Chapter 17 The Age of
Absolutism
By: Michael Giampapa
Spain and the Hapsburg Empire
• Spain was the first modern European
power. Queen Isabella financed
Columbus’s voyage, leading to the Spanish
conquest of the Americas. Isabella’s
grandson, Charles V was heir to the
Hapsburgs, the Austrian rulers of the Holy
Roman Empire and Netherlands. He was a
devout Catholic who suppressed the
Protestant movement in the German
states. His greatest foe was the Ottoman
empire. He couldn’t rule all of the
Hapsburg empire by himself, so he entered
a monastery and divided his empire. He
gave lands in central Europe to his brother
Ferdinand, and Spain, Netherlands, and
southern Italy to his son Philip.
An Imposing Monarch
• King Philip II was hardworking, devout,
and ambitious. He sought to expand
Spanish influence, strengthen Catholic
Church, and make his power absolute. His
palace, the Escorial, served as a Church,
residence, and tomb for members of the
royal family. He centralized royal power
and became an absolute monarch, ruler
with complete authority over the country.
He also believed in divine right, in which
his authority to rule came directly from
God. He wanted to defend the Catholic
Reformation and turn back Protestant tide
in Europe
Wars of Philip II

Philip fought many wars. He battled Protestant
rebels in the Netherlands. In 1581, the
northern Protestant provinces became known
as the Dutch Netherlands. The southern
remained Catholic and part of the Spanish
empire. He saw England’s Queen Elizabeth I as
his chief protestant enemy. Elizabeth
persuaded English captains, known as Sea
Dogs, to plunder Spanish treasure ships. Philip
took the initiative and prepared a huge
armada, or fleet, to carry Spanish invasion
force to England. The weather favored the
English and many Spanish ships took losses
from the faster, lighter English ships. In the
end, however, the Dutch, English and French
fleets surpassed Spanish power in Europe.
The Golden Century

From 1550 to 1650, Spain’s
siglo de oro, or Golden
century had brilliant arts and
literature. One famous painter
El Greco, studied in
Renaissance Italy before
settling in Spain. He produced
haunting religious pictures,
and portraits of Spanish
nobles. An amazing writer
named Miguel de Cervantes,
wrote Don Quixote, the first
modern novel in Europe.
Sec 2 France Under Louis XIV

During the 1560’s to the 1590’s, religious
wars between Huguenots (French
Protestants) and the Catholic majority
drove France apart. On St. Bartholomew’s
Day, August 24, 1572, Huguenot and
Catholic nobles celebrated a royal
wedding. Violence had erupted which led
to the massacre of 3,000 Huguenots. St.
Bartholomew’s Day Massacre symbolized
the breakdown of order in France.
Henry IV and Richelieu

Henry IV, also called Henry of Navarro,
was a Bourbon prince and Huguenot
leader. He changed religions from
Protestant to Catholic, since the majority
of France was Catholic. He issued the
Edict of Nantes to grant Huguenots
religious toleration and let them live in
their own towns and cities. In the year
1610, he was killed by an assassin and
his son Louis XIII inherited the throne.
He hired Cardinal Armand Richelieu as
his chief minister. Richelieu wanted to
destroy the power of the nobles and the
Huguenots. He handpicked his own
successor which was Cardinal Jules
Mazarin. In 1643, Louis XIV inherited the
throne. Mazarin was his chief minister
who tried to extend royal power.
Louis XIV: From Boy King to Sun
King

Louis believed in divine right. The
sun was the symbol of his power.
Since the sun was the center of the
solar system, the Sun King was the
center of the French nation. Louis
strengthened the state by
expanding the bureaucracy and
appointing intendants, royal
officials who collected taxes,
recruited soldiers and carried out
policies. Louis found a chief finance
minister named Jean Baptiste
Colbert. He bolstered the economy
and promoted trade. His policies
made France the wealthiest
country in Europe.
Splendor of Versailles

Louis XIV built an huge
palace in Versailles. It was a
symbol of the Sun King’s
wealth and power. He
supported a splendid century
of the arts. An actorplaywright named Moliere
turned comedies such as
The Miser, into the delight of
middle-class citizens. Louis
supported French
Academies, which set high
standards in art and science.
Successes and Failures
Louis fought many wars. Some led by the
Dutch or English, fought to maintain
balance of power, distribution of military
power that would prevent any one nation
from dominating Europe. Louis’s
grandson inherited the throne of Spain,
which led to The War of the Spanish
Succession. France signed the Treaty of
Utrecht, in which France agreed never to
unite the twp crowns. In the revoking of
the Edict of Nantes, more than 100,000
Huguenots fled France, because they
were threat to religious and political unity.
Sec 3: Triumph of Parliament in
England
The Tudor Dynasty ruled
England from 1485 to 1603.
Henry VIII broke with the
Roman Catholic Church and
became head of the Church
of England. His daughter
Elizabeth I, consulted in
Parliament an controlled in
well. She became a popular
and successful ruler.
The Early Stuarts

When Queen Elizabeth died in 1603,
there was no direct heir to the throne.
Her relatives the Stuarts, were the
ruling family of Scotland. James I was
the first Stuart monarch who agreed
to English laws. James dissolved
parliament and faced Puritans, English
Protestants, who wanted to purify the
Church of England o English practices.
Charles I took the throne after his
father and behaved like an absolute
monarch. He was told to sign the
Petition of Right, which prohibited the
king from raise taxes without
consulting Parliament. Charles refused
and ruled without Parliament for 11
years. When Charles tried to summon
Parliament they revolted and became
known as the Long Parliament. They
executed his chief ministers and
declared they could not be dissolved
without their consent
The English Civil War

The Cavaliers, supporters of Charles
I and Roundheads, country gentry,
manufacturers, and Puritan clergy
fought in civil war. Oliver Cromwell
was a skilled general who organized
the New Model Army. Cromwell’s
army defeated the Cavaliers in many
battles. Parliament put the king on
trial and he was guilty. Then In 1649
the king was then executed. He was
the first king to be tried and
executed by his own people.
Charles II

Charles II was a popular ruler. He restored the
Church of England but tolerated other religions.
He signed the Petition of Right and believed in
absolute monarchy. His brother James II took
the throne in 1685. He flaunted his Catholic faith
and many believed he was restoring the Roman
Catholic Church. In 1688, James’s Protestant
daughter Mary, and her Dutch Protestant
husband William III, became rulers of England.
The Glorious Revolution
►
William and Mary landed with their army as James II fled
to France. This bloodless overthrow of a kin became known
as the Glorious Revolution. William and Mary accepted the
English Bill of Rights. These rights ensured Parliament
superior over the monarchy, barred any Catholic from
sitting on the throne, and issued England a Limited
Monarchy. This means a government in which a
constitution or legislative body limits the monarch’s
powers. The Bill of Rights affirmed habeas corpus, which is
no person could be sent to prison without be charged for
the crime. The Toleration Act of 1689, granted limited
toleration to Puritans, Quakers, and other Protestant
dissenters.
Sec 4: Rise of Austria and
Prussia
 Religion in Germany divided the states. North was
Protestant while the south was Catholic. It sparked the
Thirty Years’ War. Ferdinand, the Hapsburg king of
Bohemia, suppressed Protestants and tried to roll back
the Reformation. With so much murder and torture
followed famine and disease. One-third of Germany’s
population had died. In 1648, the Peace of Westphalia
was accepted. France were the big winners by the land
they gained, and Hapsburgs were the losers because
they had to accept princes of the Holy Roman Empire.
Germany was divided into more than 360 states.
Maria Theresa
• When Charles VI faced a crisis of
having no son, his daughter,
Maria Theresa took over ruling
the Hapsburg lands. When
Frederick II of Prussia seized the
Hapsburg province of Silesia,
Maria went to Hungary for military
help. During the eight year war,
Maria did not succeed in pushing
Frederick out of Silesia. She,
however, reorganized the
bureaucracy, and improved tax
collection.
Frederick II
 Frederick II inherited the
Prussian throne in 1740. He
was abused by his father
because of Frederick being a
big fan of the flute and writing
poetry. He got the name
Frederick the Great because
his persuading that Prussia
was a great power and of his
seizing Silesia.
PETER THE GREAT

Peter the Great pushed Russia into
becoming a great modern power. He
wasn’t well-educated but very
curious and determined to learn. He
wanted to centralize royal power.
Under him serfdom had spread. He
supported western technology,
improved education, simplified the
Russian alphabet, and set up
academies for math, science, and
engineering. He insisted noblemen
shave their beards and modernize
their old-fashioned robes. Whoever
resisted the new order, Peter had no
mercy for. He executed and tortured
thousands and left their corpses
outside his palace for months.
Russian Expansion
 Peter created the largest army in Europe and
wanted to extend Russian borders. He fought
Sweden over the Baltic region. When he pushed
them back he noticed their seaports were frozen
during the winter. He then went sent to reach a
warm-water seaport that way they could trade with
the west all year long. He built a new capitol city
as a symbol of his desire, which is called St.
Petersburg. Peter died in 1725, although he
succeeded in expanding Russian territory, gaining
ports off the Baltic Sea, and building a strong
army.
Catherine the Great
Catherine the Great was a
German princess who
came to Russia at age 15,
to wed Czar Peter III, heir
to the throne. He was
murdered by a group of
army officers. She took the
Russian throne and was
very efficient. She
embraced western ideas.
She was determined to
expand Russia’s borders.
She also took steps to gain
Poland territory.
Questions
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1.) Peter the Great and Catherine the Great changed Russia
by
2.) Westernization in Russia came about largely through the
3) Changes in Russia under Peter the Great were similar to
changes that occurred in
4) “. . .The person of the King is sacred, and to attack him in
any way is an attack on religion itself. Kings represent the
divine majesty and have been appointed by Him to carry out
His purposes. Serving God and respecting kings are bound
together.” Which person would you most agree with this
statement?
5) “God hath power to create or destroy, make or unmake, at
his pleasure; to give life or send death; to judge…and to be
judged (by) none…And the like power have kings;…” Which
idea is described by this passage?
Answers
• 1) introducing western ideas
and customs
• 2)efforts of Peter the Great and
his successors
• 3) Japan during the Meiji
Restoration
• 4) Louis XIV
• 5) theory of divine right