Chapter 15
Successful and Unsuccessful Paths to Power

Netherlands
 Won independence from Spain in the Treaty of
Westphalia
 William III led the entire European coalition against
the French, becomes king of England in 1688 (wife
was James II’s daughter (Mary)
 Netherlands were different then other European
governments (republic, with provinces)
 Most provinces were Protestant (tolerant of all
religions)
Urban Prosperity (Netherlands)
 High Standard of living (ship building, trade,
manufacturing)
 Farmland was drained (produced more useful land)
 Produced beef and other valuable agricultural crops
 Diverse crops (tulips)
 Fisherman dominated the market
 Dutch East India company which controlled the
spice trade.
Economic Decline
 Unified political leadership vanished with the death
of William III (Orange)
 Fishing industry declined
 Banks kept them from falling apart completely
France after Louis
XIV
Louis XIV died in
1715. He was an old
man for the time.
Who inherited the
French throne?
Yes, Louis XV, his
great grandson.
The child king Louis
XV did not rule—the
government was
controlled by Cardinal
Fleury and the Duke of
Orleans, a uncle of the
young king.
As Louis XV came of
age, he turned out to
be a spoiled,
handsome, pleasure
loving man. He
would not be the king
his grandfather, Louis
XIV was.
The Mississippi Bubble
A Scottish financier
named John Law
traveled to France.
He helped set up a
French national
bank, which was a
good thing.
He also organized the Mississippi Company,
which was a company that had a monopoly on
trade in many French-controlled areas, including
the Mississippi River Valley in North America.
This company then assumed the entire French
government debt.
It was expected that all the profits would
pay off the debt, and also make the investors
money…
Law also planned to completely reform the
French financial system. This was actually a good
idea—but it was quickly thrown out when the
Mississippi Company bubble burst.
To buy a share in this company would mean
eventual great wealth—as the profit potential was
immense!
Thousands bought shares and then sold
them quickly for an immense profit!
But, soon, the company failed to meet
its profit expectations. Investors began
to unload their shares.
The stock price plummeted.
Thousands were ruined.
The French government had to step in and
take back their debt, which had now grown
to an immense amount.
In France, The
aristocrats
refused to bail
out the
government—
they felt the
debt belonged
to the king.
The debt continued to grow—and over
years, it will be one of the long term
causes of the French Revolution.
Duke of Orleans
 Duke of Orleans lessened the power of the monarchy
 Brought the French nobility into the decision making
 Brought wealthy people back to government jobs (Louis
XIV had placed non-nobles)
 Nobility used parlements (or courts) dominated by
nobility to limit the power of the king.
 Most important was parlement of Paris
 Courts could recognize or not recognize the legality of an
act or law.
 Duke of Orleans reinstituted the parlements’ power
What’s going on
in Britain?
The Hanovarian Dynasty (1714)
 George I Came to the throne because of the Act of
Settlement
 George I faced immediate challenge to his title
 Son of James II brought his army against George, but
lost
As a constitutional
monarch, King
George I had a
capable Prime
Minister, Walpole.
Walpole was a
fascinating man,
who had a motto
which was “Let
sleeping dogs lie.”
What do you think
he meant by this?
Walpole strengthened the cabinet, or
the executive, or the government.
Together,
Cardinal Fleury
and Walpole
tried to keep
peace between
their countries
and others.
They both had serious economic
challenges during their time in power.
Cardinal Fleury (back to France)

Chief minister of the French court in 1726

Realist

Worked to block the influence of the nobility

Wanted peace (70 years old when he took office)

Roads and bridges built, some debt decreased

Nation prospered, but Fleury could never draw significant tax revenues from the
nobles or the church

In the end, Fleury failed because France entered into war between Austria and
Prussia which negated Fleury’s work

Plus, Louis XVI was a terrible king


Wanted absolute power, but did not put in the long hours necessary like Louis XIV
POLITICAL LEADERSHIP WAS LACKING IN FRANCE!!!!!!!!!!!
Great Britain and the Age of Walpole
 1713, Great Britain emerged as victor over France
 Needed time to recover
 Not as bad as France, but still needed time to recover
Robert Walpole
 Saved the financial integrity of England
 1st prime minister
 Cabinet system
 Power came directly from king
 “let sleeping dogs lie”
 Pacifists tactics, especially with Britain
 By this time, wealthy nobles dominated government in
England
Whigs and Tories
 Tories:
 Wanted out of war with France, 1710 opened
negotiations with France
 Wanted strong monarchy, low taxes for landowners,
support for Anglican church
 Started communication with James II (Queen Anne’s
closest relative, the problem was that he was Catholic)
 Whigs:
 Favored by George I
 Supported monarchy, but wanted parliament to have final
say
 Religious toleration
The Habsburg Empire and the Pragmatic
Sanction
 The end of the 30 years war didn’t turn out as
expected for the Habsburgs.
 Failed in dominating Germany
 Failed in a return to Catholic power
 The decline of the Spanish meant they were on their
own.
Austrian Hungarian Empire 1521-1772
 1. Hungary
2. Bohemia
3. Silesia
4. Galicia
5. Austria
6. Croatia
The Habsburg Dynastic Problem
 When Charles VI succeeded Joseph, he had no male
heir.
 Charles feared that when he died that the Austrian-
Habsburg lands might fall prey to the surrounding
powers.
 Wanted to prevent this.
Charles VI (r. 1711-1740)
Created the
Pragmatic
Sanction to ensure
his daughter,
Maria Theresa,
would inherit
Habsburg lands
and become
queen

Pragmatic sanction
 So… when Charles VI died in 1740, he believed his
empire to be safe.
 Within two months of Charles VI dying, Frederick II
of Prussia invades.
Maria
Theresa
(r. 17401780)
Went to war
with Prussia in
the War of
Austrian
Succession

Prussia and the Hohenzollerns (HO-hen-zol-lern)
 Lacked good natural resources
 Devastated by the 30 years war
 2nd in size to the Habsburgs
Frederick William (Great Elector)
 Established himself as the central uniting power
by breaking the local noble estates.
-Established a great army
-
In order for Frederick to continue his power over
nobles, the Junkers received the right to demand
obedience from their serfs
-
Taxes fell onto the backs of the peasants.
Frederick William I
 Great elector’s son
 Lived a frivolous life
 Allowed the Habsburgs to use his army against the war
of Spanish secession.
 In exchange, he was given the title “King Of Prussia”
 Initiated a policy of Kabinett government which meant
that lower officials submitted all relevant documents to
him in his office.
 Imposed taxes on the nobility
Prussian Army
 3rd or 4th largest in Europe
 13th in population
 Separate laws applied to soldiers
 Sons of Junkers became soldiers
 “Prussian Army possessed its nation”
Birth of the Romanov Dynasty
 1613, assembly of nobles elected a 17 year old boy
named Michael Romanov as Tsar.
 Romanov’s ruled Russian until 1917 (Bolsheviks,
Lenin, etc.)
Peter the Great
 Started as co-ruler with half brother Ivan (sickly, died)
 TWO MAIN GOALS:


1. Keep power of Tsar secure from Boyars
2. Increase military power
 Western Europe interested Peter
 Learned how modern Europe lived
 Wanted to modernize Russia, but knew it would be
difficult b/c of tradition.
Peter reign cont…
 Streltsy revolted, Peter brutally suppressed (torture,
public executions, etc.)
 1,000 rebels put to death
 Drafted 130,000 soldiers (300,000 by the end of his
reign)
 Boyars shave beards
 Developed a Navy (which he learned from Western
Europe)
St. Petersburg
 Founding of St. Petersburg
 Became the new capital city in 1703
 Built government structures
 Centralized power
 Peter could keep a better eye on government
officials
 Peter’s son Aleksei dies under “mysterious
circumstances” (thought to be a big threat to Peter,
meet with many of Peter’s enemies)
St. Petersburg
Peter’s Reforms
 Administrative colleges (Western Idea)
 Table of Ranks- Social status was dependant upon
military rank, not linage.
 Boyars became more willing to serve the state.
Religion under Peter
 Old believers-Russian orthodox church (against
Peter)
 Peter wanted to end the independence of the
church.
 Some church leaders were sympathetic to Aleksei
 Old believers did not like changes brought on by
Peter, some even committed suicide rather then
obey his rules.
 Church leaders started to become more western
 Clerical education, Latin, etc. (more modern)
Religion Continued…
 Peter started appointing his own bishops
 Especially Ukrainians b/c they were trained in
European schools.
 Peter abolished the position of patriarch
 Established the government department known as
the Holy Synod (several bishops) to govern the
church.
 Remind you of anything??????