Absolute Monarchy and Statecraft in Spain and France

Vocabulary flashcards covering the key figures, policies, events, and terminology associated with the French and Spanish monarchies between 1500 and 1715.

Huguenot

French Protestants who were a religious minority in France.

Catholics

The majority religion in France, distrustful of the minority Huguenots.

Versailles

The royal palace built by Louis XIV near Paris that served as the seat of government, home to 10,000 people, and symbol of absolute wealth and power.

Henry IV

Huguenot prince who inherited the French throne in 1589, converted to Catholicism, issued the Edict of Nantes, and laid the foundations for royal absolutism.

Edict of Nantes

A 1598 decree issued by Henry IV granting Huguenots religious toleration and allowing them to fortify their own towns and cities.

Cardinal Armand Richelieu

Chief minister appointed by Louis XIII in 1624 who spent 18 years strengthening the central government by destroying the private armies and fortified castles of nobles and Huguenots.

Cardinal Jules Mazarin

Hand-picked successor to Richelieu who served as chief minister to extend royal power during the youth of Louis XIV.

The Fronde

An uprising in France involving nobles, merchants, peasants, and the urban poor rebelling shortly after Louis XIV became king.

Sun King

The symbol and title adopted by Louis XIV to reflect his belief that he stood at the center of the French nation.

Estates General

The medieval council made up of representatives of all French social classes that played no role in checking royal power because it did not meet between 1614 and 1789.

Intendants

Royal officials appointed by Louis XIV, often from the wealthy middle class, who collected taxes, recruited soldiers, and carried out policies in the provinces.

Jean Baptiste Colbert

Louis XIV's finance minister who applied mercantilist policies, built up luxury trades, placed high tariffs on imported goods, and helped make France the wealthiest state in Europe.

Levee

An elaborate daily morning ritual ('Rising') held in Louis XIV's bedroom designed to turn nobles into court suitors angling for privileges rather than warriors fighting for power.

Balance of Power

A distribution of military and economic power maintained by European alliances to prevent any single nation from dominating Europe.

Charles V

Hapsburg monarch who inherited both the Spanish Empire and the Holy Roman Empire, fought Protestantism and the Ottoman Empire, and abdicated to a monastery in 1556.

Philip II

Devout and ambitious king who ruled Spain during a 42-year reign, centralized royal power, expanded Spanish Catholic influence, and asserted divine right.

Divine Right

The concept that a monarch's authority comes directly from God, which led Philip II to view himself as the guardian of the Roman Catholic Church.

Battle of Lepanto

A 1571 Mediterranean naval battle in which Spain and its Italian allies soundly defeated the Ottoman fleet.

Sea Dogs

English ship captains encouraged by Queen Elizabeth I to plunder Spanish treasure ships.

Spanish Armada

A fleet of more than 130 ships, 20,000 men, and 2,400 pieces of artillery launched by Philip II in 1588 to invade England, which was defeated by faster English ships and scattered by a storm.