State Building and the Search for Order in the Seventeenth Century

I. Social Crises, War, and Rebellions

A. The Witchcraft Craze

1. The Spread of Witchcraft

   • Origins and Beliefs: Rooted in traditional village folklore and medicinal practices, the $16$th and $17$th centuries transformed these into a heretical obsession. Witchcraft was redefined as a conscious pact with the devil, involving nighttime gatherings known as 'sabbats.' This ideological shift turned communal suspicion into a state-and-church-sanctioned hysteria.

   • Geographic Scope and Intensity: Trials were most intense in regions characterized by political instability or religious borderlands, spanning England, Scotland, Switzerland, and the Dutch territories. Germany, as a decentralized and fragmented territory within the Holy Roman Empire, experienced the most brutal persecutions, with entire villages occasionally decimated.

   • Socio-Economic Factors: At its peak, an estimated $100,000$ individuals were prosecuted. The 'Little Ice Age' caused severe crop failures, famine, and plague, leading societies to seek scapegoats. The transition from communal property to private capitalism also fueled tensions, as the elderly and poor became seen as burdens rather than community responsibilities.

   • Gender Dynamics: Approximately $80\%$ of the accused were women, specifically those who were elderly, widowed, or impoverished. This disproportionate targeting reflected prevailing theological views that women were morally weaker and more susceptible to the devil’s temptations, as well as a misogynistic desire to control women who lived outside traditional patriarchal family structures.

2. Decline

   • By the late $17$th century ($1650$-$1700$), several factors led to the decline of trials. The Scientific Revolution introduced a more mechanical worldview that questioned the physical intervention of spirits. Increased secularization and the end of religious wars meant governments sought internal stability. Legal standards also became more rigorous, as judges grew skeptical of 'spectral evidence.'

B. The Thirty Years’ War ($1618$-$1648$)

1. Background to the War

   • Religious Tension: The Peace of Augsburg ($1555$) recognized only Catholicism and Lutheranism. By $1600$, Calvinists had made significant gains in German territories, leading to the formation of the Protestant Union (led by Frederick IV) and the Catholic League (led by Duke Maximilian of Bavaria).

   • Political Motives: The conflict involved the Hapsburg desire to centralize authority in the Holy Roman Empire and the Bourbon dynasty’s fear of Hapsburg encirclement. It evolved from a local religious dispute into a massive international struggle for European hegemony.

2. The Bohemian Phase ($1618$-$1625$)

   • Triggered by the Defenestration of Prague, where Protestant nobles threw two Catholic imperial regents out of a castle window. Ferdinand II sought to reclaim Catholic authority but was opposed by Frederick V. The phase ended after the Battle of White Mountain ($1620$), where the Spanish and Imperial forces crushed the Bohemian nobles, establishing Bohemia as an absolute Hapsburg possession.

3. The Danish Phase ($1625$-$1629$)

   • King Christian IV of Denmark, a Lutheran, sought to support Protestants and gain territory in Germany. He was met by Albrecht von Wallenstein, a brilliant but ruthless general who raised a private army for the Emperor. Wallenstein's victories forced the Edict of Restitution ($1629$), which ordered the return of all Catholic lands seized by Protestants since $1552$ and prohibited Calvinist worship.

4. The Swedish Phase ($1630$-$1635$)

   • Gustavus Adolphus, the King of Sweden, entered the war to defend Lutheranism and protect Swedish interests in the Baltic. He revolutionized warfare with mobile artillery and linear formations. Despite a tactical victory at Lützen ($1632$), Adolphus was killed. The Emperor eventually rescinded the Edict of Restitution to seek peace with the German princes via the Peace of Prague, but the war continued.

5. The Franco-Swedish Phase ($1635$-$1648$)

   • Cardinal Richelieu of France, realizing that the Hapsburgs were still too strong, directed Catholic France to enter the war on the side of the Protestants. The focus shifted entirely to dynastic rivalry. The Battle of Rocroi ($1643$) was a turning point where French forces decisively defeated the Spanish infantry, ending Spain's status as the top military power.

6. Outcomes of the War: The Peace of Westphalia ($1648$)

   • Sovereignty: The treaty recognized the sovereign independence of over $300$ German states, allowing them to conduct their own foreign policy. This effectively reduced the Holy Roman Emperor to a figurehead.

   • Religious Freedom: Calvinism was officially recognized as a legal religion. The German states could choose their own faith, and people were granted the right to practice their religion in private if it differed from the state religion.

   • Territorial Gains: France gained parts of Western Germany and Alsace; Sweden gained territories in Northern Germany; and the Dutch Republic and Switzerland were formally recognized as independent.

C. Was There a Military Revolution?

• Technological and Tactical Shifts: The use of firearms and mobile artillery replaced the traditional reliance on heavy cavalry and pikes. Governments shifted toward large, standing professional armies rather than reliance on mercenaries. This increased the cost of warfare exponentially, necessitating higher taxation and the growth of elaborate state bureaucracies, which in turn fueled the rise of absolute monarchs.

D. Rebellions

• Economic contraction and the 'price revolution' fueled social unrest. Key rebellions included the Fronde in France ($1648$-$1653$), peasant revolts in Austria, and various uprisings in Russia ($1667$-$1671$). These were reactions to the expansion of central government power and the heavy tax burdens imposed to fund the military revolution.

II. The Practice of Absolutism: Western Europe

A. Absolute Monarchy in France

1. Foundations of French Absolutism: Cardinal Richelieu

   • As chief minister to Louis XIII, Richelieu aimed to strengthen the monarchy. He utilized intendants—royal officials who traveled to provinces to oversee tax collection and justice, bypassing local nobles. In $1629$, through the Peace of Alais, he removed the military and political rights of the Huguenots while allowing them to retain their religious freedom.

2. Cardinal Mazarin

   • Mazarin followed Richelieu and managed the state during the minority of Louis XIV. He faced the Fronde, a series of revolts by the nobility and the Parlement of Paris. The chaos of these civil wars deeply impacted the young Louis XIV, leading him to believe that only an absolute monarchy could prevent such instability.

B. The Reign of Louis XIV ($1643$-$1715$)

1. Administration of the Government

   • Known as the 'Sun King,' Louis XIV centralized all decision-making. He moved the seat of government to Versailles in $1682$. By keeping the high nobility at court, he turned them into 'domesticated' courtiers who competed for petty honors rather than political power in the provinces.

2. Religious Policy

   • Louis believed in 'One King, One Law, One Faith.' In $1685$, the Edict of Fontainebleau revoked the Edict of Nantes. This led to the destruction of Huguenot schools and churches, causing nearly $200,000$ Protestants—many of them skilled artisans and thinkers—to flee to England, the Netherlands, and Prussia.

3. Financial Issues

   • Controller-general Jean-Baptiste Colbert was the architect of French mercantilism. He sought to increase exports and decrease imports by building roads/canals, establishing high protective tariffs, and creating a merchant marine. Despite his successes, the enormous cost of Louis XIV’s wars frequently depleted the treasury.

4. Daily Life at the Court of Versailles

   • Versailles was a gilded cage designed to project power. Life was governed by a rigid etiquette system, such as the lever (the king's rising) and the coucher (the king's retiring), which emphasized the king's divinity and the nobility's dependence.

5. The Wars of Louis XIV

   • Louis sought to achieve France's 'natural boundaries' at the Rhine and expand Bourbon influence. Key wars included the War of Devolution, the Dutch War, and the War of the League of Augsburg. His final conflict, the War of the Spanish Succession ($1702$-$1713$), ended with the Treaty of Utrecht, which prevented the unification of the French and Spanish thrones while placing a Bourbon on the Spanish throne.

C. The Decline of Spain

1. Reign of Philip IV ($1621$-$1665$)

   • Spain suffered from a hollow economy; their reliance on American silver ($1620$s decline) and a vanishing middle class led to bankruptcy. Count Olivares tried to centralize the 'Union of Arms,' but his efforts triggered revolts in Catalonia and the successful secession of Portugal in $1640$. By the mid-$17$th century, Spain was no longer a first-rate power.

III. Absolutism in Central, Eastern, and Northern Europe

A. The German States

1. The Rise of Brandenburg-Prussia

   • Frederick William the Great Elector ($1640$-$1688$) realized Prussia lacked natural defenses. He built a standing army of $40,000$ men and created the General War Commissariat to oversee its funding. He struck a deal with the Junkers (nobility): they were given total control over their serfs in exchange for staying out of his political administration.

2. The Emergence of Austria

   • After failing to unify Germany in the Thirty Years' War, the Hapsburgs shifted their focus southeast. Leopold I expanded into Hungary and Transylvania after defeating the Ottomans at the Siege of Vienna ($1683$). However, the Austrian Empire remained a collection of diverse territories (Germans, Magyars, Slavs) rather than a centralized state.

B. Italy: From Spanish to Austrian Rule

• After the War of the Spanish Succession and the Treaty of Utrecht ($1713$), Austria replaced Spain as the dominant power in Italy, gaining control over Milan, Mantua, Sardinia, and the Kingdom of Naples.

C. Russia: From Fledgling Principality to Major Power

1. The Reign of Peter the Great ($1689$-$1725$)

   • Following his 'Great Embassy' to the West, Peter sought to drag Russia into the modern era. He enforced Westernization, requiring nobles to shave their beards and wear Western dress. He established a Senate to oversee administration and founded the Holy Synod to place the Orthodox Church under state control.

2. Russia as a Military Power

   • Peter created a navy and a modernized army of $210,000$ men. In the Great Northern War ($1700$-$1721$), he defeated Sweden at the Battle of Poltava ($1709$). He built his new capital, Saint Petersburg, on the Baltic as a 'window to the West.'

D. The Great Northern States

1. Denmark: Under Frederick III, Denmark became an absolute hereditary monarchy in $1660$ following a coup against the nobility.

2. Sweden: Despite the brilliance of Gustavus Adolphus and the efforts of Charles XI to centralize power, Sweden's status as a Great Power crashed under Charles XII during the Great Northern War.

E. The Ottoman Empire

• Although initially powerful, the empire began to decline due to internal corruption, the power of elite Janissary troops, and military stagnation. The defeat at Vienna ($1683$) marked the end of their expansion into Europe.

F. The Limits of Absolutism

• In reality, 'absolute' rule was often compromised. Monarchs depended on local elites to collect taxes and maintain order. Distance, slow communication, and entrenched local customs served as checks on royal authority.

IV. Limited Monarchy and Republics

A. The Weakness of the Polish Monarchy

• The Polish monarchy was elective, and the Sejm (parliament) was dominated by nobles. The liberum veto meant that a single dissenting member could stop any piece of legislation, causing a 'total paralysis' that eventually left Poland vulnerable to partition by its neighbors.

B. The Golden Age of the Dutch Republic

• The United Provinces were a decentralized republic. Power was held by rich 'regents' in various provinces. The House of Orange usually held the office of Stadholder (military leader). Amsterdam became the financial center of Europe due to the Bank of Amsterdam ($1609$) and the Dutch East India Company ($VOC$).

1. Life in Seventeenth-Century Amsterdam

   • The city was characterized by religious toleration and extreme wealth generated by the 'carrying trade.' This prosperity was reflected in a focus on the nuclear family and domestic life.

C. England and the Emergence of Constitutional Monarchy

1. King James I and Parliament: James believed in the Divine Right of Kings, which alienated a Parliament that had grown accustomed to the 'power of the purse.' Religious tension rose as Puritans wanted to further 'purify' the Anglican Church of Catholic elements.

2. Charles I and the Move toward Revolution: In $1628$, Parliament passed the Petition of Right, which Charles initially accepted but later ignored, ruling without Parliament for $11$ years ($1629$-$1640$). He funded his government through unpopular 'Ship Money' taxes.

3. Civil War in England ($1642$-$1649$): A conflict between the Cavaliers (Royalists) and Roundheads (Parliamentarians). Oliver Cromwell's New Model Army, composed of disciplined Puritans, won the war. Charles I was captured and executed in $1649$.

4. Cromwell and New Governments: England was declared a Commonwealth (republic), but Cromwell eventually dissolved Parliament and ruled as 'Lord Protector' in a military dictatorship until his death in $1568$.

5. Restoration of the Monarchy: Charles II was restored in $1660$. The Test Act ($1673$) was passed to ensure only Anglicans could hold military or civil offices, reflecting a fear of Charles II's Catholic sympathies.

6. A Glorious Revolution ($1688$): When James II (a Catholic) had a son, Parliament invited William of Orange and Mary to invade. James II fled, resulting in a nearly bloodless transfer of power.

7. Responses to Revolution: William and Mary accepted the Bill of Rights ($1689$), which guaranteed Parliament's right to make laws and levy taxes, forbade the crown from interference with the law, and protected the rights of citizens to petition and bear arms (for Protestants).

V. The Flourishing of European Culture

A. The Changing Faces of Art

1. Mannerism: A reaction against the balance of the High Renaissance. Artists like El Greco used elongated figures and clashing colors to convey the spiritual anxiety and political instability of the late $16$th century.

2. The Baroque Period: Sponsored by the Catholic Counter-Reformation and absolute kings to project majesty and awe. Gian Lorenzo Bernini (the Ecstasy of St. Theresa) and Peter Paul Rubens utilized dramatic action and light.

3. French Classicism: A shift toward the restraint and order of the classical world. Artists like Nicholas Poussin emphasized balance and clarity, mirroring the 'grandeur' and discipline of Louis XIV's reign.

4. Dutch Realism: Since the Calvinist Dutch did not want religious art, artists like Rembrandt and Vermeer painted portraits, landscapes, and scenes of daily life, reflecting the values of a secular, merchant society.

B. A Wondrous Age of Theater

1. William Shakespeare: In the Elizabethan and Jacobean era, Shakespeare synthesized various sources into plays that addressed universal human psychology. Theater became a popular, commercial venture in London.

2. Spain’s Golden Century: Lope de Vega wrote over $1,500$ plays, maintaining that the first task of the playwright was to please the audience while upholding Spanish ideals of honor.

3. French Drama: Under Louis XIV, theater was highly regulated. Jean-Baptiste Molière wrote comedies that satirized religious hypocrisy and social pretension, while Racine focused on neoclassical tragedies.

VI. Conclusion

• The $17$th-century 'Search for Order' responded to the chaos of the preceding century. While most states chose the path of centralized Absolutism to maintain stability, England and the Dutch Republic developed alternative models of constitutionalism and merchant-led governance, setting the stage