Response to Crisis: Absolutism
Essential Questions
France Under Louis XIV
1. What is absolutism?
a. A system in which a ruler holds total power
2. How does the divine right of kings factor into this system?
a. Rulers receive their power from God, and thus answer to no one but God.
3. Describe the rest of Europe’s impression of the French court.
a. The French court is the best court. All the other Europeans try to imitate it.
Richelieu and Mazarin
4. Why did these two ministers have so much power in France?
a. Louis XIII and Louis XIV were just little kids when they came to power.
5. List the accomplishments of Cardinal Richelieu.
a. He strengthened the monarchy’s power. He also took away the Huguenots’s
political and military rights (though he preserved their religious rights). He
set up a network of spies to uncover plots by nobles. He crushed conspiracies
and executed conspirators.
6. How old was Louis XIV when he came to the throne in 1643?
a. Four
7. Who really ruled the country?
a. Cardinal Mazarin
8. What did this leader do, and what was the result?
a. Mazarin crushed a revolt led by the nobles, and as a result many French
people concluded that the best hope for stability in the future lay with a
strong monarch.
Louis Comes to Power
9. How did Louis XIV feel about being the sole ruler of France?
a. He was totally for it. He was ready to take control of France from his
ministers.
10. What myth did Louis create for himself?
a. Sun King—the source of light for all his people
Government and Religion
11. What was Louis’s key power?
a. Control of the central policy-making machinery of government
12. Where was his court located?
a. Versailles
13. What was the greatest danger to Louis’s rule, and why?
a. High nobles and royal princes; they believed they should have a role in
government
14. What areas of traditional royal power did Louis have complete authority over?
a. Foreign policy, the church, and taxes
15. Where was Louis’s power limited, and why?
a. Limited at the local level; nobles and local officials had more influence
16. What did the king do to ensure that his policies were carried out?
a. He bribed important people in the provinces
17. What was Louis’s stance on religion?
a. Anti-Protestant; convert Huguenots to Catholicism
The Economy and War
18. Why were finances a crucial issue for Louis XIV?
a. High cost of building palaces, maintaining his court, and pursuing wars
19. Who was his controller-general of finances?
a. Jean-Baptiste Colbert
20. How did this man try to increase France’s wealth? (Be specific)
a. Following mercantilism—decreasing imports and increasing exports by
granting subsidies to new industries. He improved communications and the
transportations of goods within France by building roads and canals. He
raised tariffs on foreign goods and created a merchant marine to carry
French goods to decrease imports.
21. How did Louis attempt to increase his power?
a. Developed a standing army
22. How did Louis go about trying to achieve this?
a. Waged four wars between 1667 and 1713
23. What was the result?
a. Other European countries formed coalitions to prevent him from dominating
Europe. (Balance of power)
b. Louis added territory to France and set up a member of his own dynasty on
the throne of Spain
Legacy of Louis XIV
24. What year did Louis XIV die?
a. 1715
25. What was the state of France at this time?
a. DEBT and ENEMIES
26. What was Louis’s advice to his successor?
a. Try to remain at peace with your neighbors, don’t overspend, lighten the
people’s burden
Absolutism in Central and Eastern Europe
27. Which two countries emerged in the 17th and 18th centuries as great powers?
a. Prussia and Austria
The Emergence of Prussia
28. What ruler laid the foundation for the Prussian state?
a. Frederick William the Great Elector
29. What problems existed in Prussia, and how did this man attempt to compensate?
a. Small, no natural frontiers for defense; By building a large and efficient
standing army
30. What did the General War Commissariat do?
a. Levy taxes for army and oversee growth, agency for civil government
31. What were Prussian landed aristocracy called, and what was their role?
a. Junkers
32. Who became king in 1701?
a. Frederick William’s son, King Frederick I
The New Austrian Empire
33. What ruling dynasty controlled the Holy Roman Empire?
a. Hapsburg
34. What dream ended with the conclusion of the Thirty Years’ War?
a. Empire in Germany
35. What did the Hapsburgs create after this loss?
a. New empire in eastern and southeastern Europe
36. What present day countries comprise the core of the Austrian Empire?
a. Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary
37. Was the Austrian monarchy centralized/absolutist? Why?
a. No; because it was made up of so many different national groups. Each area
had its own laws and political life. No common sentiment tied the regions
together other than the ideal of service to the Hapsburgs, held by military
officers and government officials.
Peter The Great
38. Who was the first ruler to take the title of czar?
a. Ivan IV
39. What did he do?
a. Expanded the territories of Russia, crushed the power of the Russian nobility
40. What were the Russian nobles called?
a. Boyars
41. What was this leader’s nickname and why?
a. Ivan the Terrible; ruthless deeds like stabbing his own son to death
42. What followed the czar’s death?
a. Time of Troubles
43. What put an end to that period?
a. Zemsky sobor appointed a new czar
44. What is the zemsky sobor?
a. National assembly
45. Who became czar in 1613?
a. Michael Romanov
46. When did the Romanov dynasty end?
a. 1917
47. Which ruler was one of the most prominent Romanov rulers?
a. Peter the Great
48. Was this ruler an absolute ruler? Was this typical of Romanov czars?
a. Yes; Yes
49. What were Peter’s opinions about the West?
a. West = awesome
50. How did Peter change Russia?
a. Westernized Russia, particularly in the area of technology. He also
modernized the army and navy. He made Russia a great military power and
an important European state.
Cultural Changes and a New Capital
51. Detail Peter’s cultural changes to Russia. Be able to list specific examples
a. Westernized customs, practices, and manners
i. Russian book of etiquette to teach Western manners
ii. Russian men must shave beards and shorten coats
iii. Women remove traditional face-covering veils and move out into
society
b. Acquired new lands (after war w/ Sweden)
c. Constructed St. Petersburg  window to the West
d. Constructed ships built be Western-instructed craftsmen
Military and Governmental Changes
52. Detail Peter’s changes to Russia’s military and government. Be able to list
specific examples.
a. Founded navy
b. Reorganized army  employed both Russians and Europeans as
officers
c. Drafted peasants for 25-year stints of service
d. Standing army
e. Divided Russia into provinces
f. Attempted to create “police state”