EXTENDING SPANISH POWER
(CHAPTER – 17 / SECTION - 1)
From 1556 to 1598 King Phillip II of Spain ruled the most
powerful European empire. His focus was upon detail and the
control of everything and by the late 1500’s he had centralized all
power into his own hands.
Spain and the Hapsburg Empire
 With the expulsion of the Muslims out of Spain, Queen Isabella
turned her attention to expansion and exploration.
 She had financed Columbus’s voyages across to the Americas.
 Eventually Spain’s discovery and conquests of the Americas
lead to their control of the Central and Southern America’s.
 However, the expulsion of Muslims and Jews deprived the
Spanish economy of many skilled artisans and merchants.
 In 1519, Charles V, grandson of Isabella and Ferdinand,
inherited a vast empire. His kingdom ranged across not only
Spain, but the Holy Roman Empire and the Netherlands.
 This vast empire was constantly at war. The Ottoman’s posed
the greatest foe, challenging them on land and on the sea.
 The problem with a vast empire is that it is often too scattered
and diverse for one person to rule. Tired and disillusioned
Charles V gave up his titles and entered the monastery in 1556.
 Charles V divided his empire giving Ferdinand (his bother) the
Hapsburg lands (which are Austrian rulers of the Holy
Roman Empire and the Netherlands) and Spain, its oversea
empires, the Netherlands and Southern Italy to his 29 year old
son Phillip.
An Imposing Monarch
 King Phillip II sought to expand Spanish influence, strengthen
the Catholic Church and to make his power absolute.
 With the silver brought back from the Americas he became the
foremost power within Europe.
 King Phillip II reigned as an absolute monarch, a ruler with
complete authority over the government and the people’s lives.
 Like other European rulers Phillip II asserted that he ruled by
divine right, the belief that the authority to rule came directly
from God.
 With this belief of divine right he saw himself as a guardian of
the Catholic Church, to defend the Catholic Reformation and to
turn back the Protestant tide.
 He would use the Inquisition against the Protestants and others
he thought were heretics.
Wars of King Phillip II
 Many of the wars under Phillip’s direction were to push back
the Protestant tide in Europe. Also to advance the power of the
Catholic power he fought the Ottoman’s and defeated them.
 The richest part of Phillip’s empire was the 17 provinces spread
across what we now call the Netherlands, Belgium and
Luxemburg.
 Protestants within the region were resisted Phillip’s efforts to
eliminate them. Many Protestants and Catholics of the region
opposed the high taxes and Spanish rule that threatened local
traditions of self-government.
 In 1581, the Protestants in the northern (protestant) region,
the Dutch Netherlands, declared their independence. However,
the southern (catholic) part remained part of Spain.
 In the 1580’s Phillip saw Elizabeth I as his chief Protestant
enemy. Elizabeth had supported the Dutch’s attempts to break
away from Spain. She also promoted the pirating of Spanish
treasure ships coming from the Americas.
 In 1588, Phillip sent out a Spanish Armada, fleet, of more than
130 ships, 20,000 men and 2,400 pieces of artillery. Weather
prevented the two giant sea powers from ever meeting in battle.
 After several savage storms and disasters at sea, the Armada
sailed home without invading England.
After the Amada’s defeat, Spanish sea power would decline and
eventually be surpassed by the English and French navies in the
1600 & 1700’s.
The Spanish Golden Age
From 1550 to 1650 Spain was known for the brilliance of its art
and literature. One of the famous Spanish painters of the time
was El Greco.
His vibrant colors influenced many others works and he
produced haunting religious pictures, striking portraits of
Spanish nobles in an elongated style.
Writers
 The ability of Spanish arts and literature to flourish during this
time was due to Phillip’s patronizing of them.
 One of the first modern novels of the time was “Don Quixote”
written by Miguel de Cervantes. The story is about a
madman, riding an old plow mule, in search of adventure. It
mocks medieval tale of chivalry.
Spain’s Decline In Power
 The lack of strong leadership,
 Economic problems,
 Costly wars,
 Neglect of farming and commerce due to the treasures from the
Americas
 The loss of Muslim artisans and merchants moved Spain toward
a slow decline and eventually was replaced by France as the
most powerful European nation.
FRANCE UNDER LOUIS XIV
(CHAPTER – 17 / SECTION - 2)
Rebuilding France
During the 1560’s to the 1590’s France was facing a series of
religious wars between the Protestants (Huguenots) and the
majority Catholics.
The worst of the battles took place on St. Bartholomew’s Day
in 1572. During a royal wedding, attended by both Huguenots and
Catholics a fight broke out.
The fight escalated into a massacre of some 3,000 Huguenots,
which continued for several days. The incident showed that there
was no real order within France.
In 1589, Henry IV, a Huguenot, inherited the throne as King of
France. Fearing that a Protestant King would have difficulty ruling
a predominantly Catholic country; Henry IV converted over to the
Catholic faith.
However, to protect the Protestants he issued the Edict of
Nantes. This granted the Huguenots religious tolerance and
allowed them to fortify their own towns and cities.
Under Henry IV rule there was improvements to the roads, bridges
and the rival of agriculture. All of this was successful because of
Henry IV development of a royal bureaucracy.
Henry IV was assassinated in 1610 and was succeeded by his 19
year old son Louis XIII.
In 1624 Louis XIII appointed Cardinal Richelieu as his chief
minister. Over the next 18 years Richelieu enhanced his power
within the central government. During his reign he destroyed the
power of the nobles and Huguenots.
Richelieu hand picked his successor, Cardinal Mazarin, so that that
there was the maintaining of power and control. Mazarin became
the chief minister to Louis XIV (a 5 year old boy).
From Boy to Sun King
 At the very beginning disorder struck France again. The Fronde
uprising took place with nobles, merchants, peasants and the
urban poor.
 At one point King Louis XIV was driven from his palace, a
lesson he would never again forget.
 Upon the death of Mazarin, in 1661, Louis XIV decides to take
control and rule the country himself. He declares that he is like
the Sun, absolute power.
 He does not call the Estates General to meet. Thus there was no
control over the king’s decisions.
 To build upon his power, Louis XIV further develops
bureaucracy and appoints intendants, royal officials that
collect taxes, recruited soldiers, and carried out his policies in
the provinces
 To further secure his rule he appointed middle-class men the
government jobs. Under Louis XIV the French army became the
strongest in Europe.
 During Louis XIV rule he appointed Jean Baptiste Colbert as
the finance minister. Colbert boosted the economy by having
land cleared for farming, encouraged mining, developed basic
industries and built up luxury trades.
 However, being the wealthiest country in Europe did not last
long because of Louis XIV building of palaces and fighting a
series of wars.
The Splendor of Versailles
Louis XIV built an expensive and elaborate castle at Versailles.
Versailles would become his home and the symbol of his power
within the government. No expense was sparred.
 The building could house up to 10,000 people, from nobles to
servants.
 Elaborate ceremonies, parties and national events became
common place at Versailles.
 To control the nobles he allowed them to participate in royal
events, thus they would battle for posture in aiding Louis v.
battling him for power.
 Louis would support the arts and sponsored numerous musical
entertainers and lays written by the best playwrights of the day.
All of the art, music and performances at Versailles became the
standard in which all of France would follow
Successes and Failures
 Louis XIV would rule France for 72 years. The French culture
replaced the Renaissance as the standard for all of Europe’s
taste. However, many of Louis policies, at home and abroad,
were failures.
 He would use vast resources to supply his wars and were not
successful. French rivals would ally with other countries to help
fight off the French ambitions.
 The Dutch and English would ally to maintain a balance of
power so the distribution of power would prevent any one
nation from dominating Europe.
 Louis also saw the Huguenots as a threat to religious and
political unity.
 In 1685 he revoked the Edict of Nantes and in doing so some
100,000 Huguenots fled France. Their departure severely hurt
the French economy.
TRIUMPH OF PARLIAMENT IN ENGLAND
(CHAPTER – 17 / SECTION - 3)
The Tudors and Parliament
The Tudor Dynasty ruled from 1485 to 1603. Even though the
Tudors believed in the Divine Right, they also understood the
importance of good relations with Parliament.
With the constant need for money for wars Henry VIII had to
consult Parliament.
Elizabeth I (Good Queen Bess) controlled and consulted
Parliament. She directed Parliament not to discuss foreign matters
or her marriage. Her tough handling allowed her to become a
popular ruler.
The Early Stuarts
 When Elizabeth died there was no heir to the throne in place.
Thus the rule passed onto the Stuarts of Scotland.
 Because of their inability to work well Parliament, the Stuarts
had a tough time and a century long battle ensued.
 The first Stuart monarch was James I. However, his claim to
divine right, his foreign policy and need for money brought
about a battle with Parliament regarding absolute power.
 When Parliament moved to discuss foreign policy before giving
money to James I; he dissolved Parliament and collected taxes
on his own.
 In 1625 Charles I inherits the throne and assumes control as an
absolute monarch.
 Charles would imprison his advisories and pressed the people
for more money through taxes.
 In 1628, Parliaments response was that it would insist that
Charles sign the Petition of Rights. The Petition prohibited
the king from raising taxes without the consent of Parliament.
 Charles would sign the Petition, but dissolved the Parliament in
1629. He then ruled without a Parliament for the next 11 years,
until 1640.
 However, Charles created a lot of enemies and need money to
fight them. Thus he called Parliament back in 1640 and when
the Parliament met again it had its own revolution.
 In 1640 Parliament became known as the Long Parliament
because it lasted off and on for until 1653. This action created
the biggest political revolution within the English history.
 Parliament arrested and executed ministers and declared that it
could only be dissolved with its own consent.
The English Civil War
 Charles attempted to have the Parliament arrested with his
armies. However, Parliament escaped and created armies under
their control.
 This conflict would last from 1642 – 1649. Charles I the first
was supported by the Cavaliers. The Cavaliers were wealthy
nobles.
 The Roundheads were their adversaries led by Oliver
Cromwell. The Roundheads were country gentry; tow
manufacturers and clergy.
 Cromwell led the Puritan forces to several victories and
eventually in 1647 the king was under the control of Parliament.
 Parliament then put King Charles I on trial, found guilty he was
sentenced to death.
The Kingless Decade
 After the death of Charles I Parliament abolished the monarchy
and declared itself a Commonwealth. Problems emerged with
Levellers.
 The Levellers thought that poor men should have as much say in
the government as does the upper class.
 Cromwell suppressed the Levellers and took the title Lord
Protector in 1653.
Life in the Commonwealth
Puritan preachers tried to create a society that would eliminate
ungodliness and establish a “rule of saints”.
They closed all theaters, frowned on lewd dancing, taverns and
gambling. Puritans also thought that every Christian, rich or poor,
must be able to read the Bible.
Thus there was an encouragement of education for all people.
Women wanted marriage to not only be of a business venture, but
also for love.
Women also wanted liberties within politics and were allowed to
preach sermons.
After Cromwell’s death people had grown tired of military rule and
the strict Puritan ways.
However, the privileges for education and government structure
lasted. The monarchy was also reestablished.
The Stuarts Restored
Upon Cromwell’s death the Stuarts are restored to the throne.
Charles II was a popular and charming ruler that opened the
theaters and taverns.
Charles II signed the Petition of Right, but behind the scenes
supported the Catholics.
James II became the new king in 1685. His style of rule,
suspending laws and appointing Catholics to high posts, angered
his subjects.
Many English Protestants feared that James II would restore the
Catholic Church.
Parliament invited his daughter Mary and her husband William to
become rulers of England. Arriving with their armies James II fled
to France and a bloodless takeover had occurred.
Before William and Mary could be crowned they had to accept
the English Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights ensured that
Parliament would be superior to the monarchy.
The Bill of Rights also reestablished the traditional rights of
English subjects. It abolished excessive fines and cruel and unjust
punishment.
It affirmed the habeas corpus, which is that no person could be
held in prison without first being charged with a specific crime.
The Glorious Revolution did not create a democracy, but a
government called a limited monarchy, in which a constitution
or legislative body limits the monarch’s power.
THE RISE OF AUSTRIA AND PRUSSIA
(CHAPTER – 17 / SECTION - 4)
The Thirty Years’ War
For several years the various German states would battle each
other. Split amongst both political and religious causes a local
battle would soon turn into a Europe wide war.
Ferdinand, the leader of Bohemia moved to suppress the
Protestants. In response to these actions Protestant nobles tossed
two royal officials out of a window. This single act would trigger a
European wide war.
Protestants and Catholics would develop alliances that support
their specific righteous cause.
 Ferdinand used an alliance with Spain, Poland and other
Catholic states to roll back the Reformation.
 Then Protestant powers sent in troops to help their cause. What
was once local now spread quickly across all of Europe.
 The wars took its toll upon the German states. Murder and
torture were quickly followed by disease and famine.
 It is estimated that 1/3 of the German states populations had
died.
Peace At Last
In 1648, both sides inflicted with heavy losses agreed to the Peace
of Westphalia.
 France appeared to be the big winner gaining territory in
Germany and Spain.
 The Hapsburgs were the losers because they had to accept the
almost total independence of all the princes of the Holy Roman
Empire.
 The Netherlands and the Swiss Federation (Switzerland of
today) received recognition as independent states.
 The war left Germany with 360 separate states.
Hapsburg Austria
It was the full intent of the Hapsburgs to unit the country.
However, by the late 1700’ the Hapsburg Empire included
Germans, Magyars, Slavs and other ethnic groups.
Despite all the various groups the Hapsburgs were able to exert
some control over the diversified people.
Various customs, governments and languages made it difficult to
maintain rule over the lands.
Maria Theresa
With no male heir to the throne, Charles VI elected to have his
daughter assume control.
No women had yet ruled Hapsburg lands in their own name.
Charles was successful in persuading other European rulers to
accept her claim to rule.
One of her toughest challenges came in 1749 when Frederick II of
Prussia seized control of valuable Hapsburg land.
Maria set out to seek help from the Hungarians, who were usually
unfriendly to the Hapsburgs. She made a dramatic plea before the
assembly of Hungarian nobles.
They respond with an enthusiastically yes and at the end of eight
year war she was unable to get Frederick out.
However, she did preserve the country and won support of the
people.
She also strengthened the Hapsburg power by increasing the
bureaucracy’s power, improved tax collection and made nobles
and clergy pay taxes.
The Rise of Prussia
As Austria emerged as a strong Catholic state, Prussia emerged as
a new Protestant power. Frederick William won the loyalty of
the Junkers by giving those positions in the arm and government.
Frederick William trained his son, Frederick II, to become a strong
military leader. Quickly Frederick II used his knowledge and
moved against the Austrians.
Through a series of war victories Frederick and his well disciplined
army to force other countries to believe that Prussia as a great
power.
His quick and divisive victories won him the name Frederick the
Great.
Keeping the Balance of Power
In 1750 the great powers of Europe were Austria, Prussia, France,
England and Russia.
To maintain a balance of power these countries would form
alliances.
These alliances were to help keep other powers in check. From
1756 to 1763 the Seven Years war was fought on four
different continents.
All of the powers were seeking a base from which they could
control the world markets.
ABSOLUTE MONARCHY IN RUSSIA
(CHAPTER – 17 / SECTION - 5)
Peter the Great
At the age of 10 years old, Peter came to the throne of Russia. He
would assume control in the year 1689.
Prior to this time Russia had been untouched by the Renaissance
and the Scientific Revolution.
In 1697 Peter set out to reverse this situation and to bring Russia
into the modern world by studying western technology.
Peter would walk among great cities and observe the people and
places they live within. He would also visit factories, art galleries
and studied anatomy from doctors.
In England, he watched Parliament and how it applied the law.
Returning to Russia, Peter brought with him a group of talented
technical experts such as teachers, nobles and soldiers to help
modernize Russia.
To achieve such changes Peter would become an absolute
monarch. In doing so he centralized royal power; brought all
Russians and the Russian Orthodox Church under his control.
He also forced boyars, landowning nobles to serve the state in
civilian or military jobs and the serfs to either remain working the
land or to join the military.
Peter forced through social and economic reforms. With the
importation of western technology Peter was able to improve
education and to simplify the Russian alphabet.
Peter would show no mercy for those that resisted his changes.
When his elite place guards revolted they were tortured and killed.
The rotting corpses were left outside the palace walls for a month
to show that he meant business.
Russian Expansion
Within his early days as Czar, Peter dedicated his time to building
the largest standing army in Europe.
With this new force Peter set out to expand Russia’s territorial
boundaries.
One of Peter’s goals was to trade with the West. To do so he would
need a warm seas port, because most of Russia’s ports were frozen
in the winter. The nearest warm-water port was along the Black
Sea.
Russia lost a humiliating defeat to an under sized Swedish army.
Peter regrouped and attacked again, this time defeated the Swedes.
On the land that he won in the war Peter would build a new
capitol, St. Petersburg. This would symbolize Peter’s desire to
forge a modern Russia.
He would force thousands of serfs to drain the swamp lands around
St. Petersburg, from which tens of thousands would die.
Legacy of Peter the Great
 Peter expanded Russian territory,
 Gained new ports on the Black Sea,
 Ended Russia’s isolation from the world and created the largest
European army.
 His policies also contributed to the growth of serfdom which
created a wider gap between modern and the past Russia.
Catherine the Great
Born as a German princess, she would journey to Russia to marry
the heir to the Russian throne.
In 1762, he mentally unstable husband was killed. With the support
of the army she assumed control of Russia.
Catherine proved to be an efficient and ruthless ruler. In doing
so she reorganized the government, codified laws and began state
sponsored education for boys and girls.
She also expanded serfdom and the repression of the peasants.
Poland
Like Peter, Catherine desired to expand Russia’s territory.
Catherine also achieved Peter’s dream of having a warm-water
port on the Black Sea.
She would do so after defeating the Ottomans and would also seize
territory from Poland.
Poland had once been a strong European power. Yet unable to
centralize their power Poland became divided. Thus Russia,
Austria and Prussia began to carve up its land.
For Russia, Prussia and Austria to avoid fighting each other the
three monarchs agreed to partition, or divide up, Poland.
Russia would take most of the Eastern territories and Prussia and
Austria would seize other Western parts of the country.
Poland would disappear and not return to a map until the year
1919.
Four of the five European powers would be controlled by absolute
monarchs. However, in the near future Europe would face some
very big changes.
The Enlightenment, French Revolution, Napoleon Bonaparte and
the Industrial Revolution would be part of the great changes in
Europe.