AP European History Unit 3 Review: Absolutism and Constitutionalism

Absolutism and Constitutionalism

• Two innovations in government that dominated Europe.
• States either became absolutist or constitutional.

Absolutism

• Monarchs consolidated all state power to advance their state's needs.
• Prior to this period, power was distributed among monarchs, nobles, and the church.
• Factors leading to the rise of absolutist states:
  • Weakened influence of the Catholic Church.
  • Merchant classes desired stability.
  • Shifting power away from landed nobility.
• Louis XIV of France: "L'état, c'est moi" ("I am the state").
• The Fronde: A rebellion of French nobles against Cardinal Mazarin.
  • Demonstrated the need for a strong ruler.

Actions by Louis XIV to Consolidate Power:

• Intendant System: Bureaucratic agents ensuring policies were obeyed, undermining local governors and nobility.
• Palace of Versailles: Relocated nobles to keep them under his control.
• Revocation of the Edict of Nantes: Removed religious tolerance for Huguenots, merging political and religious loyalties under Louis XIV.
• Military Expansion: Financed through mercantilist policies by Jean-Baptiste Colbert, but ultimately undid Colbert's work.

Peter the Great of Russia

• Aimed to westernize Russia.
• Political Reform: Required nobles to serve in the army or civil administration (Table of Ranks).
• Religious Reform: Reorganized the Russian Orthodox Church by eliminating the role of patriarch and replacing it with the Holy Synod.
• Cultural Reforms: Required nobles to wear Western clothing and shave their beards (beard tax).

Constitutionalism

• Government limited by the rule of law; monarch shares power with a representative body (Parliament in England).

English Civil War (1642-1651)

• Causes:
  • Doctrine of the divine right of kings.
  • Economic troubles after the Thirty Years' War.
  • Religious tensions (Puritans vs. Anglican Church).
• Outcome:
  • Parliament's New Model Army, led by Oliver Cromwell, defeated the king.
  • Charles I was executed.

Consequences of the English Civil War

• England became a republic called the Protectorate under Oliver Cromwell.
• The monarchy was restored in 1660 with Charles II.
• The Glorious Revolution (1688) resulted in William and Mary ascending to the throne.
• The English Bill of Rights established a constitutional monarchy.
  • Parliament could levy taxes.
  • Laws made by Parliament could not be annulled by the monarch.

The Dutch Republic

• The Dutch became the most prosperous state in Europe due to their Atlantic location and trade.
• Gained independence via the Peace of Westphalia in 1648.
• Established an oligarchy (States General) instead of a monarchy.

Balance of Power

• Goal was to maintain equality among nations to prevent one from dominating Europe.
• Partition of Poland: Poland was divided among Russia, Prussia, and Austria to maintain the balance of power.
• Battle of Vienna (1683): Austrian Habsburgs, Poland, and the Holy Roman Empire united to stop Ottoman expansion.
• War of Spanish Succession (1702-1713): Fought to prevent France and Spain from uniting under a single throne. Ended with the Treaty of Utrecht.

Military Expansion

• Fueled by the pursuit of the balance of power.
• Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden built a massive professional standing army.

Agricultural Revolution

• Started in Britain and the Low Countries.
• Crop Rotation: Alternating grain crops with nutrient-restoring crops (potatoes, clover).
• New Farming Technologies: Jethro Tull's seed drill, the mechanical hoe, and the cast iron plow.
• Colombian Exchange: Introduced new foods like the potato.

Economic Developments

• Labor and trade were increasingly freed from traditional restrictions.
• Cottage Industry (Putting-Out System): Merchants buying raw materials and paying wages to transform them into finished goods.
• Factories: First iteration was textile production, powered by water; workers became specialized.
• New Financial Practices: Rise of the insurance industry, specialty banks, and venture capital.

State Perspective (Economic Change)

• States still had their roots sunk in mercantilist policies.
• Triangular Trade: A system of trade involving Europe, Africa, and the Americas, fueled by enslaved labor, which kept prices low and contributed to a growing consumer culture in Europe.