The Rise
of European
Absolutism
What is Absolutism?
• Absolutism:
• A form of
government in
which all power is
vested in a single
ruler or authority
The Divine Right of Kings
• The belief that God
granted monarchs
with the power to rule
• Implications:
• The king was
answerable ONLY to
God
Development of Absolutism
• Long-Term Causes of Absolutism:
• The rise of cities & the support of the
middle class
• The growth of national kingdoms
• The loss of authority within the church
• The decline of feudalism
Development of Absolutism
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Immediate Causes of Absolutism:
Religious and territorial conflicts
Revolts by peasants and nobles
The growth of national armies
The need for higher taxes
Long-Term Causes
Immediate Causes
ABSOLUTE RULER
Immediate Effects
Long-Term Effects
Effects of Absolutism
• Immediate Effects of Absolutism:
• Strict regulation of religious & social
gatherings
• Loss of power among the nobility
• Tight economic controls
• Large building projects
Effects of Absolutism
• Long-Term Effects of Absolutism:
• The westernization of Russia
• Widespread political reforms in England;
significant impact on the development of
U.S. democracy
• Political revolution in France
After the Age of Exploration, FIVE European
countries emerged and began to dominate
Europe…
ENGLAND
FRANCE
AUSTRIA
PRUSSIA
RUSSIA
Russian Absolutism
Ivan the Terrible
Boyar Policy
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Boyars:
Russian nobles
Boyar Policy:
Ivan reduced the
nobility’s threat to the
throne by seizing their
land and placing it under his control
Oprichniki
• Established by
Ivan the
Terrible
• A secret police force that was used to
terrorize the Russian people
Peter the Great
Western Customs
• Peter the Great forced the Russian nobility
to adopt western customs
• EXAMPLES:
• Clothing
• Hair Styles
• Women & parties
NOOO!
Not the beard!!
Saint Petersburg
• Built a new
Russian capital
• “Window
to the West”
• Nobles were required to have a house in
Saint Petersburg
Territorial Expansion
• Peter the Great
took territory from
Sweden
• Gave Russia access
to the sea
• North Baltic
region
Noble Taxation
• Russian nobles
paid NO taxes
• Burden fell on
the poor in
Russia
Economic Reforms
• Brought agriculture &
craft production under
strict government
control
• Gave incentives to
increase production in
mining & metalworking
The
German
States
The Thirty Years War
• Religious conflict in the Holy Roman
Empire (Germany)
• Protestant States v. Catholic States
• The Peace of Westphalia ends the war
• Divides the Holy Roman Empire into 30+
Kingdoms
Austria
• The Hapsburg
family of Austria
sets up a strong
monarchy
• Most famous
monarch – Maria
Theresa (1740)
Prussia
• Very militaristic
• Becomes the most powerful of the German
states
• The heart of modern-day Germany
France
Edict of Nantes
• A declaration of
religious toleration
• Issued by Henry IV
• Granted Protestants
the right to worship
in areas where they
were a majority
Edict of Nantes
• Ended religious strife
in France
• Allowed the French
to focus on
“rebuilding”
“Rebuilding”
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Henry IV:
Issued the Edict of Nantes
Restored the crown’s treasury
Supported trade/industry
Gained the support of the common
people
Intendants
• Local administrators who
represented the crown
• Administrators came from
the middle class
• King had the power to
appoint & remove these administrators
Intendants
• Weakened the
power of the nobility
• Originally
introduced by
Louis XIII’s chief
minister Cardinal
Richelieu
Huguenot Policy
• Huguenots: French
Protestants
• Richelieu believed
Huguenot cities
prevented a strong
centralized
government from forming
that
Huguenot Policy
• Directed an
attack on
Huguenot
seaports, but
maintained
religious
toleration
French Academy
• Established by Cardinal Richelieu
• Established fixed rules for the French
language; became the preferred language of
European diplomacy
• Elevated FR on the international scene
“L’etat, c’est moi”
• King Louis XIV:
• The “Sun King”
• Source of all
political
authority
in France
Palace of Versailles
Built by Louis XIV
Noble Taxation
• Nobles were
exempt from
paying most
taxes
• Helped the king gain loyalty while reducing
the power of the nobles
Huguenots (1685)
• In 1685 the Edict of Nantes was revoked
• Ended religious toleration for Protestants
• All Frenchmen under the
control of the Catholic
Church