History Unit 5B Study guide

Absolutism:

Absolute Monarch: They believed in divine right, the idea that god created the monarchy, and that they acted as god’s representative on earth.

Consolidation of power: All of the power of the state is consolidated under 1 ruling person.

No checks and balances on power: The monarch makes all final decisions and no other party shares the power or can limit the monarch’s power.

What was before absolutism: If no King’s then nobles has the biggest authority

Causes of Absolutism:

Decline of feudalism
Rise of cities
Growth of national kingdoms
Growing middle class- They wanted the peace that monarchs could provide.
Church authority broke down (Protestant reformation)

Immediate causes of Absolutism:

Unrest In Europe: Religious and territorial conflicts in Europe
Governments built armies and raise taxes as a result- Monarchs tried to centralize power to keep control and order

What happens when there are heavy taxes?

-Peasants revolts

Protestant →Northern Europe

Remain Catholic → Southern Europe (France) Because closer to Roman

The 3 esates in France:

First estate: Roman Catholic

Second estate: Nobles

Thired estate: Middle class and peasants

1&2: 3% of the population and own 70% of the land in France

3: 97% of population, very poor, works hard for the government but no voice in government.

France:

Henry IV→Louis XIII (Advisor Richelieu)→Louis IV(Advisor Mazarin)

-During the reformation, the major wars were about Religion

-Henry IV:

Catholic
He Issued Edict of Nantes: Huguenots could live in peace and have right to worship to stop the religious war in France.

-Louis XIII:

He was a weak ruler but appointed soemone powerful to advise him.
Cardinal Richelieu suggest to destroy Hugenonts and nobles (Because money and power)
Extend royal power

-Louis XIV of France

He was known as the “Sun king” because the sun is the center of the solar system
“I am the state”: “L’etatc’est moi”
He’s the longest monarch that ruled
Cardinal Mazarin played an important role in France before Louis XIV
After cardinal Mazarin died, when he was 22 and took over fully and didn't appoint any advisor after.
No estates general: Meaning no meetings of representative body of France to show he alone and only leader
It was during the wars of religion, Catholics VS. Huguenots (French Protestants). Lots of Huguenots gets killed
French was the most powerful nation, but lots of internal conflicts because of religion, and other countries teamed up against the French.
He built the Palace at versallies to escape Paris from the nobles. And kept the nobles in versallies to limit their power.
Mercantilism: Government controls the economy by acquiring foreign trade, setting up colonies, and acquiring lots of gold and silver. Anything the people did was taxes by the government. The ideas that the nation’s power is by the nation’s wealth.
Under Louis XIV the official religion is Roman Catholicism and revoked the Edict of Nantes to no longer allow protestants to worship in France and serious consequences for the French Protestants that lead to emigration and French Revolution eventually economy last off.

Russia:

Russia was considered not part of Europe
Orthodox Christian:In their eyes considered the purest Christian
Few sea ports- No warm water=No trade
Boyars- Nobles

Ivan III (The great)→Vasily III→Ivan IV(The terrible)→Peter I

-Ivan III:

He centralized the Russian government
Gets rid of the Mongol rule 9The Mongol got kicked)

-Vasily:

He expanded Russia’s border

-Ivan IV:

First Official absolute monarch in Russia
Throne at 3
Fighting between nobles
At 16 Ivan takes over and crowns himself Czar

Good things:

Added land for Russia
Created code of laws
Ruled justly
Lead to the Romanov Dynasty after he died
Innovation

Bad Things:

First wife died(8 total) with sus
Blames boyars said they tried to poison her wife
created a secret police force to execute traitors(Any small threats counts)
Killed his son to secure place
Tortured and executed thousands (By himself)
He came up with different types of torture
All heirs died when he died (mysteriously)

Michael Romanov starts the Romanov dynasty:

He strengthened the government, enforced laws, put down revolts

-Peter I:

Curious in Western Europe because the land full of sinners (non-orthodox people)
Russia Missed the renaissance and reformation
Peter was fascinated with Western Europe
He wants to westernize Russia but people disagree
Peter’s solution to the people who disagree: Takes over the church, limited the power of the boyars, hired Europeans to run his army, got inspired from the west to make a standing army (Always ready to go)
Laid heavy taxes to support the idea.
He builds a wester city: St.petersburg with warm water ports that support trade with the west.
He opened schools to be better educated
He create a newspaper (Edits it him self to praise himself)
Required women to attend a social gathering that elevate women’s status in Russia.

Good things:

Lead to the Russian development
Built a western city: St.Petersburg
Advanced their civilization
He raised the status of Women
Create warm water ports
The potato

Bad things:

Torture
Killed his own son
caused heavy taxes, and workers died building St.petersburg
Change the Russian society to dress like the west

Catherine II of Russia:

German Princess that married Peter III
Her policies were ruthless that only benefited the boyars and upper class.
She became the queen after Peter III death of assassination
She expands another warm water ports in the Black Sea.
Made the trade routes better=Better economy
Took land over Poland
She completes the vision of Peter I of the warm water ports in the Black Sea
She laid the groundwork for the Russian Revolution and officially end the Romanov Monarchy.

-Philip II of Spain:

He lead the “Golden age of Spain”
His five goals: 1) Create wealth for himself and Spain 2) Create a powerful military 3) Expand Spanish borders 4)Spread the Catholic religion throughout Europe 5) Make Spain the most powerful country in Europe
Trading empire in the Americas
Powerful military
He expanded spain by wars but lose a lot of money
He tried to convert the whole Europe to convert to catholic
In the end he didn’t made Europe the most powerful nation in Europe as he promised

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-Frederick William II of Prussia

Strengthen the economy and Prussian farming
He generate wealth by increase in exports
he created a fair and lawful Prussian society
During he’s ruled, Prussian doubled its size and population.

The Enlightenment: (16-17 Century)

-The “Age of reason” that ideas about god, reason, nature, and man were developed (Ideas about the modern world)

Before:

Must Idead was based on religion
Most countries in Euripes had monarchies and believed in divine rights
During:
The philosophers challenged these ideas
Study about humankind changes the government’s structure

-Thomas Hobbes:

He believed that human nature is bad, absolute monarchy is needed to keep people in line.

-Locke:

People are born free, have natural rights, and have the ability to overthrow the government

Second treatise of government:

Tranny: Tyranny is when the governor makes his own will the rule, and his commands and actions are not directed to the preservation of the people, but to their own satisfaction
His ideas on Freedom: In order to maintain a peaceful community amongst others, man has to give up a portion of his rights.
Ideas on Legislative power: The community puts the legislative power into hands they think are fit and with this trust, they should be governed by declared laws.
Why law may be opposed: When a law harms another and whosoever in authority exceeds the power given him by the law
The role of the people: Maintain the community and overthrow the government if they abuse it.

-Rousseau:

Individual freedom and direct democracy needed
Creates the General Will, which aims at the common good and what is best as a whole rather than one.

-Montesquieu:

Believed in political liberty ad argued for a separation of powers- diving power between different parts of the government and “Power should be a check to other power”

-Mary Astell:

Believed in education and equality for women.

“ If men are born free, how is it that all women are born slaves.” If we don’t want to ablate power, then why are men the absolute power in the household?

-Wollstonecraft:

Believe women should be received as much education as men such as in medicine and politics.

-Voltaire:

Believe in tolerance, freedom of religion, and freedom of speech

-Beccaria:

Believe in justice, not revenge, and laws exist to preserve social order, not revenue crimes.

-Diderot:

Published the “Encyclopedia” that was printed on the printing press
Collecting all knowledge gives humans “The power to change men’s common way of thinking.”

How did Enlightenment ideas spread?

-Salons \n -Encyclopedia \n -Works of fiction (Like Haroun)

How they Influenced art and Literature?

-Rococo art style was developed, and colors changed \n -New forms of music; classical music \n -Outpouring of novels, or long works of prose fiction

Enlightened Despots: Monarchs who embraced are called Enlightened despots.

How did the Enlightenment ideas influence Fredrick The Great?

-Granted religious freedoms \n -Reduced censorship, improved education \n -Eliminated torture \n -Reorganized government's civil service and simplified laws \n -Religious tolerance \n -Didnt eliminate serfdom but thought it was wrong

How did the Enlightenment ideas influence Joseph II?

-Reformed laws and granted freedom of the press \n -Supported freedom of religion \n -Abolished serfdom \n -Sold property of monasteries that weren't involved with helping the sick or education to help those in need.

How did the Enlightenment ideas influence Catherine The Great?

-Called a commission to reform Russian laws wanting to allow religious freedom, and eliminate torture and the death penalty but the commission disagreed \n -Criticized serfdom

What were the cultural and political changes in Europe caused by the Enlightenment?

-Radical ideas about equality and social justice caused war and upheaval for peasants \n -Culture changed slowly from echoes of serfdom