3.5-3.7 Dutch Golden Age, Balance of Power and Absolute Monarchies

The Dutch Golden Age

1. A period in the 17th century known for the Netherlands' remarkable achievements in trade, art, religious tolerance, and science, characterized by economic prosperity and cultural flourishing.

2. The result of Dutch Independence from Spain as part of the Peace of Westphalia (1648).

3. Came to an end with the decline of the Dutch maritime empire brought on by British competition.

Dutch East India Company

1. A powerful trading company established in 1602 that played a crucial role in Dutch maritime trade and colonial expansion in Asia.

2. A joint-stock company, an early capitalistic practice that allowed for multiple investors to mitigate loses and share profits.

3. Helps bring about a Dutch Golden Age and makes Amsterdam the financial center of the world in the seventeenth century (1600s)

Absolutism

a political system where a single ruler holds total power, often justified by divine right, with no legal or institutional constraints on their authority.

Peter the Great

1. A Russian czar known for his extensive reforms in an effort to establish Russia as a great nation, reigning from 1682 to 1725.

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3. His work is later continued by the wife of his grandson, Catherine the Great.

Grand Embassy

1. A diplomatic mission led by Peter the Great to Western Europe from 1697 to 1698 aimed at securing alliances and gaining knowledge about shipbuilding and other technologies.

2. Part of Peter’s attempt to westernize Russia and modernize its military and economy.

3. Part of the result was the development of St. Petersburg as a capital and the Great Northern War.

Louis XIV

1. King of France from 1643 to 1715, known as the 'Sun King', who centralized power and built the Palace of Versailles as a symbol of absolute monarchy.

2. He is famous for his statement, "L'état, c'est moi" (I am the state), reflecting his belief in absolute rule.

3. France incurred significant debt while he was king, largely do to continuous war like the War of the Grand Alliance and the War of the Spanish Succession.

James I of England

King of England from 1603 to 1625, known for commissioning the King James Version of the Bible and for uniting the crowns of England and Scotland.

Battle of Vienna (1683)

1. A coalition of European powers, primarily the Holy Roman Empire, successfully defended the city of Vienna from an Ottoman siege.

2. The end of the siege marks the decline of Ottoman power in Europe and the beginning of a slow decline of the Ottoman Empire.