Political and Social History Notes

Okay, let's expand on these notes like a book, clarifying each term and section:

Overseas Empires vs. Commercial vs. Continental Empires
This section introduces different types of empires:

Overseas Empires: These are empires like Spain and Portugal, which expanded by colonizing territories far across the ocean.
Commercial Empires: Examples include England, the Netherlands, and France. They focused on establishing trade networks and controlling commerce routes rather than direct territorial expansion.
Continental Empires: Qing China, the Mughal Empire, and the Ottoman Empire are examples. These empires expanded by conquering neighboring territories on the same continent.

Redefinition of Political Rule
This indicates that as empires grew, they faced challenges that required them to change how they governed.

Expanding Territories Faced Internal and External Challenges
Empires faced problems both within their borders (internal) and from other countries or groups (external).

The Ancient Regime
This refers to the political system in 18th-century Europe, characterized by absolute monarchy.

Absolutism Characteristics

Monarchy: The king or queen has ultimate authority.
Divine Right: The belief that the monarch's power comes directly from God.
Centralized State: Power is concentrated in the hands of the monarch, who governs from a central location.
Limited by Institutions: Even absolute monarchs were somewhat restricted by institutions like the Church or nobility.
Weber's State: Max Weber defined a state as having a monopoly on the legitimate use of physical force within a given territory.
Wars/Taxation: Wars and taxation increased the monarch's power but also exposed the weaknesses of the state.

Corporate Society

Estates: Society was divided into groups: nobility, the Church, and commoners.
Inequalities: There were significant disparities in wealth and status between these groups.
Agrarian Economy: The economy was based on agriculture.
Divisions: Society was divided along lines of religion and ethnicity.

Poland: The Elective Monarchy

King Elected: The king was chosen by the nobility rather than inheriting the position.
Weak Laws: The laws were not consistently enforced, and the nobility had a great deal of power.
Foreign Veto: Foreign powers could influence or even block decisions made by the Polish government.
Ceased to Exist: Poland was partitioned and ceased to exist as an independent country from 1793 to 1795.

China and the Ottoman Empire

Emperor/Sultan: These rulers relied on land taxes and bureaucrats to govern.
China: Stability: China was relatively stable, and the emperor's power was limited.
Ottoman: War-Threatened: The Ottoman Empire faced constant threats of war, and there was no clear system of succession (primogeniture).
Not Absolutist: Neither China nor the Ottoman Empire fit the European model of absolutism between 1500 and 1800.

The Great Divergence
This term explains why Europe experienced significant economic growth while the East declined.

Frontier Society

Low Population: These areas had few people.
State-Building Challenges: It was difficult to establish strong governments in these areas.
Local Powers: Local leaders or coercive institutions often held significant power.

The Fiscal Crisis

War Increased Funding Needs: Wars required governments to raise more money.
Fiscal Centralization: Governments centralized their finances to better control taxation.

American Revolution