System of government
•King or Queen has
complete control over
government & its people
Autocracy
Centralized Government
Nation states
•Monarchs based their
claim on Divine Right
Authority comes from God
Similar to “Mandate of Heaven”
•Monarchs are “Above the Law”
•Common features- Strong
armies,limited representative bodies,
high taxes
Breakdown of Feudalism/ Rise
of Nation states
Continuous Warfare
Need for money
Exploration
Declining influence of the church
Regulation of Religion
& society
Loss of power by
nobility & legislatures
New government
Bureaucracies
Huge building projects
The Hapsburg
Monarchy
1556 Holy Roman
Emperor Charles V
divides empire
Son Phillip II rules
Spain, Netherlands
& Italy
Promoted “Golden age of Spain”
•Wealth from colonies
helped buildup military
•Defender of Catholicism
1588-Spanish Armada
defeated by England
(Elizabeth I)
 1600’s Spain power declines
Financial problems
The Bourbon Monarchy
•Henry IV increases
power of Govt. &
decreases power of nobility
•Louis the XIII strengthens
& builds up military
Cardinal Richelieu
subdues nobles &
Huguenots
Known as “The Sun King”
Ruled for 72 years
•Mercantilist policies
•Built the strongest army in
Europe
•Expanded bureaucracy
•Never called the Estates General
•Persecuted the Huguenots
French Protestants
•Built Lavish palace @ Versailles
“Gilded Cage” for nobility
His successors inherited enormous
debts (costly Wars & extravagance)
Peter the Great
•Grand Embassy tour
•Westernization
•Modernization
•Russian Orthodox Church
•St. Petersburg
Centralized royal power &
decreased the power of the
nobility
•Russian Orthodox Church
Created largest European
Army
Gained access to the Baltic
Sea
Failed to gain warm water
Parliament
successfully blocked
attempted shifts to
absolute rule
The Tudor
Monarchs(1485-1603)
generally worked well w/
Parliament
Ex. Henry VIII &
Elizabeth I
1215 King John forced to sign
Magna Carta
Limited King’s powers
1295 Edward I establishes
Model Parliament
Lawmaking body
House of Lords & House of
Commons
Had absolutist
tendencies (Strong belief
in Divine Right)
James I & son Charles
I Consistently clashed
with Parliament over
finance & foreign policy
Angered Puritans
Known as the Puritan
Revolution (1643)
Charles’s Cavaliers vs.
Roundheads led by
Oliver Cromwell
Charles I is overthrown
by forces loyal to
Parliament
beheaded in 1649
England became a Republic
called the Commonwealth
At first Cromwell & Parliament
share power
•1653 Cromwell assumes Title of
Lord Protector & rules as a
dictator
Cromwell brutally put down
revolts in Ireland & Scotland
(Genocide)
•Upon Cromwell’s death, Parliament
restores Stuart Monarchy to throne
•Charles II & James II became
unpopular due to absolutist policies
•Parliament fears return of
Catholicism(James II)
•Parliament overthrows James II
& asks William & Mary to
assume throne (Glorious Revolution)
1688-William & Mary
forced to sign English Bill
of Rights
Guarantees Parliament’s
superiority over the
Monarchy
 England becomes a
Limited Monarchy
(Remains today)