Absolutism and State Building in
Europe, 1618-1715
The West
CHAPTER 15
The Theory of Absolutism
• Monarchs possessed the power to make laws by
themselves, without legislatures
• A monarch was accountable only to God, not to
his or her subjects
• A monarch was not bound by the laws of the state,
but was obliged to observe them
• Obligation to rule of law defined western
absolutism
The Practice of Absolutism
• Elimination or subordination of national
assemblies and legislatures
• Cultivation of regional and municipal
support
• Subordination of nobility to royal will and
favor
• Establishment of effective, centralized
administrative control
Warfare and the Absolutist
State
• State of almost continual warfare in Europe,
between 1600 and 1721
• Establishment of large, standing armies
• Application of new military tactics and
technologies
• Intensification of military training
• Expansion of taxation and bureaucracy to
support and manage new armies
The Foundations of French
Absolutism
• Began as a response to the turmoil of the Wars of
Religion
• Cardinal Richelieu restricted the power of regional
assemblies, strengthened central administration of
the state, disarmed the Protestant minority, and
increased taxation
• The Fronde, 1648-1653, revealed the continuing
strength of resistance to absolutist government
Absolutism in the Reign of
Louis XIV
• Projected an image of incomparable majesty
• Secured the loyalty and dependence of the
nobility
• Perfected
Richelieu’s
policy
of
administrative centralization
• Increased tax revenues, and encouraged and
protected French industry
• Enforced religious conformity
Louis XIV and the Culture of
Absolutism
• Influenced and controlled the creation and
dissemination of cultural products
• Patronized and encouraged cultural institutions
• Transformed public life, by seeking order and
uniformity in all matters
• French culture became the dominant influence in
European high society
The Wars of Louis XIV, 16671714
• Financial and military reforms created a
formidable military machine
• Fought wars to acquire new territory
• Only an alliance of almost all the other
European powers was able to counter the
French military
• Treaty of Ryswick, 1697, established the
principle of a balance of powers
Absolutism and State Building
in Spain
• Period of economic, political and military
decline
• Attempt at absolutist reforms
• Failed to subdue regional and aristocratic
autonomy and influence
• Ineffectual economic reforms failed to
increase taxation or encourage industry
Germany and the Thirty Years’
War, 1618-1648
• Thirty Years’ War began as a religious and
constitutional struggle within the empire
• Demographic and economic devastation of
Germany
• Weakened the institution of the empire
permanently
• Individual German territories developed into
sovereign states -Prussia and Austria became
major European powers
The Ottoman Empire:
Between East and West
• Western Europeans considered the Ottoman
empire to be “oriental” and despotic
• Deep cultural divide between the Ottoman Empire
(East) and the West
• Ottoman power declined through the seventeenth
century
• Network of diplomatic, commercial and cultural
contacts between the Turks and the West
Russia and the West
• Until the seventeenth century, Russia was
considered more Asian than European
• Peter I (r. 1682-1725) initiated a process of
cultural, political and military reform,
modeled on Western ideas
• Built a westernized military state
• Construction of St. Petersburg symbolized
Russia’s new engagement with Europe
The English Monarchy and the
Civil War
• Institution and culture of the English
Parliament were antithetical to absolutism
• Attempt by Charles I (r. 1625-1649) to rule
as an absolute monarch led to religious and
constitutional conflicts with parliament
• English Civil War, 1642-1649, ended in
victory for Parliament - execution of
Charles I and abolition of the monarchy
Revolution and Restoration in
England
• Republic established after 1649 faltered on
constitutional and religious issues
• The restored monarchy attempted to subvert
parliament by packing it with royalists
• James II (r. 1685-1688) attempted to grant
toleration and political power to Catholics
• “Glorious Revolution” deposed James II, in
favor of William of Orange and Mary Stuart
William III and Parliamentary
Supremacy
• The Declaration of Rights became the cornerstone
of the English constitution;
• Guaranteed the role of parliament in government
• Royal veto of legislation was exercised for the last
time, in 1707
• Expansion of the power of the state prompted by
military pressures and supported by parliament
The Dutch Republic
• Remained a loose confederation of
sovereign republics
• Political power held by urban merchants
and rural nobles
• Highly commercial economy fueled the
acquisition of colonial possessions
• Fostered religious toleration and artistic
creativity - the Dutch Golden Age
The Western State, in the Age of
Absolutism
• Dramatic expansion of the state increasingly centralized and cohesive
• Introduction of royal absolutism
• Development of new style of warfare
• Emergence of concepts of international law
and a balance of power