all political control of thw country
* He strengthened the power of gov. officials and weakened nobles
* Absolutism primarily around war, peace, religion, and economic oversight
* Louis XIV was a Patron of the arts and enables cultural flowering
* Musical entertainments
* Plays sponsored w/ best writers
* French styles in painting, music, architecture, and decorative arts: a model for Europe
* New dance drama, ballet, popularized
* No oppressive control over lived of subjects
* Local institutions/elites retained authority 
* Prevented influence on national level

Cardinal Richelieu

* Appointed Chief Minister \[1624\]
* Changes in govt (from 1610-1624, nobles pushed back against royal rule)
* Established strong administrative system, armies, tax collection & business regulation
* Targeted nobles & Huguenots
* He weakened those who might opposed the king and strengthened those who could support him
* He outlawed armies and smashed walled cities
* supported protestant german princes in Thirty Years’ War

Cardinal Mazarin

* Handpicked by Richelieu (died in 1642)
* Hated by French nobility
* Strengthening the central govt
* Tax increases

Colbert

* Minister of Finance
* Turned 22 million pound debt into 29 million pound surplus
* Fixed near bankrupcy in French economy by:
* Imposed Mercantilist policies
* Put high tariffs of foreign goods
* Established overseas colonies with strict trade regulations
* Cleared lands for farming

Versailles

Palace of Versailles demonstrated weath, power and glory of france

Versailles made ballet and opera popular

Purpose of art to glorify the king and absolute rule which had an emphasis on human potential not God

Ferderick II

* Frederick II became king in 1740 and immediately challenged Austria over Silesia
* His brilliant leadership and willingness to use his disciplined army lead to him being called Frederick the Great
* Europe was forced to recognize Prussia

Pragmatic Sanction

Charles VI issued this as a means of ensuring that the Habsburg possessions could be inherited by his daughter

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War of Austrian Succession

Before Charles VI’s death he persuaded other rulers to recognize his daughter...they ignored him and immediately seized Austrian land in Silesia

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Defenestration of Prague

Ferdinand II was a devout Catholic and moved to suppress a Protestant uprising in Prague

* Protestant nobles tossed two royal officials out a window in the **Defenestration of Prague**

Hohenzollerns

The family that united the lands that became Prussia and emerged it as a Protestant power

Frederick I

Came to power in 1713

* Gained Junker (noble) support by appointing them to positions in the army and government
* Reduced noble independence
* Stressed military values and had one of the best-trained armies in Europe

“Prussia is not a state which possesses an army, but an army which possesses a state”

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Tsar

the title meant ceaser and represented being ordained by God

Ivan III (Great)

Ruled from 1462-1505, many accomplishments

* Conquered territory around Moscow
* Liberated Russia from the Mongols
* Began centralizing Russia’s government

Vasily, his son, succeeded him and ruled for 28 years

* Added more territory
* Increased the power of the centralized government

Boyars

Landowning nobility tried to control Ivan IV when he was young

* When he turned 16, he seized power from the Boyars and proclaimed himself Tsar
* Married Anastasia, a Romanov (boyar family)

Ivan IV during the good period

Major achievements during the “good period”

* Won great victories
* Added lands to Russia
* Gave Russia a code of laws
* Ruled justly

Ivan IV (Terrible)

Bad period began in 1560, when his wife died

* Accused boyars of poisoning Anastasia
* Turned on them and organized his own police force
* Chief duty was to hunt down and murder anyone considered a traitor
* Thousands were executed: boyars, their families and peasants
* In 1581, he got into a fight with his son
* Accidentally killed him, leaving no capable heir

Time of Troubles

Boyars struggled for power in the wake of Ivan’s death, resulting in chaos and anarchy

* This period lasted from 1584-1613
* Different boyar families made claims to the throne and were mysteriously murdered
* Ended when representatives from different cities met to choose the next tsar

Romanov dynasty

Romanovs would rule Russia from 1613-1917

* Michael I was the first Romanov tsar
* Michael and his two successors brought back some stability to Russia

Russia had continuing challenges

* Still weak from the *Time of Troubles*
* Boyars had government control
* Tsars faced mutiny from Moscow garrison

Passed laws and put down the revolt to pave the way for future Romanovs

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Peter the Great

In 1697, a year after he became the sole ruler of Russia, he embarked on the **Grand Embassy**

* His goal was to learn about European customs and manufacturing techniques
* Wanted to compete both militarily and commercially, saw westernizing as a way to make Russia stronger
* Began issuing reforms that increased his power
* Russian Orthodox Church was brought under state control
* Reduced the boyar’s power, gave power to lower-ranking families
* Trained army with European tactics and being a soldier became a lifetime job, imposed taxes to fund

Westernizing Russia

Peter undertook the following to westernize:

* Introduced potatoes, became a staple in the Russian diet
* Started Russia’s first newspaper
* Raised the status of women, allowed them to attend social gatherings
* Ordered nobles to replace their traditional clothes with Western fashions
* Advanced education, opened a school of navigation and a school of the arts and sciences
* Forced many to leave Russia to study the sciences

Catherine the Great

She was a German princess

* Came to Russia at 15, wed heir to Russian throne
* Learned Russian
* Embraced Russian Orthodox faith 
* Won the loyalty of the people

Husband was Peter III, mentally unstable, murdered by Russian army officers

Catherine took the throne

* Organized government/codified laws
* State-sponsored education
* Embraced Western ideas
* Encourage French language/customs, student of French thinkers that led the enlightenment
* Established warm water port on the Black Sea- did what Peter couldn’t.

Wars of Lous XIV

* In 1660 the French population was greater than England and the Dutch
* The military was superior in size, training, and weponry
* 1680s Europe unites against France in League of Augsburg


* Costly wars to expand French borders
* Proved disastrous
* Alliances of Dutch and England fought to maintain balance of power
* War of Spanish Succession
* France bankrupt
* Resulted in increased poverty & discontent with Louis XIV

Death and Legacy of Louis XIV

* France was a military power
* Brilliant cultural period
* Lavish buildings, decorated palaces and churches, great playwrights and artists
* Final years more sad than glorious
* Costly wars ruined France & brought suffering to French people
* Warfare & building Versailles created staggering debt
* Corrupt, complicated, unjust tax system not changed
* Poor carried tax burden
* Nobles, clergy and government officials exempt from paying tax at expense of poor
* Louis XIV abuse of power
* Nobility and peasantry (most of France) want change in system
* Revolution on the horizon

Ferdinand II

HRE was ruled by an emperor ________ in 1619

* BUT - he was chosen by **electors** and thus had little power
* Recall that German princes had a lot of power

Ferdinand II was a devout Catholic and moved to suppress a Protestant uprising in Prague

* Protestant nobles tossed two royal officials out a window in the **Defenestration of Prague**
* Both sides sought alliances, making a local conflict a European war
* Started out a religious conflict, became a political conflict
* Habsburgs were the big loser, and the HRE essentially dissolved