French Absolutism
17th century was a period of great transition
European climate was getting colder - less food
Governments spent more - mostly on armies and raised taxes on the poor
France and Spain gained control over the papacy
England and Germany establish national churches
We see the start of absolutism - rulers with absolute power
They reigned by divine right not like medieval monarchs, by the grace of God
They:
a) controlled the church
b) law courts
c) abolished freedoms and liberties
d) maintained permanent armies
e) used secret police and spies
f) established huge bureaucracies focused on the king
g) secured the cooperation of the nobility
Not total rule because the lacked the resources
But it did foreshadow totalitarianism in 2 respects:
i) glorification of the state over all else
ii) use of war and expansionism to divert attention from domestic problems
Henry IV and his advisor the Duke of Sully laid the foundations for absolutism
in France
Henry rebuilt France from the chaos by 1589
Sully: built relations with the pope, satisfied Huguenots with the Edict of Nantes
(1598)
a) revived the palette tax
b) started a highway system
c) and dreamed of an international organization to keep the peace
d) worked to revive trade, raised revenues although taxes were lowered
Henry died; Marie de Medici ruled for the boy-king Louis XIII
In 1624 she appointed Cardinal Richelieu her Council of Ministers
Richelieu:
a) subordinated all offices to the monarchy
b) weakened the power of the nobles - destroyed castles and other symbols of
independence
c) recruited for the army
d) supervised tax collection
e) checked on nobility - beheaded traitorous nobles like Montmorency
f) regulated economic activity
g) reshuffled royal council to weaken potential enemies
Richelieu’s policy was to weaken the Habsurgs who surrounded France
1631 France joins Sweden in the Thirty Years’ War against the Catholics
Richelieu wrote Political Testament which said power is based on revenue
French monarchs couldn’t tax at will so they would never have complete control
"raison d’etat" - what is done for the state is done for God
Set up excellent administrative system - divided France into 32 généralités
Richelieu persuaded the king to appoint Jules Mazarin as his successor
Richelieu and Louis both died
Queen Anne of Austria governs for her son Louis XIV
Mazarin continues Richelieu’s policies but leads to a civil war - The Fronde
(1648-53)
The war was between the king and the nobility - the frondeurs
Violence continued for 12 years and had three significant results:
a) government would have to compromise with the nobility
b) the economy was ruined and would take years to rebuild
c) Louis XIV would never forget the trauma
Under Louis (Sun King) absolutism reached its height
"When Louis sneezed, all Europe caught cold"
Reigned for 72 years
Many insurrections due to high taxes and grain shortages
Temporarily solved finance problems with cooperation of local elites
Time known as Age of Magnificance and by Voltaire as the Age of Louis XIV
Supposedly had little education but in reality well educated
Married Maria Theresa because of a diplomatic arrangement with Spain
Had complete control over all classes of society
Ruled from Versailles where he required the nobility to reside for several
months each year
Studied under Mazarin to learn how things work
Ruled without political influence from wife and mistress
Never called the Estates General
Other monarchs imitated Louis and French replaced Latin as the language of
the educated
But his weakness was always finances
He appointed Jean-Baptiste Colbert Controller of Finances
Colbert believed the wealth of the country should serve the state
He applied the theory of mercantilism to France
Mercantilism - government policies for the regulation of economic activities by
and for the state
Believed France should be self-sufficient - set up industries to replace imports
Colbert sent 4,000 people to Canada
Marquette and Joliet - Mississippi River
La Salle - Louisiana
Commercial class prospered while agriculture declined
Because of war, bad harvests, deflation of currency, and emigration Colbert’s
goals were never attained
1685 Louis revoked the Edict of Nantes
Closed schools, destroyed Protestant churches, and exiled those who would not
renounce their faith
"one king, one law, one faith"
The revocation won Louis enormous praise
French Classicism
Poussin was the greatest classicist painter
Rape of the Sabine Women
Absolutism and Classicism melded
Art glorified the king
Lully, Couperin, and Charpentier created great orchestral works
Moliere (1622-1673) and Racine (1639-1699) wrote powerful plays on
controversial issues as well as well as plays praising the king
Les Moliere wrote Tartuffe, which brought him criticism from the church, but
he was protected by Louis XIV.
Louis XIV’s Wars
Kept France at war for 33 of 54 year reign
Appointed Marquis de Louvois secretary of State for War
Louvois created a professional army
A) feed the troops
b) an ambulance corp
c) standard weapons and uniforms
d) rationalized training
e) regulated promotion
f) state recruits men not nobles
1667 Louis invaded Flanders no success
1672 he invaded Holland but the Dutch saved themselves by flooding their land
1681 he seized Strasbourg and parts of Lorraine
1689 William of Orange - king of England
William joined the League of Augsburg, but neither side won
Claude Le Peletier, Colbert’s successor devalued the currency and sold offices
and titles to the nobility
Between 1688-94 bad harvests sent the price of wheat skyrocketing
1694 Lord Pontchartrain imposed the capitation raise money
1701-1713 The War of Spanish Succession
a) old territorial disputes
b) dynastic question of Spanish throne
1700 Charles II was king of Spain - he was insane
Charles died in 1700 and left the throne to the grandson of Louis XIV, Philip of
Anjou
The Dutch and British
refused to accept French
control of the Spanish
colonies and Netherlands
English, Dutch, Austrian and Prussians formed the Grand Alliance
Even though the were all fighting the French internal conflicts developed
Two soldiers dominated:
Eugene, prince of Savoy representing the HRE
John Churchill representing England
PEACE OF UTRECHT
Philip of Anjou remains king of Spain
Spain and France must never unite
France gave Austria Spanish Netherlands
France gave England Nova Scotia, Hudson Bay, Newfoundland
France recognizes the Hohenzollern rulers of Prussia
Spain gave England Gibraltar
Spain gave England -asiento- the rights to the slave trade
The Treaty
Represented the balance of power principle
Saw the decline of Spain
Saw the rise of the British Empire
Marked the end of French expansionism
Spanish Decline
No middle class - Jews and Moors gone
Agricultural decline
Population decline
Failure to invest wisely
Intellectual isolation (religious reasons)
Increase in Dutch and English trade with Americas
Americas develop local industries
Increasing royal expenditure
1715 Spain a second-rate power
Several times the king declares bankruptcy and cancels national debt
People dropped out of society or turned to religion
High rents and taxes drove peasants off the land
Philip IV left control to Count-Duke Olivares
Olivares believed in imperialism
Imperialism meant conflict with the Dutch and French
Constitutionalism
France, Prussia, Russia - absolute states
England, Holland - constitutional states
Constitutionalism is limiting the govt. by law
(may be written or unwritten)
May be monarchies or Republics
This is not democratic (no franchise for all)
1603 James I (Stuart) replaced Elizabeth (Tudor)
Believed he was only responsible to God and had control over everything which
conflicted with the principle of due process
House of Commons governed the royal finances
The members of the Commons were better educated than in previous govts.
Charles I tried to rule without Parliament and it almost crippled the country
Many people believed the Reformation had not gone far enough
Wanted to purify the Anglican Church of Catholic influences
Most English were Calvinists, most zealous were Puritans
James I and Charles I gave the impression of being sympathetic to Catholicism
Charles supported archbishop of Canterbury William Laud
Laud insisted on complete uniformity with the "Court of High Commission"
Wanted to impose on the Scots:
a) new Anglican prayer book
b) bishoprics
Both rejected by the Scots who rebelled
Charles was forced to recall Parliament to get funds
Parliament was not willing to trust the king with an army
Long Parliament sat from 1640-1660
Parliament:
a) 1641 Triennial Act - king must summon Parliament every 3 years
b) Impeached archbishop Laud
c) Abolished the Court of High Commission
Charles, fearful of an uprising, agreed
The Irish also rebelled and Charles couldn’t stop them
Charles recruited army from nobility (Cavaliers)
Parliament recruited an army (Roundheads)
The English Civil War (1642-9) did not resolve the problem of who would hold
the power
1649-1660 is the "Interregnum"
Thomas Hobbes Leviathan, sovereignty is derived from the people, the power of
the ruler is absolute but not divine - this pleased no one
Theoretically, power rested with parliament
The army controlled Parliament, Cromwell controlled the "New Model Army"
"Protectorate" Cromwell’s rule was a military dictatorship
The army prepared a constitution:
a) executive power rested with Cromwell and a council of state
b) a triennial Parliament
c) Parliament can raise taxes
Cromwell tore up the document
Cromwell:
a) divided the country into 12 military districts
b) The Instrument of Government gave religious freedom to all, except Catholics
c) crushed rebellions in Ireland
d) enforced the Navigation Acts (English goods - English ships)
e) welcomed Jews
The state:
a) censored the press
b) forbade sport
c) closed the theaters
Cromwell was an absolutist - died 1658
The Restoration - 1660
Reestablished the monarchy - Charles II
Both houses of Parliament were restored
Law courts restored
Local govt. through Justices of the Peace
Test Act of 1673
To enforce religious conformity those who refused to receive the sacraments of
the Church of England:
a) could not vote
b) hold public office
c) preach or teach
d) attend university
e) assemble for meetings
CABAL
5 advisors appointed by the king, also members of Parliament:
Clifford; Arlington; Buckingham; Ashley-Cooper; Lauderdale
Gave rise to ministerial responsibilities
Parliament did not give Charles enough money to rule - but acknowledged his
divine right
For 200,000 pounds, Charles agrees to:
a) relax laws against Catholics
b) re-catholicize England
c) support France against the Dutch policies
d) convert to Catholicism
The people feared:
a) a Catholic dynasty
b) hated Louis XIV and absolutism
c) hated Catholicism
The Commons passed a bill excluded Catholics for the throne
Charles dissolved Parliament - the bill never passed
James II succeeded his brother
James appointed Catholics to high positions - contrary to the Test Act
James suspended the law at will and England feared absolutism
Wealthy English men offered the throne to James’s Protestant daughter Mary
and William
He also declared religious freedom for all
Two events signaled revolution
i) seven bishops were arrested for not complying with the Declaration of
Indulgence
ii) James’s second wife produced a male heir
Triumph of Government
The "Glorious Revolution" had very little blood and was the end of divine-right
monarchy in England
Sir Walpole - created the office of "Prime Minister" and developed the Cabinet
as being responsible to the House of Commons
William and Mary accepted the throne but recognized the supremacy of
Parliament
The rights of the people were listed in the Bill of Rights
The Bill of Rights
Laws were made by parliament and could not be suspended by the Crown
Parliament had to be called at least every 3 years
The Crown would not interfere with Parliament
Judges would be independent
No standing army in peace time
English monarch must be Protestant
Freedom of worship to Protestant dissenters
John Locke
Second Treatise of Civil Government defended the revolution:
a) People set up governments to protect life, liberty, and property
b) If government oversteps the bounds then it is tyranny, people have a natural
right to revolt
The revolution was not democratic
Sovereignty rested with Parliament
Parliament reflected the Upper Class
Created a constitutional monarchy - the age of aristocratic government
The Dutch Republic
Model for other constitutional states
1581 - 7 provinces of the Union of Utrecht form United Provinces
Independence confirmed by Treaty of Westphalia (1648)
Led to the "Golden Age" of the Netherlands
Power was held by regents in an oligarchy
States General handled foreign affairs
States General appointed stadholders (representatives) in each province
Confederation was a weak collection of separate states
Holland (largest navy) dominated
Dutch were republicans and Calvinists
Upper class and middle class believed in hard work
Political success based on economic prosperity
*They were tolerant of religion
Toleration attracted investment
Herring fishing was the cornerstone of their success
Profits stimulated shipbuilding
Became transporters - not exporters
1602 - Dutch East India Company created, a joint-stock company
East and West India Companies became tools of imperialism
Amsterdam became the center of trade
Bank of Amsterdam was the place with the lowest credit rate and was easiest to
attain
Highest standard of living in Europe
"island of plenty in a sea of wants"
Decline began with Peace of Utrecht (1713) after the costly War of Spanish
Succession by William of Orange