AP European History Unit 3

3.1-3.5 State Building, English Civil War and Glorious Revolution, Dutch Golden Age

Contextualizing State Building

• In the context of war and economic depression, 17th century monarchs began to make new demands on their people.

• France, Spain, central Europe, and Russia attempted to centralize authority through absolutist governments.

• England and the Dutch Republic utilized Constitutional governments to move their societies forward.

• Both Absolutist and Constitutional governments faced similar obstacles in achieving their goals.

• Both Absolutist and Constitutional governments achieved new levels of central control in four areas:

  • Greater taxation

  • Growth in armed forces

  • Larger and more efficient bureaucracies

  • Compelling obedience from subjects

English Civil War and Glorious Revolution

• In 1603, Elizabeth I died childless, an immensely popular monarch with no heir. Her throne went to the Stuart family of Scotland, and James I stepped into the role of monarch believing in the divine right of kings, arguing that the power and authority to rule came directly from God.

• Religion would play a role in the English Civil War, as many Calvinist Puritans were seeking to further the English Reformation by removing elements that remained in the Anglican Church that were still Catholic – such as the hierarchy of bishops. James summed up his policy in the phrase “no bishop, no king”—by which he meant that the enforcement of the bishops’ authority in religion was essential to the maintenance of royal power

• Both James I and his son, Charles I, had bitter disputes with Parliament. Parliament had held the power to tax and Charles avoided hearing grievances against him by simply refusing to call Parliament from 1629-1640. During this time he levied ship money during peacetime and extended it to the inland counties of England without Parliamentary approval. When Scottish Calvinist revolted, he was forced to call Parliament to obtain funds.

• The Long Parliament sat from 1640-1660 and enacted legislation to limit the power of the monarch. It passed the Triennial act, requiring that the monarch call Parliament at least one every three years.

• After a failed attempt to arrest Parliamentary leaders, Charles I left to raise an army. In response, Parliament formed its own army, called the New Model Army. This army was under the leadership of Oliver Cromwell, who was a devout Puritan. The English Civil War ensued and in 1647, the New Model Army captured the king, kicked out members of Parliament that did not support Cromwell and put the king on trial.

• In 1649, the king was tried and found guilty of high treason by the “Rump Parliament” and on January 30, 1649, Charles I was beheaded. After this, monarchy was abolished, and a republican government was established called the Protectorate. This government was essentially a military dictatorship ruled by Oliver Cromwell as Lord Protector.

• Reflecting Puritan ideas, Cromwell banned sports, closed theaters, and censored the press. He extended religious toleration to all groups except Catholics and even welcomed the immigration of Jews. Cromwell died in 1658 and by 1660, the English were ready to restore the monarchy.

• The Restoration of the monarch brought back the son of Charles I, Charles II, who had been living in the Netherlands. Both houses of Parliament and the Anglican church were also restored. The Test Act was passed, ensuring that only Anglicans would hold public office and stripping Puritans and Catholics of many rights.

• When Parliament refused to give an adequate allowance to him, Charles II formed a secret alliance with the Catholic French King Louis XIV, promising to gradually re-Catholicize England and convert himself.

• When Charles II died, his brother James II became king. James was Catholic

• Parliament offered the throne to the Protestant daughter of James II, Mary, and her husband, William of Orange. James II and his wife and son fled to France, and William and Mary were crowned as monarchs in December of 1688. This Glorious Revolution was a change in monarchy without bloodshed.

• In 1689, the English Bill of Rights ensured the supremacy of Parliament. Laws would be made in Parliament only, which had to be called at least once every three years. Also, an independent judiciary was established, having a standing army was prohibited in peacetime, and only a Protestant could inherit the throne.

The Dutch Republic and Golden Age

• Constitutionalism is the limitation of government by law.

  • A nation’s constitution can be written or unwritten.

  • Constitutional government can take a monarchical or republican form.

• The Dutch system of government rested on assemblies of wealthy merchants (oligarchy) in each of the seven provinces called “Estates.”

  • A federal assembly, or States General, ran foreign policy, but was responsible to the provincial “Estates.”

  • The States General appointed a representative or stadtholder in each province.

  • The cohesion and power of the Dutch Republic ultimately rested on its immense commercial power and prosperity.

• The Netherlands was the only realm in early modern Europe with almost complete religious toleration. While there is scattered evidence of anti-Semitism, Jews were accepted and assimilated in Dutch business and general culture.

  • In 1650 the Dutch owned half of the ships in Europe and controlled much of European trade.

  • In the 17th century the Dutch probably had the highest standard of living in the world.

Baroque Art and Music

• Rome and the revitalized Catholic Church of the late 16th century inspired early Baroque art. This art was emotional and was intended to kindle the faith of ordinary people and to form a bond between churchgoer and the new, reformed Catholic Church.

• Because of this, baroque style art flourished in Catholic countries. Monarchies, city-states, and the church commissioned these works as a means of promoting their own power. Similarly, the interior of Baroque churches were decorated in lavish decorations and frescoes.

• Peter Paul Rubens was one of the most outstanding baroque painters, creating paintings with animated figures and melodramatic contrasts. Gian Bernini created dramatic sculptures under the patronage of the extravagantly wealthy and most powerful Cardinal Borghese. Bernini rapidly rose to prominence as a sculptor and among his early works for the cardinal were decorative pieces for the garden of the Villa Borghese.

• In music, the baroque style peaked later, and Johann Sebastian Bach wrote concertos and cantatas meant to capture that same, awe-inspiring emotion that baroque art did. He was valued as an organist, but not fully appreciated during his own lifetime.

3.4-3.8 Economic Development, Balance of Power, Absolutism

Absolutism in France and Mercantilism

• Cardinal Richelieu, the minister of the crown on behalf of Louis XIII, had enacted policies to strengthen and centralize royal control in France. He acted to suppress Protestantism and extended the use of intendants, officials appointed by the monarch. These intendants administered local laws and reported only to the king.

• Louis XIV became king at age 4, with his mother Anne acting as regent along with Cardinal Mazarin as chief minister. Mazarin continued Richelieu’s centralizing policies and his desire to increase royal revenues led to the series of rebellions known as the Fronde.

• In 1661, Mazarin died, and Louis assumed the Absolutism reached its peak under Louis XIV. Louis believed in the divine right of kings and acquired the title, the Sun King, showing his central role in the divine order.

• Louis never called the Estates General during his reign and in 1685, he revoked the Edict of Nantes. He demanded that Huguenots renounce their faith and called for destruction of Huguenot churches and closing Huguenot schools. Because of this, over 200,000 Huguenots, many of them skilled artisans, fled France.

• In 1682, Louis moved his court to the newly renovated Palace of Versailles. The King used the palace to curtail the power of nobility, requiring them to reside at Versailles to compete for his favor.

• Louis established an elaborate set of court rituals surrounding all his daily routines, including waking in the morning, dressing, and retiring for bed. These rituals were required for nobles to have access to him.

• Versailles became the center of European politics and French culture grew in international prestige. French replaced Latin as the language of scholarship and learning and became the language of diplomacy.

• France’s economy flourished, in large part due to its Minister of Finance, Jean-Baptiste Colbert, who was a financial genius and believed that the economy should serve the state.

• Colbert applied mercantilist policies in France. Mercantilism is an economic policy that seeks to have a favorable balance of trade – that a country must export more than it imports to accumulate wealth.

• Colbert enacted policies to ensure that France had this favorable balance of trade. During his tenure, France’s industrial output and the French economy grew steadily.

  • He insisted that France produce items for domestic consumption to limit purchases abroad.

  • He supported industries for exports and created new ones, particularly in textiles. He established manufacturing codes to ensure quality and encourage the emigration of skilled craftsmen to France.

  • He abolished domestic tariffs and raised tariffs on foreign goods to make French good affordable and foreign ones expensive.

The Decline of Absolutist Spain

• Spanish absolutism preceded that of the French. In the 1500s the kingdom of Castile developed the characteristics of an absolute monarchy.

• Between 1610 and 1650 Spanish trade with the colonies in the New World fell 60% due to competition, specifically from Dutch and English traders.

  • Gold and silver from the Americas were the basis for Spanish power. Ultimately, the mines that filled the empire’s treasury started to run dry.

  • The Crown repeatedly devalued the coinage and declared bankruptcy resulting in the collapse of national credit.

  • The lack of a middle class (due in part to the expulsion of Moors and Jews), agricultural crisis, population decline, and failure to invest in productive enterprises meant that by 1715 Spain was a second-rate power.

  • Spain extended itself in wars it could not afford in the 1600s and the monarchy spent far more than it could afford.

  • Conflicts with the French (Franco-Spanish Wars) cost Spain many colonial possessions and peace was finally reached with the Treaty of the Pyrenees in 1659.

Absolutism in Austria

The 17th century is a struggle between absolutism and constitutionalism – in Eastern Europe, absolutism wins the struggle.

• Prussia, Russia, and Austria emerge as absolutist powers that remain powerful until 1918 (the end of WWI).

• They are created from the Ottoman Empire, Holy Roman Empire, and Poland.

  West vs. East C.1650

-limits on power of nobility              - powerful nobility

-strong middle class                         - weak middle class

-peasants generally free                  - oppressed peasantry/serfs

• The Austrian Habsburg’s absolutism develops (Prussia’s absolutism is stronger and more effective). Leaders monopolize powers in three areas:

  • permanent taxes levied without consent

  • permanent standing armies

  • conduct relations with foreign powers as they please

• Consolidation of Habsburg control over three regions: (areas still retain some local control)

  • Kingdom of Bohemia crushed during Thirty Years War: Habsburgs stamp out Protestantism, take nobles’ land; serfdom worsens

  • Upper and Lower Austria (hereditary provinces)

  • Kingdom of Hungary (less integrated); battle against Ottoman Turks for control (Siege of Vienna 1683). Nobles still rebellious.

• Charles VI – Pragmatic Sanction 1713; keeps the Austrian Habsburg lands united.

Absolutism in Prussia

• Brandenburg-Prussia (which would later be just Prussia) rose to power in the 17th century despite its small population because of its powerful leadership in the Hohenzollern family, its efficient use of limited resources and its intense military tradition. The military was closely tied with its power and prestige.

• Frederick William, who came to be known as The Great Elector, took power in 1640 and was determined to unify his territory. To gain support of the Junkers, or nobility, he granted them high positions in the army and power over their serfs. Because of this, they agreed to a tax to fund the military.

• King Frederick William I truly consolidated absolutism in Prussia. He was known as ”the Soldiers’ King” as he always wore an army uniform. He ruled with incredible efficiency and austerity, often using state funds to fund the military rather than his own household estate.

• Under his austere economic policies, economic development flourished, and the army grew into one of the best in Europe. He also introduced merit advancement in government service, allowing the middle class to be promoted, but continued to allow the nobles to be in positions of command.

Absolutism in Russia

The Romanov Dynasty Begins

• In 1613 the nobles elected Ivan’s 16-year-old grandnephew, Michael Romanov as the new hereditary Tsar. His election proved to be a restoration of Tsarist autocracy.

Peter the Great (1682-1725)

• Territorial expansion: Peter would know only one year of peace in his 36 years of rule (80-85% state revenues).

• After early defeats against Sweden in the Great Northern War, Peter reformed the military gaining victories at Poltava (Ukraine) and a conclusive victory in 1721, gaining Estonia and Latvia.

• A consequence of all of Peter’s war-making was the influx of Western ideas into Russia. A new class of educated Russians began to emerge.

• Peter the construction of a city on the Baltic Sea to rival the great cities of Europe – St. Petersburg.

• Many reforms were detested by the nobles; peasants saw significant increases in their bonds of serfdom.

• Peter’s reforms created a more modern army and a state that was introduced to Western civilization. This would pave the way to move Russia closer to the European mainstream during the Enlightenment and the reign of Catherine the Great.