Absolutism and Constitutionalism

Sword Nobles

Definition: Traditional hereditary aristocracy in France whose power came from military service and land ownership. Significance: Often resisted royal centralization. Clashed with noblesse de robe. Their privileges were gradually reduced by absolutist kings like Louis XIV.

Robe Nobles

Definition: Nobles who gained status through holding administrative or judicial offices, often purchased. Significance: Loyal to the monarchy, they helped build the centralized state. Their rise marked the shift from feudal power to bureaucratic governance.

Louis XIII

Definition: King of France, son of Henry IV; came to power as a child.Significance: His reign, guided by Cardinal Richelieu, laid the foundation for absolutism by weakening nobles and centralizing authority.

Intendants

Definition: Royal officials sent to the provinces to enforce royal policy, collect taxes, and oversee justice. Significance: Strengthened the crown by bypassing local nobility; key tool in centralization under Richelieu and Louis XIV

Louis XIV

Definition: "The Sun King"; epitome of absolute monarchy in Europe.Significance: Centralized all power in the monarchy, weakened the nobility, expanded bureaucracy, and built Versailles to control the elite. Fought numerous wars that shaped European politics.

Cardinal Mazarin

Definition: Chief minister to Louis XIV during his minority.Significance: Continued Richelieu's centralizing policies. His tax policies and power struggles triggered the Fronde, reinforcing the need for absolute rule.

Fronde

Definition: A series of noble and parliamentary uprisings during Louis XIV's youth. Significance: Its failure convinced Louis XIV of the dangers of a powerful nobility and fueled his drive for absolutism.

Bishop Jacques Bossuet

Definition: Leading theorist of divine-right monarchy. Significance: Argued that kings were God's representatives on Earth and should have absolute power. Justified Louis XIV's rule.

L'etat c'est moi

Phrase attributed to Louis XIV symbolizing his absolute control. Significance: Reflects the ideology of absolutism—monarch and state were inseparable under his rule.

Jean-Baptiste Colbert

Definition: Finance minister under Louis XIV; promoter of mercantilism. Significance: Reorganized tax collection, promoted state-controlled industries, built infrastructure, and increased royal revenue to fund wars and royal expenses.

Marquis of Louvois

Definition: Louis XIV's Secretary of War. Significance: Reformed and expanded the army into Europe's most powerful. Instituted better training, supply, and discipline.

War of the Spanish Succession

Definition: Conflict over who would succeed the Spanish throne after the childless Charles II. Significance: Aimed to prevent France and Spain uniting under one monarch. France was checked militarily and diplomatically.

Treaties of Utrecht

Definition: Ended the War of the Spanish Succession. Significance: Confirmed Philip V as king of Spain (but separate from France); Britain gained Gibraltar and trade advantages; established a new balance of power in Europe.

Cardinal Fleury

Definition: Chief minister under Louis XV (1726-1743). Significance: Maintained peace and balanced the budget. Tried to avoid war and resisted unnecessary spending. Represented conservative stability post-Louis XIV.

Hohenzollerns

Definition: Ruling dynasty of Brandenburg-Prussia and later the German Empire. Significance: Built Prussia into a major European power via military discipline and centralized rule.

Frederick William, the Great Elector

Definition: Ruler of Brandenburg-Prussia during and after the Thirty Years' War.Significance: Centralized power, built a large standing army, increased taxation, and laid the foundation for Prussia's rise.

Junkers

Definition: Prussian landed aristocracy. Significance: Loyal supporters of the Hohenzollerns. In return, they retained control over serfs and dominated the officer corps and bureaucracy.

Maria Theresa

Definition: Archduchess of Austria; first woman to rule the Habsburg lands.Significance: Came to power via the Pragmatic Sanction. Centralized administration, reformed tax and military systems. Fought the War of Austrian Succession.

Pragmatic Sanction

Definition: Edict by Emperor Charles VI to allow his daughter, Maria Theresa, to inherit Habsburg lands. Significance: Contested by other European powers, leading to war. Highlighted dynastic politics and the fragile balance of power.

Muscovy

Definition: Predecessor state to the Russian Empire, centered in Moscow. Significance: Under rulers like Ivan III and Ivan IV, it expanded and centralized, laying the groundwork for Russia's emergence as a powerful, autocratic state.

Ivan IV

Definition: First tsar of Russia; known for his brutal rule and centralization efforts. Significance: Weakened boyars, created the oprichnina (secret police), expanded territory. His reign marks the beginning of absolute tsarist rule.

Boyars

Definition: Russian hereditary nobility who held land and political influence. Significance: Early on, they checked tsarist power, but rulers like Ivan IV and Peter the Great curtailed their authority to centralize control.

Romanovs

Definition: Russian dynasty that began in 1613 with Michael Romanov and lasted until 1917. Significance: Stabilized Russia after the Time of Troubles. Oversaw Russia's transformation into a major European empire under tsars like Peter the Great and Catherine the Great.

Duma

Definition: Originally a council of boyars advising the Russian tsar; later, the name for Russia's national legislature (especially post-1905). Significance: Under the tsars, it had little real power. It symbolized limited aristocratic participation in governance before absolute autocracy took full hold.

Peter the Great

Definition: Tsar of Russia who radically reformed Russian society, government, military, and culture. Significance: Westernized and modernized Russia, centralized the state, reduced boyar power, built a navy, and created a powerful army. Turned Russia into a major European power.

Window to the West

Definition: A metaphor for Peter the Great's goal of opening Russia to Western influence, especially through the Baltic Sea. Significance: Symbolized Russia's turn toward European-style modernization, technology, fashion, administration, and foreign policy. Embodied in the building of St. Petersburg.

St. Petersburg

Definition: City founded by Peter the Great in 1703 as Russia's new capital. Significance: Built to reflect European urban design; represented Peter's reforms and the new Western-facing identity of Russia. A political and cultural shift from Moscow.

Battle of Poltava

Definition: Decisive battle during the Great Northern War in which Peter the Great defeated Sweden's Charles XII. Significance: Marked the decline of Sweden as a great power and established Russia as the dominant power in the Baltic region.

James I

Definition: First Stuart king of England; also James VI of Scotland. Believed in divine-right monarchy. Significance: His conflicts with Parliament over money, religion, and authority laid the groundwork for future constitutional crises.

Charles I

Definition: Son of James I; Stuart king executed after the English Civil War. Significance: Ruled without Parliament for 11 years, imposed unpopular taxes, and clashed over religion and sovereignty. His execution marked a break with monarchy.

Ship Money

Definition: A tax traditionally levied on coastal towns during wartime, which Charles I extended to inland areas during peacetime without Parliament's consent.Significance: Seen as a symbol of royal overreach and helped spark resistance to absolutism.

Petition of Right

Definition: A document sent by Parliament to Charles I demanding no taxation without consent, no imprisonment without cause, and no quartering of soldiers.Significance: Asserted the rights of subjects and Parliament against royal authority; ignored by Charles, increasing tensions.

Triennial Act

Definition: Law requiring that Parliament be called at least once every three years. Significance: Prevented the king from ruling without Parliament, as Charles I had done. An early check on royal power.

Writ of Habeas Corpus

Definition: Legal right ensuring a person cannot be held without being charged with a crime.Significance: A cornerstone of individual liberty and due process. Reinforced under Parliament to protect against arbitrary arrest by the monarch.

Long Parliament

Definition: Parliament called by Charles I that refused to be dissolved without its own consent.Significance: Played a central role in the English Civil War, limited the monarchy, and oversaw Charles I's trial and execution.

New Model Army

Definition: Professional army created by Parliament during the English Civil War, led by Oliver Cromwell.Significance: Based on merit rather than aristocratic birth. Helped Parliament win the war and become a political force.

Pride's Purge

Definition: Colonel Pride forcibly removed members of Parliament who opposed putting the king on trial.Significance: Created the "Rump Parliament," which authorized Charles I's execution. Military directly intervened in government.

Rump Parliament

Definition: The remnant of Parliament after Pride's Purge, dominated by Cromwell's allies. Significance: Tried and executed Charles I, abolished the monarchy and House of Lords, and declared England a republic.

Act of Settlement

Definition: Law declaring only Protestants could inherit the English throne. Significance: Barred Catholics (e.g. descendants of James II) from succession. Ensured Protestant control and influenced the Glorious Revolution outcome.

Interregnum

Definition: Period between the execution of Charles I and the restoration of Charles II, when England was a republic. Significance: England experimented with republicanism under the Commonwealth and Cromwell's Protectorate. Showed the difficulties of non-monarchical rule.

Test Act

Definition: Law requiring public officials to be members of the Church of England and reject Catholic doctrine. Significance: Discriminated against Catholics and non-Anglican Protestants. Reflected fears of Catholic influence in government.

Whigs

Definition: Political faction in Parliament opposing absolute monarchy and favoring constitutional government. Significance: Supported Protestant succession and parliamentary supremacy. Eventually evolved into the Liberal Party.

Tories

Definition: Political faction that supported royal authority and the Church of England. Significance: Defended monarchy and resisted radical reform. Evolved into the modern Conservative Party.

James II

Definition: Catholic Stuart king of England overthrown in the Glorious Revolution. Significance: His attempts to promote Catholicism and absolute rule alarmed Protestants and Parliament. Replaced by his Protestant daughter Mary and her husband William.

English Bill of Rights

Definition: Law passed after the Glorious Revolution limiting royal power and affirming parliamentary authority. Significance: Established key civil liberties, barred royal interference in law, and laid the foundation for constitutional monarchy.

Robert Walpole

Definition: Britain's first de facto Prime Minister (1721-1742), leading the government under King George I and II.Significance: Strengthened cabinet government, avoided war, and stabilized the economy. Pioneered the modern role of prime minister.