AP European History Unit 3 Review: Absolutism and Constitutionalism

Absolutism and Constitutionalism

• Absolutism: a political system where a single ruler holds absolute power, often justified by divine right.

• Constitutionalism: a political framework that imposes limitations on government authority through a constitution, ensuring the rights of individuals.

Introduction

• Unit 3 focuses on absolutism and constitutionalism, two new governmental innovations dominating Europe.

• The key question is which states adopted which system and why.

• Unit 2 laid the groundwork by showing states centralizing power.

• The Reformation and Wars of Religion aided centralization by merging political and religious authority and creating common enemies.

• States then evolved into either absolutist or constitutionalist systems.

Absolutism

• Absolutism: Monarchs consolidate all state power to advance their state's needs.

• Prior to this, power was distributed among monarchs, nobles, and the church.

• Factors leading to the rise of absolutism:

  • Weakened Catholic Church influence due to acceptance/tolerance of Protestantism and disinterest in religious warfare after the Peace of Westphalia.

  • Expanding merchant classes desired stability that absolute monarchs could provide.

  • Power shifted from landed nobility to the merchant class.

  • The power of the nobility and church waned, increasing the power of monarchs.

Examples of Absolutist Rulers

Louis XIV of France

• Louis XIV: the poster boy for absolutism.

• He famously said, "L'etat c'est moi" (I am the state), viewing himself as the sole authority.

• The Fronde: A rebellion of French nobles against Cardinal Mazarin (who ruled during Louis's childhood).

  • Mazarin consolidated power in a centralized state, diminishing the nobles' power, which led to the rebellion.

  • The Fronde caused chaos, leading the French people to desire a strong ruler for protection.

  • This paved the way for Louis XIV's absolute rule.

• Louis XIV consolidated power through:

  • Intendant System: Sending bureaucratic agents (intendants) into districts to enforce Louis's policies.

    • This undermined local governors and nobility, ensuring obedience to the king.

  • Palace of Versailles: Relocating nobles to Versailles to monitor them and demand their loyalty.

    • He kept them occupied with parties and alcohol to distract them from losing power. (worked for a while)

  • Revocation of the Edict of Nantes: Removing religious tolerance for Huguenots (Protestants).

    • This led to the migration of hundreds of thousands of Huguenots, harming the merchant class.

    • Louis essentially made himself head of the Catholic Church in France, merging political and religious loyalties.

  • Military Expansion: Consolidating power through wars.

    • Financed by Jean Baptiste Colbert through mercantilist policies.

    how the wars were financed

    • Steep tariffs, exporting more than importing, decreasing debt, expanding colonial holdings, and creating a favorable balance of trade.

    • However, Louis's wars undid much of Colbert's work.

Peter the Great of Russia

• Peter the Great became czar in 1682; Russia was still organized according to medieval standards; lagging behind Western Europe.

• Peter traveled to Western nations to learn and became convinced Russia needed to westernize.

• Reforms to modernize Russia and consolidate power:

  • Political Reform: Required nobles to serve in the army or civil administration.

    • Table of Ranks: A system allowing nobles to advance based on expertise, reducing the power of the nobility.

  • Religious Reform: Reorganized the Russian Orthodox Church by eliminating the patriarch and replacing him with the Holy Synod (populated with officials loyal to Peter).

  • Cultural Reform: Shaping Russian culture to resemble Western Europe.

    • Required nobles to wear Western clothing and shave their beards (beard tax for those who refused).

    • Educational Reform: Established schools to promote secular education and modern scientific knowledge, aiming to modernize the Russian populace and reduce reliance on traditional religious instruction.

• Peter tripled taxes to finance these reforms, leading to resentment from nobles and peasants.

• His efforts westernized Russia, and the process was continued by Catherine the Great.

Constitutionalism

• England and the Dutch Republic: Significant exceptions to absolutism, moving toward constitutionalism.

England

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

• English Civil War (1642-1651):

  • Cause 1: Divine Right of Kings: James I and Charles I believed monarchs were God's representatives and curtailing their power was an affront to God.

    • This clashed with the Magna Carta (1215), which created Parliament and gave it control over money, limiting the king's power.

    • Monarchs taking property with immunity led to tensions with Parliament.

  • Cause 2: Economic Issues: Charles I grew embittered against Parliament due to economic troubles after the Thirty Years' War and the need to raise an army for an Irish rebellion.

  • spent a lot of money on this military campaign, which further strained the royal finances and fueled resentment among Parliament members who were unwilling to grant him funds without more concessions.

    • Charles I and James I overspent without oversight from Parliament.

    • Charles I refused to call Parliament into session in 1629 to avoid restrictions.

    • The Triennial Act (1640) forced the king to call Parliament into session at least once every three years, reviving tension.

  • Cause 3: Religion: Puritans in the Church of England wanted to remove all vestiges of Roman Catholicism.

    • James I refused their demands, and Charles I married a Catholic, causing more tension.

• The war was a conflict between the king, Parliament, and elites over their roles in the political structure.

• Oliver Cromwell and the Parliamentary army defeated the King's army.

• Cromwell kicked out opposing members of Parliament (Rump Parliament).

• The Rump Parliament tried and executed Charles I for treason, found him guilty and abolishing kingship.

• Cromwell created a dictatorship called the Protectorate, consolidating power under himself.

• absolute power corrupts absolutely

• He imposed strict Puritanical rules (no drinking, swearing, or dancing), which were unpopular.

• After Cromwell's death in 1658, the Protectorate fell apart.

• The monarchy was restored in 1660 with Charles II (Restoration Period).

• Charles II schemed with France and didn’t work well with Parliament.

• James II appointed Catholics to important positions, leading to resistance.

• Parliament offered the throne to James's daughter Mary and her husband William of Orange (Glorious Revolution).

• James II fled, and William and Mary rose to power in 1689, ending the divine right of kings and establishing a constitutional monarchy.

• The English Bill of Rights (1689) included:

  • Parliament's right to levy taxes.

  • Laws made by Parliament could not be annulled by the monarch.

  • William and Mary had to sign the Bill of Rights before assuming the throne.

The Dutch Republic

• Because of their strategic location on the Atlantic, the trading city of Antwerp led the Dutch to become the most prosperous state in Europe during this period.

• The region had been controlled by the Habsburg rulers in Spain for almost a century.

• Philip II of Spain tried to clamp down on the Netherlands and direct their wealth to the Spanish throne.

• The Netherlands was a hotbed of Protestantism, especially Calvinism.

• Philip sent an army to squash a rebellion, killing thousands of Dutch Protestants.

• William of Orange led the Dutch Protestants in ridding The Netherlands of Spanish influence.

• The Dutch Republic was officially formed by the Peace of Westphalia in 1648, ending the Eighty Years' War between the Dutch and the Spanish.

• The Dutch Republic emerged as the wealthiest European commercial empire.

• They led in trade in the Atlantic world and had a large footprint in the Indian Ocean trade as well.

• GOLDEN AGE

• The Dutch established an oligarchy (government ruled by a small group of people) rather than installing a king.

• The oligarchy was made up of the urban gentry and wealthy landowners, which represented each province of The Netherlands.

• The States General decided questions of foreign and domestic policy but primarily served their own interests.

• The British and Dutch stand during this apart as examples of European countries that did not go the way of absolutism.

Balance of Power in Europe

• After the Peace of Westphalia, maintaining the balance of power became the main reason for wars.

• balance of power:the distribution of military and economic power among European nations to prevent any one nation from becoming too dominant.

• The goal was to ensure no single nation dominated the continent, keeping all nations more or less equal in power.

Examples of the Balance of Power

• Partition of Poland: Sealed Poland's fate and wiped it off the map for about 150 years.

  • Poland was a weak constitutional monarchy, exploited by landed nobles, lacking a robust bureaucracy, and weakened by war.

  • Surrounded by absolutist states (Russia, Prussia, Austria).

  • Russia's victories against the Ottoman Empire unbalanced the power.

  • Austria and Prussia proposed dividing Poland to maintain balance without war.

  • From 1772, Poland was annexed into these three rival powers and disappeared from the map.

• Battle of Vienna (1683): The Ottoman Empire attempted to invade Austria to secure better trading routes along the Danube River.

  • The Austrian Habsburgs, Poland, and the Holy Roman Empire united to stop the invasion and restore the balance of power.

  • Marked the end of Ottoman expansion into Europe.

• Louis XIV's Wars: To gain territory and power for France and his dynasty.

  • The Dutch War: To gain territory in the Spanish Netherlands and weaken the Habsburgs (unsuccessful).

  • War of Spanish Succession (1702-1713): To pursue dynastic interests when Charles II of Spain died and Philip V (Louis XIV's grandson) was to succeed him.

    • European nations feared France and Spain could be ruled under a single throne, tipping the balance of power.

    • England, The United Provinces, Austria, and Prussia fought against France, Spain, and Bavaria.

    • The war was not religious but to prevent France from gaining too much power.

    • The Treaty of Utrecht (1713) stipulated that Philip V would remain on the Spanish throne, but France and Spain must remain separate entities, maintaining the balance of power.

• Military Expansion: A consequence of the need for a balance of power.

  • Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden built a massive professional standing army, highly organized, with advanced military technology.

  • He raised taxes and expanded the bureaucracy to finance it.

  • Other European leaders, including Louis XIV, followed suit.

Agricultural Revolution

• Farming underwent major innovations, known as the Agricultural Revolution, starting in Britain and the Low Countries of The Netherlands.

• More people moved to urban areas for industrial work due to events like the enclosure movement.

• Agricultural output nearly tripled despite fewer farmers.

Farming Innovations

• Alternating grain crops with crops that restored nutrients (potatoes, clover) eliminated the need for fallow periods.

• New farming technologies:

  • Jethro Tull's seed drill: Planted seeds at exact intervals and covered them with dirt.

  • Mechanical hoe: Increased efficiency in removing weeds.

  • Cast iron plow: More efficient digging and interchangeable parts for easier repair.

• The Columbian Exchange: New foods led to better health and longer lifespans.

  • The potato was key for peasants: Nutritious and cheap to grow.

  • Expanded diets included avocados, beans, and squashes.

Economic Developments

• Labor and trade were increasingly freed from traditional restrictions imposed by governments and corporate entities (especially in England).

• Guilds: Workers were only paid if they were part of a guild (controlled prices and kept them high).

• Transformation of Britain's wool industry: British manufacturers paid wages directly to workers, limiting the influence of guilds.

• Workers were paid per garment and there was a great incentive to increase productivity.

Cottage Industry

• Cottage Industry (Putting-Out System): Goods were made mainly in people's homes before factories.

• Merchants bought raw materials and paid wages to transform them into finished goods (spinners, weavers, dyers).

• It laid the foundation for industrialization and increased the number of wage-earning workers, especially in rural villages.

Factories

• A push to get manufacturing out of people's homes and into new buildings called factories.

• The first factories were all about textile production.

• Factories were powered by moving water and were built around rivers and streams.

• Richard Arkwright's water frame was a wheel that was turned by moving water powering machines that created fabric and clothing.

• Workers became increasingly specialized in their jobs within the factory walls

• This division of labor intensified in the factory and led to an explosion of demand for manufactured textiles.

New Financial Practices

• The rise of the insurance industry: a monthly premium to recoup an entrepreneur's losses if something catastrophic happened like a fire destroying a factory.

  • Gained confidence to invest factories and growing inventories of goods for sale.

• The rise of specialty banks and venture capital.

• Prior to 1750, entrepreneurs would have to borrow money from family or have a fortune of their own.

• Specialty banks only kept some of the money people deposited and loaned the rest out as venture capital to be paid back with interest.
  *A venture is something you'd like to attempt, like starting a business or building a factory, then this bank can loan you the capital to get it done.

Mercantilism vs. Capitalism

Mercantilism prioritizes the accumulation of wealth through trade surplus and government regulation, whereas capitalism emphasizes individual ownership and free market principles, allowing for market forces to dictate value and supply.

Capitalism fosters innovation and competition, resulting in economic growth and a more efficient allocation of resources.

• Europeans increasingly controlled the worldwide economy and this contributed significantly to events like the Agricultural Revolution and the Consumer Revolution.

• States still rooted in mercantilist policies, which 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 (more exports than imports).

• These policies played out in France with Louis XIV's Finance Minister, Jean Baptiste Colbert.

• Colonies were valuable sources of raw materials and provided markets

• About halfway through this period, mercantilism is going to start giving way to capitalism, but for now, mercantilist policies are going to fit right in with the political trend of absolutism.

• Europe dominated the world economy due to increased demand for New World products (sugar, rice, cotton).

• Colonial plantation owners needed more laborers.

• Indigenous laborers died off from European diseases or ran away, so European planters turned to African enslaved laborers.

• This increased the food supply in most of Europe.

• Enslaved Africans were captured, forced onto slave ships, and endured the brutal Middle Passage.

• The slave trade was part of a larger system of trade known as the triangular trade (triangle shape).

• Merchants started on the West Coast Of Africa to buy enslaved laborers and 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.

• Due to enslaved labor keeping prices low, global trade significantly contributed to a growing consumer culture in Europe.

  • More people bought more things.

  • Sugar, textiles made of cotton and silk, and tobacco.