Unit 3 Key Concept

*The English Civil War—a conflict among the monarchy, Parliament, and other elites over their respective roles in the political structure— exemplified the competition for power among monarchs and competing groups.*

English Civil War was a result of Charles wanting to illegally tax the English population to fund a war in Scotland. Charles i dissolved the Parliament for 11 years before calling them again to ask for the ability to tax again. Parliament tried to take control of the army from the monarchy and that sparked war and skirmishes between royalists, who were on the side of the monarchy and the parliamentary army.

*The outcome of the English Civil War and the Glorious Revolution protected the rights of gentry and aristocracy from absolutism through assertions of the rights of Parliament.*

The army of the parliament won the war and Oliver Cromwell established the country as a democratic republic. Cromwell spent much time and energy putting down the remaining royalist revolts. After Cromwells death Parliament restored the monarchy. One of their first monarchs was King James ii who was sympathetic to Catholics and also shared some beliefs with Absolutists. PArliament didnt like this so they called on James ii’s son in law, William of Orange, to take the throne. James ii fled leaving the throne for William of Orange and his wife Mary ii. This is known as the Glorius Revoltion

*The Agricultural Revolution raised productivity and increased the supply of food and other agricultural products*

British agricultural production was 80% higher than it was in other countries. Fewer people were working on farms as they were migrating to cities, but farm output tripled.

*The importation and transplantation of agricultural products from the Americas contributed to an increase in the food supply in Europe.*

Imported plants and crops from the New World to Europe was called the Columbian Exhange. It brought foods like tomatoes, potatoes and corn to Europe that became staple foods and fed the livestock, both of these contributing to an increase of the food supply in Europe

*Labor and trade in commodities were increasingly freed from traditional restrictions imposed by governments and corporate entities.*

Free Market Economies - 

Later became capitalism - Netherlands - Laissez Faire - Government doesn't regulate or control the economy

*The putting-out system, or cottage industry, expanded as increasing numbers of laborers in homes or workshops produced for markets through merchant intermediaries or workshop owners*

Agricultural Revolution leads to labor surplus, which leads to production of stuff in peoples homes/workshops. 

*The development of the market economy led to new financial practices and institutions.*

• Double entry book keeping

• Joint Stock companies (Dutch East India Company or VOC)

• Banking

• Stock/commodities exchange

• Cash economy

*Early modern Europe developed a market economy that provided the foundation for its global role.*

* Global trade networks 
* Africe
* Americas
* Asia
* Colonial Empires

*The European-dominated worldwide economic network contributed to the agricultural, industrial, and consumer revolutions in Europe.*

A European-dominated economic network of trade meant more products coming in from more countries than ever before.

• Agricultural Revolution

  • More crops meant more to farm and that led to more food

• Consumer

  • Not only food was imported from other countries, textiles and other commodities were also brought to Europe. This sparked a consumer revolution because

*The transatlantic slave-labor system expanded in the 17th and 18th centuries as demand for New World products increased.*

As demand for New World products increased in a new consumer culture 

*Overseas products and influences contributed to the development of a consumer culture in Europe.*

As a result of new product being imported into Europe, consumers had a wider range of products to choose from leading Europe into a consumer culture.

*The importation and transplantation of agricultural products from the Americas contributed to an increase in the food supply in Europe.*

* Columbian Exchange Brought a host fo new foods back to Europe.
* Corn, potatoes, cassava, avocados, beans, cacao, chiles, papaya, etc.
* Starvation largely disappeared
* New crops helped alleviate the famine thatplagued EuropeColumbian Exchange Brought a host fo new foods back to Europe.
* Corn, potatoes, cassava, avocados, beans, cacao, chiles, papaya, etc.
* Starvation largely disappeared
* New crops helped alleviate the famine thatplagued Europe

*Foreign lands provided raw materials, finished goods, laborers, and markets for the commercial and industrial enterprises in Europe.*

• Colonialism

• Search for resources outside of Europe

• Led to subjugation of other poeple

*The Dutch Republic, established by a Protestant revolt against the Habsburg monarchy, developed an oligarchy of urban gentry and rural landholders to promote trade and protect traditional rights.*

• The Dutch gained independence from Spain through a battle called the 80 years war

• Developed into a world power after gaining independence.

• Didnt have a monarchy

  • Government was an oligarchy

    • A few powerful people control the entire country

      • Rural Landowners and urban gentry

*The competitive state system led to new patterns of diplomacy and new forms of warfare*

• Advancements in military technology and tactics

  • Development of artillery

  • Mobile cannons

• Soliders with swords made room for ones with guns

• Armies became professional and ruled under a sovereign aristocrat instead of a noble.

*Following the Peace of Westphalia, religion declined in importance as a cause for warfare among European states; the concept of the balance of power played an important role in structuring diplomatic and military objectives.*

• The Peace of Westphalia increased religious toleration, which lowered the amount of people wanting to fight because of religion.

• Countries came together and decided that no one state should ever have more power or dominate the rest of them.

*The inability of the Polish monarchy to consolidate its authority over the nobility led to Poland’s partition by Prussia, Russia, and Austria, and its disappearance from the map of Europe.*

• Since Poland had different ethnicities all part of the same central government. Other countries were able to exploit their weaknesses and take advantage of Poland creating 3 partitions

• First Partition of Poland - 1772

  • Frederick II wanted to gain land that he had lost to the Ottoman empire so he took it from Poland

• Second Partition of Polan - 1793

  • Polish conservatives wanted to overthrow the new liberal constitution, and Russia intervened and took more of their land

*After 1648, dynastic and state interests, along with Europe’s expanding colonial empires, influenced the diplomacy of European states and frequently led to war.*

* After the discovery of new lands, everyone wanted some part of the New World. This led to conflict between the different nations which eventually led to war

*After the Austrian defeat of the Turks in 1683 at the Battle of Vienna, the Ottomans ceased their westward expansion.*

* Austrian bakers heard Ottomans tunneling under the walls, they woke the Austrian army up, which gave them enough time to save Austria

*Louis XIV’s nearly continuous wars, pursuing both dynastic and state interests, provoked a coalition of European powers opposing him.*

* Britain, Dutch Republic, Spain, the Hapsburg ruler opposed him.

*Absolute monarchies limited the nobility’s participation in governance but preserved the aristocracy’s social position and legal privileges.*

Absolute roulers favored the merchant class and middle class and weakened the nobility as a result.

New weaponry gave monarchs greater power to destroy nobles lands and castles, keeping them in check

*Louis XIV and his finance minister, Jean Baptiste Colbert, extended the administrative, financial, military, and religious control of the central state over the French population.*

• Instituted mercantilist policies to decrease France’s debt and revitalize its industries.

• They also worked to expand France’s colonies, and in doing that create a favorale balance of trade.

*Peter the Great “westernized” the Russian state and society, transforming political, religious, and cultural institutions; Catherine the Great continued this process.*

\n

* Peter the Great takes a vacation throughout western Europe, learning new things and ideas. When he returned to Russia, he brought along with him these ideas. Russia became more westernized and developed a naval army. Peter the Great constructed a new palace in St. Petersburg, that he called a “window to Europe” 

*The struggle for sovereignty within and among states resulted in varying degrees of political centralization.*

A struggle in France between Louis XIII and the nobles. Local authorities and the nobility carried out a series of uprising that failed. They did this because Louis XIII was stripping them of their power and appointing new officials

*The new concept of the sovereign state and secular systems of law played a central role in the creation of new political institutions.*

CONSTITUTIONALISM - A monarch shared power with parliament

OLIGARCHY - A legislative body from a select societal class that ruled the state

*The competition for power between monarchs and corporate and minority language groups produced different distributions of governmental authority in European states.*

Development of absolute monarchy and potential challenges to absolute monarchy. For example in the Austrian hapsburgs, it was harder for them to develop an absolute monarchy because there are three major groups vying for power. The whole point of absolute monarchy is to consolidate power and you cant do that if there are multiple groups with different ideas and they all want power.

*Different models of political sovereignty affected the relationship among states and between states and individuals.* 

Absolutism vs Constitutionalism. Absolutism is a system where individuals arent considered. The authority of the state overpowered everything. In a constitutionalist government, power in a monarch, power is from the people.

*In much of Europe, absolute monarchy was established over the course of the 17th and 18th centuries.*

Bourbon absolute monarchs in france. Hapsburg in Austria

Hohenzollerin in Prussia

Romanov in Russia

*Challenges to absolutism resulted in alternative political systems.*

COnstitutionalism was a challenge to absolutism and it became another political system