Chapter 15—Successful and
Unsuccessful Paths to Power
The Bubbles Burst
 France—John Law and Mississippi Bubble (Duke of
Orleans—regent for Louis XV)
1. created bank
2. Mississipi Company—monopoly over French
trade in America
3. issued shares of stock in exchange for govt.
bonds
4. price of stock rose, investors exchanged for
gold—bank didn’t have enough gold, market
crashed
5. resulted in fear of paper money and chaotic
financial situation in France
6. power of parlements and nobles rose, reversing
the legacy of Louis XIV
 England and the South Sea Bubble
1. South Sea Co. took over Natl. debt,
exchanged govt bonds for co. stock
2. Price of stock rose, people exchanged
bonds for gold, market crashed
3. Parliament, under the leadership of Robert
Walpole (England’s first prime minister)
decided to take measures to honor the national
debt
4.
England’s debt was paid off, and they were
financially stable after this—a major reason
why they were so powerful over the next
century
Ottoman Empire—The Beginning of
the End
 Economically less advanced than western Europe
1. no overseas empires or trade
2. sense of superiority and religious reasons
kept them from advancing
2. due to this, they did not have the financial or
intellectual foundations for Enlightenment,
Industrial Revolution, etc..
3. Lost land (Hungary) in the Treaty of Carlowitz
4. Europe began to see the Ottoman Empire as
backwards, declining in power
Poland
 John III Sobieski—last great Polish leader
(1683, rescued Austria from the Turks)
 Polish nobility was deeply divided—they
mistrusted each other, many were foreign
 Liberum veto—required unanimity for all
votes in the diet. One person could oppose
and “explode the diet” (require the body to
disband)
 W/out this political stability and effective
government, it’s no wonder Poland would
be taken over again and again and again
and again and again…
Habsburg Empire (aka—Land of
Chaos and Disunity)
 (1648)Made up of 300 political units
 Charles VI passed the Pragmatic
Sanction(1713), which established a
direct Habsburg ling (allowed his
daughter to rule after his death)
 Left her w/out a strong army or
enough $ to defend the empire
Growth of Prussia
 Brandenburg (part of HRE) inherited
duchy of Prussia in 1618, and other
land as time goes on.
 Because their kingdom was in three
disconnected masses, it became the
Hohenzollern’s goal to take over land
that belonged to HRE—this would
solidify their kingdom
 During 30 Years War, Frederick the
Great Elector takes over
Brandenburg/Prussia, names himself
King
 Built up the army (his sons continue
the trend)
 Eventually leads to war w/HRE and
Maria Theresa
Westernization of Russia
 Ivan the Terrible, then Romanov
dynasty
 Peter the Great
1. traveled extensively in Europe,
determined to make Russia western
but he has to gain control over the
nobles first
 Suppresses the streltsy/boyars
 Built navy
 Gained land (Estonia, Livonia, part of
Finland) which gave them ice-free ports
 Founded St. Petersburg
 Table of Ranks—equated a person’s social
position with his rank in the
bureaucracy/military instead of noble
lineage
 Tried to bring Russian Orthodox Church
under his control
 Died with no heir