Key Developments in Europe (1648-1815)

Tensions Leading to the English Civil War:

  • Financial Issues:
    • Charles I, like his father, spent large sums of money without parliamentary approval.
    • Parliament sought to control the monarch's spending.
    • In 1629, Charles I avoided parliamentary restrictions by refusing to call Parliament into session.
  • Scottish Rebellion & the Long Parliament:
    • To suppress a rebellion in Scotland, Charles I was compelled to convene Parliament in 1640.
    • This assembly became known as the Long Parliament.
    • The Triennial Act was passed, mandating that the king summon Parliament at least once every three years, thereby limiting royal power.

Religion and the Church of England:

  • Religious Context:

    • The Church of England (Anglican Church) was established by Henry VIII during the Protestant Reformation.
    • The Anglican Church maintained some practices and structures similar to those of the Catholic Church, such as the hierarchy of bishops and priests.

  • Rise of Puritanism:

    • Puritans, a growing minority within the Church, opposed Catholic traditions and sought to purify the Church of England.
    • James I resisted Puritan demands.
    • Charles I further aggravated tensions by marrying a Catholic.

Outbreak and Course of the English Civil War:

  • Conflict Begins:
    • In 1642, conflict arose between the king, Parliament, and elites concerning their respective roles in governance.
    • After three years of fighting, the Parliament's New Model Army triumphed over the king's forces.
  • Oliver Cromwell's Rise:
    • Charles I refused to concede, leading to Oliver Cromwell, a Puritan member of the House of Commons, leading the parliamentary army.
    • Cromwell secured a decisive victory.
    • He expelled dissenting members from Parliament, leaving what was termed the Rump Parliament.
  • Execution of Charles I:
    • The Rump Parliament had Charles I tried for treason, found him guilty, and executed him.

The Protectorate under Oliver Cromwell:

  • Establishment of the Protectorate:
    • England became a republic known as the Protectorate, led by Oliver Cromwell as Lord Protector.
    • Despite being a republic in name, it was effectively a military dictatorship under Cromwell.
  • Puritanical Rule:
    • Cromwell, a Puritan, enforced strict rules similar to those imposed by John Calvin in Geneva, such as banning drinking, swearing, and dancing.
    • The Protectorate collapsed after Cromwell's death in 1658.

The Restoration Period:

  • Monarchy Restored:
    • In 1660, Parliament restored the monarchy, placing Charles II on the throne, marking the Restoration period.
    • Charles II's reign was marked by schemes with France and strained relations with Parliament.
  • James II's Reign and Resistance:
    • James II succeeded Charles II and faced resistance due to his pro-Catholic policies, including appointing Catholics to key positions.

The Glorious Revolution:

  • William and Mary Ascend:
    • Parliament resisted James II and offered the throne to his daughter Mary and her husband William of Orange.
    • James II fled, abdicating his throne, and William and Mary rose to power in 1689.
  • Constitutional Monarchy Established:
    • The Glorious Revolution marked the end of the divine right of kings in England.
    • England established a constitutional monarchy, significantly influenced by the English Bill of Rights.
    • Parliament gained the power to levy taxes, and laws enacted by Parliament could not be annulled by the monarch.
    • William and Mary were required to sign the Bill of Rights before assuming the throne.

The Dutch Republic: An Exception to Absolutism:

  • Economic Prosperity:

    • Due to its strategic location, Antwerp led the Dutch to become the most prosperous state in Europe.
    • The region had been controlled by Habsburg rulers in Spain.

  • Dutch Revolt:

    • Philip II of Spain sought to control Dutch wealth, leading to policies clamping down on The Netherlands.
    • The Netherlands had become a Protestant stronghold, especially Calvinist.
    • Dutch Protestant agitators destroyed Catholic churches, leading Philip to send an army, resulting in the deaths of thousands of Dutch Protestants.

  • William of Orange and Dutch Independence:

    • William of Orange led Dutch Protestants in liberating The Netherlands from Spanish influence.
    • The Dutch Republic was officially formed by the Peace of Westphalia in 1648, which also ended the Eighty Years War between the Dutch and the Spanish.
    • The Dutch Republic emerged as the wealthiest European commercial empire, leading in trade in the Atlantic world and having a presence in the Indian Ocean trade.

  • Oligarchic Government:

    • The Dutch Republic established an oligarchy, a government ruled by a small group of people.
    • The oligarchy consisted of urban gentry and wealthy landowners representing each province of The Netherlands.
    • These individuals formed the States General, deciding foreign and domestic policy.
    • The States General primarily served the interests of the elite members of society.
    • The British and the Dutch stand apart during this as examples of European countries that did not go the way of absolutism.

Balance of Power in Europe:

  • Post-Westphalia Wars:

    • Following the Peace of Westphalia, wars were primarily fought to maintain the balance of power in Europe.
    • The aim was to ensure no single nation could dominate the continent.

  • Partition of Poland:

    • Poland, a constitutional monarchy with internal weaknesses, was surrounded by absolutist states: Russia, Prussia, and Austria.
    • Russia's victories against the Ottoman Empire unbalanced power, leading Austria and Prussia to propose partitioning Poland.
    • Over 25 years, starting in 1772, Poland was annexed into these three rival powers, disappearing from the map.

  • The Battle of Vienna (1683):

    • The Ottoman Empire sought to expand into Central Europe by invading Austria.
    • The Austrian Habsburgs, Poland, and the Holy Roman Empire united to stop Ottoman expansion.
    • The successful defense marked the end of Ottoman expansion into Europe.

  • Louis XIV's Wars:

    • Louis XIV engaged in wars to gain territory and strategic advantages for France.
    • The Dutch War aimed to gain territory in the Spanish Netherlands and weaken the Habsburgs but was unsuccessful.
    • The War of Spanish Succession (1702-1713) was fought to prevent the union of France and Spain under a single throne.
    • European nations feared the potential dominance of France and Spain if united.
    • England, The United Provinces, Austria, and Prussia fought against France, Spain, and Bavaria.
    • The war was to prevent France from gaining too much power, maintaining the balance of power in Europe.
    • The Treaty of Utrecht in 1713 stipulated that Philip V would remain on the Spanish throne, but France and Spain must remain separate entities, thus maintaining the balance of power in Europe.

  • Milanry Expansion:

    • The pursuit of the balance of power led European nations to expand their militaries because, you know, you just can't kill other Europeans without a sizable army.
    • Small militias became obsolete as Adolphus built a massive standing and deployed it mightily during the Thirty Years' War.
    • They were highly organized into ascending ranks so that the hierarchy of authority was clear.
    • Also, military technology was developed from firearms to mobile cannon to more elaborate fortifications.But in order to finance all of this, Adolphus was required to raise taxes and expand the bureaucracy in order to keep everything organized.

Agricultural Revolution:

  • **Innovations:
    ** * Started in Britain and the low countries of The Netherlands.

    • Even with fewer farmers, agricultural output nearly tripled in various places across Europe.
    • Fields could produce crops with no yearly fallow period.
      Additionally, this period saw the introduction of several new farming technologies:

  • Innovations:

    • Jethro Toll's seed drill
    • Mechanical hoe
    • Cast iron plow
    • Columbian Exchange increases crop yield
    • Potato was a key food for peasants, which was exceedingly nutritious and cheap to grow.
    • Half an acre of potatoes could feed a family all year long.
    • Avocados and beans and squashes increases the diet of Europeans expanded, which led to better health and longer lifespans.

Economic Developments:

  • Economic Shifts:
    • Labor and trade were increasingly freed from traditional restrictions imposed by governments and corporate entities and this occurred most dramatically in England.
  • **Guilds diminished:
    ** * With the rise and transformation of Britain's wool industry which had been around since medieval times, British manufacturers began paying wages directly to workers, which had the effect of limiting the influence of guilds.
  • Cottage Industry:
    • Before the factory became the dominant mode of manufacturing goods in the industrial revolution on which, more in the next unit, goods for purchase were made mainly in people's homes.
    • Merchants and entrepreneurs would buy raw materials and then pay wages to various people to transform those raw materials into finished goods.
      Merchants would buy raw cotton or wool, and then they would pay wages to spinners and weavers and dyers who would then produce a finished textile which could then be sold on the market.The system is what laid the foundation for industrialization in the next century and this system had the effect of increasing the number of workers, especially in rural villages, who could earn wages their family.
  • Rise of specialty banks in venture capital:
    • From 1648 to 1815, if an entrepreneur wanted to build a factory, for example, they would have to borrow money from family or have a fortune of their own.
    • With this explosion of commerce due to the rise of factory systems, specialty banks arose which kept only some of the money people deposited and loaned the rest out as venture capital to be paid back with interest.
  • European Control of the Worldwide Economy:
    • States still had their roots sunk in mercantilist policies.
    • Remember, mercantilism was a state driven economic system.
    • The main goal was to increase a country's store of gold and silver by maintaining a favorable balance of trade, which means more exports than imports.
  • Slavery:
    • Colonial plantation owners and slave traders increase enslavement of indigenous in the Americas.
    • These Africans were captured from their homes, forced onto slave ships, and then made to endure the brutal middle passage.
    • Often with only enough room, their prostrate bodies, these enslaved Africans endured weeks and sometimes months of disease brutality only to arrive to similarly harsh conditions in the plantation fields.And the slave trade was part of a larger system of trade known as the triangular trade.
      Merchants started on the West Coast Of Africa to buy enslaved laborers, and then they carried them across the Middle Passes to trade them in the Caribbean for sugar and molasses, and then sailed up to the Atlantic colonies in North America to trade them for rum, and then run it all over again.