AP European History Notes

The Dutch Golden Age

  • The Netherlands rose to economic, political, and technological prominence in the 17th century.
  • The Dutch Republic began as a revolt against the Catholic Habsburg ruler Philip II of Spain.
  • Various counties united to form an independent nation characterized by an oligarchy.
  • The Dutch were united by shared language and economic interests, especially in trade and the maritime economy.
  • The Dutch Golden Age was fueled by:
    • The Protestant work ethic.
    • Cheap energy sources like windmills and peat.
    • The birth of corporate finance.
  • In 1602, the Dutch East India Company was founded.
    • It was the first multinational corporation financed by shares on a stock market.
    • Selling stock allowed Dutch trading companies to raise capital and minimize financial risk in trade with the Far East.
    • The Dutch East India Company dominated European spice trade, importing spices in bulk and making significant profits.

Comparison of Sovereignty

  • Absolutist states: Sovereignty resides with the monarch.
  • Constitutional states: Sovereignty resides with the parliament.

Mercantilism

  • From the 16th to the 18th century, European nations followed mercantilism.
  • Mercantilism is an economic philosophy based on the idea that a nation should produce as much of its own goods as possible and limit imports.
  • Mercantilist countries aimed to increase their wealth by preserving national revenue in the form of bullion.
  • European nations expanded colonial empires and developed plantations to cultivate raw materials, which were then turned into finished goods in Europe.
  • Mercantilism could serve the interests of absolute monarchs.
  • Louis XIV of France and his finance minister Jean-Baptiste Colbert turned the country into a manufacturing power using mercantilism.
  • Through the putting-out system, France established a reputation as a manufacturer of luxury goods.
  • This funded Louis XIV's expenditures, such as Versailles, enhancing his reputation as an absolute monarch.

Napoleon Bonaparte

  • Napoleon emerged as the leader of France out of the French Revolution.
  • He rose from a military leader in the French Revolutionary Wars to Emperor of the French in 1804.
  • The Revolution had broken down traditional French institutions and destabilized the sense of national identity.
  • Napoleon claimed the new nation could live up to the revolution's ideals of equality, fraternity, and liberty.
  • As emperor, he imposed social and cultural reforms.
  • He aligned himself with the Catholic Church but allowed religious tolerance, similar to other enlightened absolutists.
  • He implemented the Napoleonic Codes, which applied a single set of laws to all members of society.
  • Despite opposition from the European aristocracy, Napoleon dominated European politics using his popularity and the strength of the French military.

Causation: Napoleon Bonaparte

  • Napoleon imposed order on France after the Revolution but was seen as a threat by other European nations.
  • These nations conspired to overthrow him and develop a more favorable balance of power at the Congress of Vienna.

The Congress of Vienna

  • The French Revolution's ideas of social equality and the abolition of hereditary privilege threatened other European nations.
  • European leaders feared that ideas of equality, like those in the Declaration of the Rights of Man, and advocacy for women's rights by revolutionaries like Olympe de Gouges, could upset political institutions.
  • After Napoleon's defeat, European aristocracy created a new European order at the Congress of Vienna under Prince Metternich of Austria.
  • The Age of Metternich (1815-1848) saw a conservative ethos across Europe.
    • It opposed revolutionary movements.
    • It attempted to weaken nationalism.
    • It used the political authority of Prussia, Russia, Britain, France, and Austria to maintain the balance of power.
  • The balance of power established at the Congress of Vienna led to unprecedented stability in European politics for decades.

European Competition in the 18th Century

  • Intellectual movements like capitalism helped European countries expand commercial systems into a worldwide trade network.
  • Commercial rivalries developed among European states over control of trade routes.
  • The Dutch gained control of the East Indies, and Britain extended its dominion into India.
  • France challenged the British Empire in conflicts fought in Europe and the Americas.
    • Tension between France and England led to armed conflict in the French and Indian War and the Seven Years' War.
    • France aided American colonists in the American Revolution.
  • Britain maintained a vast empire,