Bell Ringer
 Explain the incidents that occurred in England during
the time of Absolutism (Refer to the video)
 2 to 3 paragraphs
Spain’s Empire and European
Absolutism
Spain’s powerful empire
 Phillip II – son of Charles V
 Shy, serious, and a devout Catholic
 - Inherits Spain, Spanish Netherlands, American
colonies.
Philip II’s Empire
 1580- Portuguese king dies without an heir.
 Philip seizes the Portuguese kingdom.
 - obtains strongholds in Africa, India, and the East
Indies.
Empire circled the globe
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1600 – obtained gold from American mines
- estimated 339, 000 pounds of gold
Between 1550-1650:
- 16,000 tons of silver
Mankind video
 Wealth was able to hold a large standing army of
50,o00
Defender of Catholicism
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Religious wars = Reformation
Philip II:
- Defend against Muslims of the Ottoman empire.
- Defend against the Protestants of Europe.
 1571 – Pope called to arms against the Ottoman
empire.
Defender of Catholicism
 250 Spanish ships defeated a large Ottoman fleet
near Lepanto.
 1588 – Spanish Armada attempted to punish England
but was defeated.
 By who???
 Elizabeth I
Miguel de Cervates
 Wrote “Don Quixote de la Mancha” in 1605.
 A Nobleman goes a little crazy and mistakes windmills for
dragons and hunts them in a suit of armor.
 Considered the birth of modern European novels (considered
part of the Enlightenment era)
Issues in the Spanish Empire
 Inflation and taxes:
 - People’s demand for product went up
 - flood of silver dropped the value
 Expulsion of Muslims and Jews:
 - Lost many artisans and business people
 - Tax burden fell on lower classes
Issues in the Spanish Empire
 Spain bought much of what they needed from France,
England, and the Netherlands.
 - All enemies of Spain
 Finance wars from borrowing
 - Italian and German bankers
 Philip had to declare State bankruptcy three times.
The Dutch Revolt
 Philip raised taxes to smash protestants in the
Netherlands.
 1566 – angry protestants swept through Catholic
churches.
 1568 – 1,500 protestants and suspects were executed.
 William of Orange – wanted to free Netherlands from
Spanish rule.
 Motives: Political not religious
The Dutch Revolt
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William lost battle after battle.
1574- city of Leiden was under siege.
- Dutch opened flood gates on Spanish.
1579 – 7 northern provinces of the Netherlands were
largely protestant – United Provinces of the
Netherlands
 10 southern provinces remained under Spanish rule.
(modern day Belgium)
Homework
 Ch. 4 Section 3 and 4 guided reading