Absolutist and Constitutional Monarch ID Terms - Mr. Farquhar

sword nobles

- the noblemen of the oldest class of nobility in France who traded military service to the king in exchange for feudal lands; they played an important part during the French revolution since their attempts to retain their old power monopoly caused the new nobility's interests to align with the newly arising French bourgeoisie class, creating a powerful force for change in French society in the late 18th Century.

- these nobles earned their titles through military service and were often associated with a particular feudal fiefdom. They were considered to be more prestigious and were often in control of French provinces.

robe nobles

French aristocrats whose rank came from holding certain judicial or administrative posts that were attached to specific functions and often hereditary.These nobles earned their titles for non-military service, such as working as administrators, financiers, magistrates, or court officials. They were often wealthy and had higher incomes than most nobles of the sword. The name comes from the robes worn by these officials.

Louis XIII

King of France from 1610 until his death in 1643 and King of Navarre from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crown

intendants

a title given to a high-ranking official or administrator, especially in France, Spain, Portugal, or one of their colonies

Louis XIV

King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715; his reign of 72 years is the longest recorded of any monarch of a sovereign country in history; under this monarch, France was emblematic of the age of absolutism in Europe; this ruler accomplished the following under his reign: he created a more centralized state governed from the capital; to eliminate feudalism, he persuaded the nobility to inhabit his extravagant Palace of Versailles, which pacified the aristocracy; he enforced Catholicism and ended any religious toleration in France; also known as the Sun King or le Roi Soleil

Cardinal Mazarin

an Italian cardinal, diplomat, and politician who served as the chief minister (after working for and then replacing Cardinal Richelieu) to the kings of France Louis XIII and Louis XIV from 1642 until his death in 1661

Fronde

a series of civil wars in France 1648-53, in which the nobles rose in rebellion against Mazarin and the court during Louis XIV's young reign under a regent

Bishop Jacques Bossuet

a French bishop and theologian, renowned for his sermons and other addresses; this court preacher under Louis XIV was a strong advocate of political absolutism and the divine right of kings because he believed monarchs had the right to sovereignty under God

L'etat c'est moi

"I am the state:" a quote from Louis XIV expressing his absolute authority over France

Jean-Baptiste Colbert

Louis XIV's controller general of finances who increased the wealth of France by encouraging production and exportation of luxury goods, such as royal tapestries, Venetian glass, and Flemish cloth, and providing tax exemptions, loans, and subsidies to those luxury producers; he made trade more efficient in France by bettering the infrastructure, and he limited imports by raising tariffs on foreign products

Marquis of Louvois

the French Secretary of State for War for a significant part of the reign of Louis XIV; he increased the French army--that would fight four wars under Louis XIV-- to 340,000 soldiers

War of the Spanish Succession

Louis XIV's fourth and most important war that took place after his grandson became King Philip V; European powers concerned with the power of the Bourbon family opposed Spain and France in a war that lasted eleven years

Treaty of Utrecht

this document put an end to the War of the Spanish Succession with the following provisions: a Spanish Bourbon dynasty would rule Spain but remain separate from the French throne; Hapsburg Austria was given Spanish Netherlands, Milan, and Naples, while Brandenburg-Prussia gained additional territory; England received Gibraltar and the French-possessed Newfoundland, Hudson Bay Territory, and Nova Scotia

Cardinal Fleury

Chief minister, tried to solve France's financial problems but didn't because France entered the War of Austrian Succession

Hohenzollerns

the dynasty that began ruling Brandenburg in 1415 and eventually made it into a powerful state; over time, this dynasty inherited Rhine valley lands in western Germany and the duchy of Prussia, lands which they used to create Brandenburg-Prussia, which encompassed western, central, and eastern Germany

Frederick William, the Great Elector

initiator of Prussia's powerful state by building a competent and efficient army amidst the Thirty Years' War, which was sustained by the General War Commissariat that levied taxes and oversaw the growth and training of the army; nobles supported this ruler because he gave them unlimited control over their peasants (reinforced serfdom), exempted them from taxes, and awarded them high-ranking jobs in the army; to build-up Brandenburg-Prussia's economy, he followed typical mercantilist policies that included supporting trade-efficient infrastructure, placing high tariffs on imports, and providing subsidies and monopolies to those who helped domestic industry

junkers

the Prussian landed aristocracy that served as officers in the army and bureaucrats in the Commissariat

Maria Theresa

This was the queen of Austria as a result of the Pragmatic Sanction. She limited the papacy's political influence in Austria, strengthened her central bureaucracy and cautiously reduced the power that nobles had over their serfs

Pragmatic Sanction

an imperial or royal ordinance or decree that has the force of law

Muscovy

The Russian feudal duchy that emerged as a local power gradually during the era of Mongol domination. The Muscovite princes convinced their Mongol Tatar overlords to let them collect all the tribute gold from the other Russian princes on behalf of the Mongols. This caused Moscow to become the power center of Russian society and eventually they rebelled against Mongol domination. The Muscovite dynasty ruled without interruption from 1276 to 1598.

Ivan IV ("The Terrible")

this Russian ruler was the first to take the title of 'tsar,' and he expanded Russian territory eastward; he extended his power by crushing the Russian nobility, exemplifying an absolutist rule

boyars

highest rank of the Russian nobility

Romanovs

a Russian dynasty that ruled from 1613 to 1917 after the Zemsky Sobor, the Russian national assembly, chose Michael Romanov as the new tsar

Duma

a legislative body in the ruling assembly of Russia

Peter the Great

a Russian ruler who greatly accelerated Russia's westernization and modernization process

"Window to the West"

Another name for St. Petersburg. Peter's desire for a warm-water port in the west

St. Petersburg

a new city constructed by Peter the Great along the Baltic that was also a symbol of Russia's westernization

Battle of Poltava

the battle at which Peter's army defeated Charles XII's Swedish army, decisively making Russia the superior northern power over Sweden

James I

a king of Scotland who became king of England upon the extinction of the Tudor dynasty with Elizabeth's death; he alienated Parliament by his belief that he must only answer to God, and in return, Parliament refused to give him the money he requested

Charles I

Because this king of England could not get along with Parliament, he did not summon it to meet, and he had to collect taxes on his own in ways that did not require Parliament's approval; Scots also rose up in rebellion against this king when the Book of Common Prayer was attempted to be imposed upon the Scottish Presbyterian Church. To put this rebellion down, he was forced to summon Parliament, which retaliated by severely limiting royal power

Ship Money

a tax on seacoast towns traditionally used to pay for coastal defense but collected annually by Charles I, who used the money to finance other government operations, which aroused opposition from middle-class merchants and landed gentry, who objected to the king's attempts to tax without Parliament's consent

Petition of Right

passed by Parliament to prohibit taxation in England without Parliament's consent, arbitrary imprisonment, quartering of soldiers in private homes, and the use of martial law in peacetimes

Triennial Act

passed by Parliament requiring that Parliament must meet at least once every three years, with or without the king's consent

Writ of Habeas Corpus

a recourse in law through which a person can report an unlawful detention or imprisonment to a court and request that the court order the custodian of the person, usually a prison official, to bring the prisoner to court, to determine whether the detention is lawful

Long Parliament

this legislative body of England lasted in some form from 1640 to 1660 and took steps to severely limit royal power

New Model Army

an army created by Parliament during the English Civil War that was primarily composed of extreme Puritans known as Independents, who believed they were battling for the Lord, and that was extremely influential on Parliament's success in the first phase of the war

Pride's Purge

the name commonly given to an event that took place on December 6, 1648, when soldiers prevented members of Parliament that were considered hostile to the New Model Army from entering the House of Commons of England

"Rump" Parliament

the members of the House of Commons that remained after the Presbyterian members were purged; this group tried and condemned Charles I for treason and beheaded him, destroying the monarchy in England; this group officially abolished the House of Lords and the monarchy, proclaiming England a republic, specifically called the "Commonwealth of England"

Act of Settlement

an Act of the Parliament of England that was passed in 1701 to settle the succession to the English and Irish crowns on Protestants only. This had the effect of deposing the descendants of Charles I (other than his Protestant granddaughter Princess (later Queen) Anne) as the next Protestant in line to the throne was the Electress Sophia

Interregnum

a republican period in the three kingdoms of England, Ireland and Scotland. Government was carried out by the Commonwealth and the Protectorate of Oliver Cromwell after the execution of Charles I and before the restoration of Charles II.

Test Act

passed in 1673 by Parliament specifying that only Anglicans could hold military and civil offices

Whigs

a group who wanted to exclude James II and establish a Protestant king who tolerated dissenters

Tories

a group that supported King James II of England, despite his Catholicism, because they believed Parliament should not tamper with rightful succession to the throne

James II

the ruler of England following Charles II who was a devout and open Catholic, which caused problems with Parliament due to his Catholic-promoting agenda; against Parliament's Test Act, he named Catholics to high positions in the government, navy, army, and universities, and he released a Declaration of Indulgence that opposed Catholics and dissenters being barred from offices

English Bill of Rights

a landmark act in the constitutional law of England that sets out certain basic civil rights and clarifies who would be next to inherit the Crown; it also invited William and Mary of Orange to rule the English throne and included religious toleration

Robert Walpole

first lord of the treasury and chancellor of the exchequer, and he is generally thought of as the first British prime minister, since he presided over the cabinet for George I and George II