3.7 The Rise of ABSOLUTISM

absolutism

the process by which political power was transferred away from the nobility and church, instead toward the monarch (monarch held most of the power in these states)

factors that led to absolutism

• weakened influence of the Catholic Church —> growing acceptance and tolerance of Protestant practice + lack of interest in religious warfare after the Peace of Westphalia

• economics —> merchant classes were expanding rapidly during this period of global trade & desired absolute monarchs for the economic and political stability they could provide

James I of England (ruled 1603-1625)

• absolute monarch that was very influenced by the idea of the divine right of kings

• spent money that was unapproved by parliament (a problem for the monarch only in England)

• England fought a civil war against him because the parliament was always pushing back against him BECAUSE they have the Magna Carta (ratified in 1215) which limited the power of the monarch

Philip II (ruled 1556-1598)

• absolute monarch in Spain

• united the Iberian peninsula by capturing Portugal and repulse the Ottomans in the Iberian Peninsula

Louis XIV (ruled from 1643-1715)

• the more absolutist monarch of Europe

• he had a French catchphrase that translated says, “I am the State.”

Fronde + how it affected Louis XIV

a rebellion of the nobility and the commoners that began in 1648 —> the chief minister Cardinal Mazarin took crazy measures to stop it which caused lots of chaos which made Louis and his mother flee Paris for safety (so it basically made him never forget the humiliation of fleeing Paris at the hands of the nobility and the leaders.

how Louis XIV gained power

• intendant system —> sending a group of people called the intendants to make sure his rules are being followed (which undermines local governments)

• Palace of Versailles —> he mandated that the nobles live part of the year within the walls of it so he could keep an eye on their behavior (they would fight over being close to the king) —> the competition allows Louis XIV to gain all of their loyalties and cooperation

• religious uniformity - revoked the edict of Nantes in 1685 —> the Huguenots escaped to more religiously tolerant states

• wars of expansion - cost tons of money (so all of Jean Baptist Colbert’s work fixing the economy was undone to finance all of the wars under Louis XIV)

Peter the Great

• wanted to westernize or be overtaken —> transformed political, religious, and cultural institutions

• political institutions: required nobles to serve in the army or civil administration

• cultural institutions: required the nobility to shave their beards and wear western style clothing —> established a beard tax

• reorganized the Russian Orthodox Church by eliminating the role of Patriarch (basically the pope of the orthodox church) and replaced it with the Holy Synod which Peter populated with officials and ministers who would do Peter’s bidding

• tripled taxes in order to do this (Westernize Russia) but it brought Russia to the mainstream of European development