UNIT ONE: THE AGE OF ABSOLUTISM
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Unit 1: Absolutism (Textbook Chapter 17)
Terms: Define the following as they pertain to the historical topic at hand.
Term
Define (what does it mean)
Importance (what effect does
this have on history?)
Absolutism
Divine Right
St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre
Edict of Nantes
Versailles
English Bill of Rights
Habeas Corpus Limited
Monarchy
Westernization
Warm-water port
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People: Identify the following individuals
Individual
Where are they from?
What did they do/why are they
important?
Charles V
Phillip II
Elizabeth I
Louis XIV
James I
Charles I
Oliver Cromwell
Charles II
James II
Maria Theresa
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Peter the Great
Catherine the Great
Map Activity: Place the kingdoms/places listed below on the map. Create a color key to demonstrate
the coordination.
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England
France
Spain
Holy Roman Empire
Austria
Prussia
Russia
Charts: Complete the chart using information from class as well as your textbook.
Spain
France
England
Austria/Prussia
Russia
Wars
Religion
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Economy
Other (misc
information)
Primary Sources: Use the documents to answer the following questions. Use complete sentences.
Source: Peter the Great Imposes Western Styles on the Russians
Peter the Great
(1701-1705)
Peter’ s Decree on Wearing German Clothes, 1701
[All ranks of the service nobility, leading merchants, military personnel, and inhabitants of Moscow and
the other towns, except the clergy] are to wear German clothes and hats and footwear and to ride in
German saddles; and their wives and children without exception are also so to dress. Henceforth
nobody is to wear [traditional] Russian or cossack clothes or to ride in Russian [i.e., Tatar-style] saddles;
nor are craftsmen to make such things or to trade in them. And if contrary to this the Great Sovereign’s
decree some people wear such Russian or cossack clothes and ride in Russian saddles, the town
gatekeepers are to exact a fine from them, [so much] for those on foot and [much more] from those on
horseback. Also, craftsmen who make such things and trade in them will be, for their disobedience,
severely punished.
Peter’s Decree on Shaving, 1705
All courtiers and officials in Moscow and all the other towns, as well as leading merchants and other
townsmen, except priests and deacons, must henceforth by this the Great Sovereign’s decree shave
their beards and mustaches. And whosoever does not wish to do so, but to go about with [traditional
Russian] beard and mustache, is to pay a [hefty] fine, according to his rank. … And the Department of
Land Affairs [in Moscow] is to give [such persons] a badge in receipt, as will the government offices in
the other towns, which badges they must wear. And from the peasants a [small] toll is to be exacted
every day at the town gates, without which they cannot enter or leave the town. …
1) What are 3 things that Peter the Great decreed must change from the old ways to the new?
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2) Why is Peter the Great stipulating these changes? What effect does he hope to have on Russian
society and his people?
Source: A Woman’s Life in the Court of the Sun King, trans.
Elborg Forster (Johns Hopkins University Press, 1984).
Versailles, 6 December 1682—
My dearest sister . . .Today I gave an audience to an envoy of Parma, thereafter I had to write a long
letter to the Queen of Spain, and at eight I must go to see a new play with Madame la Dauphine. So I
have only this hour to write, for tomorrow, right after the King’s mass, I must go hunting with His
Majesty and after the hunt it will be a bit late to write, for it is again jour d’appartement. And so that
Your Grace can understand what this is, . . . Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays are jours
d’appartement. Then all the men of the court assemble in the King’s antechamber and all the women
meet at six in the Queen’s room. Thereupon everyone goes to . . . a large room where there is music for
those who want to dance. From there one goes to a room where the King’s throne stands. There one
finds various kinds of music, concerts, and singing. From there one goes into the bedchamber, where
three tables for playing at cards are set up, one for the King, one for the Queen, and one for Monsieur
[her husband]. From there one goes to a room that could be called a hall, where more than twenty
tables, covered with green velvet cloth with a gold fringe, have been put up for all kinds of games. From
there one goes to a large antechamber containing the King’s billiard table, and then to another room
with four large tables for the collation, all kinds of things like fruit cakes and preserves. This looks just
like the children’s table on Christmas eve. . .
After one is done with the collation, which is taken standing up, one goes back to the room with the
many tables; now everyone sits down to a different game, and it is unbelievable how many varieties of
games are being played: lansquenet, trictrac, picquet, l’hombre, chess. . . . When the King and Queen
come into the room, no one gets up from the game. Those who do not play, like myself and a great
many others, just
stroll from room to room. . . this lasts from six until ten, when one goes to supper. But if I should now
tell Your Grace how magnificently these rooms are furnished and what great quantity of silver dishes are
in them, I should never finish.
1. What were some of Liselotte’s activities during a normal day at court?
2. How did the courtiers entertain themselves at the special jours d’appartement?
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3. This letter was written when Liselotte had been at court for ten years. What do you think her
attitudes toward the court are?
Summary Questions: Answer the following questions in 3+ full sentences
1) Choose two monarchs discussed in this unit and compare and contrast their policies. (What is the
same? What is different? Why do you think these similarities or differences exist?)
2) Is absolutism effective as a type of government? Explain your answer by citing examples (using facts
to support your opinion)
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