Absolutism in
Western Europe
Characteristics
 Monarchs not subordinate to elected assemblies
 Nobility effectively brought under control
 Bureaucracies loyal to the king only (“nobility of the
robe”)
 French and Spanish kings gained control of Catholic
Church
 Large standing armies
 Secret police
Philosophy
 Jean Boudin (1530-1596)
 Theoretical basis for absolute states
 Only absolutism could provide order and force people to obey
government
 Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679)
 Wrote “Leviathan”
 Life in a state of nature was “nasty, brutish, and short”
 Needed strong, benevolent ruler to bring order to society
 Bishop Jacques Bossuet (1627-1704)
 Advocate of divine right of kings
 God put kings in power, they are accountable to no one else
Wars of Louis XIV
 First Dutch War (1667-1668)
 Louis invaded Spanish Netherlands (Belgium), gained some
territory
 Second Dutch War (1672-1678)
 Louis invaded southern Netherlands for their opposition in first
war
 France gained some more territory, especially region of Alsace
 War of the League of Augsburg (1688-1697)
 L of A: HRE, Spain, Sweden, Bavaria, Saxony, Dutch Republic
 Formed to oppose another invasion
 Balance of power
 William of Orange brought England in against France
 Ended with status quo antebellum
War of Spanish Succession
 Louis XIV’s grandson to
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inherit throne
Europe feared end to balance
of power
France would become too
strong
Countries allied to stop
succession
Treaty of Utrecht (1713)
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Maintained balance of power
Spain’s possessions were
partitioned
Britain got asiento (slave trade)
New kings in Sardinia and Prussia
Europe in 1700
Compromise in Central
and Eastern Europe
Differences
 Kingdoms less economically developed than in West
 Brandenburg-Prussia
 German states
 Austria
 Poland
 Landowners still controlled vast estates worked by
serfs
 Serfs bound to land, not mobile
 Nobles avoided erosion of wealth that weakened
nobility in France and England
Compromise
 In West, middle class had made the difference
 Money could help finance their allies
 Could supply people for fighting
 In East, middle class failed to develop wealth and
numbers
 Balance in power between monarchs and nobles
 Created need to compromise
Leopold I of Austria
Tsarist Absolutism in Russia
The Exception
 Tsars gained absolute power with agricultural
economy based on serf labor
 Romanov family bought loyalty of nobles
 Gave nobles complete control over classes below
them
 Law Code of 1649

Consolidated various lower economic classes into one (serfs)
 Wealth came from aggressive expansion into Asia
 Peter the Great pushed Westernization
Peter the Great
Revolts
 Some periodic revolts against Romanovs
 Mostly due to decreasing power of peasants
 Cossack revolts in 1660s and 1670s brutally
repressed
 Tsar was simply too powerful
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Increasingly modern military
Creation of state bureaucracy based on the West
Russian Orthodox Church emphasized traditional hierarchy
Constitutionalism in
Great Britain
The Stuart Monarchy
English Parliament
 Assembly of elites who
advised the king
 Different from continental
assemblies:
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Members elected
Eligibility for election
depended on property
ownership
Members voted individually,
not as a class
 Saw itself as a body
representing interests of
all people
Glorious Revolution (1688)
 Parliament turned to James’ sister, Mary
 Offered throne to her and her husband, William of
Orange

He was from the Netherlands
 Parliament’s armies teamed up with Dutch invasion
 Kicked James II out of the country
 Reign of William and Mary was establishment of
constitutional monarchy

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Kings limited by laws of Parliament
Theoretical support provided by John Locke (natural rights)
William and Mary
English Bill of Rights
 Laid foundation for constitutional monarchy
 Listed rights of Parliament vs. monarchical power
 Examples:
 No suspending laws without approval
 Right of petition
 No peacetime army
 Freedom of speech
 No excessive bail or cruel and unusual punishment
 Parliament must meet frequently
Baroque Architecture
The Palace of Versailles
Paris, France
Schonnbrun Palace
Vienna, Austria
Winter Palace, Russia
The Residenz
Munich, Germany