System of government
•King or Queen has
complete control over
government & its people
Autocracy
Centralized Government
Nation states
•Monarchs based their
claim on Divine Right
Authority comes from God
Similar to “Mandate of Heaven”
•Monarchs are “Above the Law”
•Common features- Strong
armies,limited representative bodies,
high taxes
Breakdown of Feudalism/ Rise
of Nation states
Continuous Warfare
Need for money
Exploration
Declining influence of the church
Regulation of Religion
& society
Loss of power by
nobility & legislatures
New government
Bureaucracies
Huge building projects
1. What were 3 causes of Absolutism?
2. What were all the effects of Absolutism?
The Hapsburg
Monarchy
1556 Holy Roman
Emperor Charles V
divides empire
Son Phillip II rules
Spain, Netherlands
& Italy
3. Watch the video
a. Explain how Phillip got his power
b. Why was the Spanish Armada defeated
c. What were some of the economic problems Spain
faced?
d. What were some political problems?
e. What info is there about Phillip?
f. How is Phillip remembered?
g. Identify and explain the issues Spain had during
Phillip’s reign.
Promoted “Golden age of Spain”
•Wealth from colonies
helped buildup military
•Defender of Catholicism
1588-Spanish Armada
defeated by England
(Elizabeth I)
 1600’s Spain power declines
Financial problems
The Bourbon Monarchy
•Henry IV increases
power of Govt. &
decreases power of nobility
•Louis the XIII strengthens
& builds up military
Cardinal Richelieu
subdues nobles &
Huguenots
Known as “The Sun King”
Ruled for 72 years
•Mercantilist policies
•Built the strongest army in
Europe
•Expanded bureaucracy
•Never called the Estates General
•Persecuted the Huguenots
French Protestants
4. Who was Henry IV and what did he do?
5. Who was Louis XIV and what did he do?
6. Define Huguenots.
•Built Lavish palace @ Versailles
“Gilded Cage” for nobility
His successors inherited enormous
debts (costly Wars & extravagance)
7. Pretend you are a peasant in France under Louis the XIV
reign and you visit the lavish palace of Versailles. Your family
has only had bread and broth to eat for a week. Explain in 5-7
sentences how this makes you feel.
1480 Russian rulers
drive Mongols out
•Early Czars Ivan III &
Ivan IV (Terrible) used
harsh methods to unify
Russia & strengthen
Monarchy
•1613 Michael Romanov
begins Romanov Dynasty
•Grand Embassy tour
Toured Europe
learning new technologies
•Westernization/Modernization
•Introduced western ideas
•Laws, technology, culture
•Built largest army
in Europe
Won territory
along the Baltic Sea
St. Petersburg becomes
“Window to the West”
Major trading port & new
capital
Centralized
power
Reduced power
of the nobility
Brought
Orthodox Church
under his control
8. What did Ivan the Terrible do while in power?
9. What did Peter the Great do to improve lives in Russia?
10. How did Peter the Great westernize Russia?
1215 King John forced to sign
Magna Carta
Limited King’s powers
1295 Edward I establishes
Model Parliament
Lawmaking body
House of Lords & House of
Commons
Parliament
successfully blocked
attempted shifts to
absolute rule
The Tudor
Monarchs(1485-1603)
generally worked well w/
Parliament
Ex. Henry VIII &
Elizabeth I
12. What was the purpose of the Magna Carta?
13. What did the Model Parliament do to the Monarchy?
14. How did the Parliament keep the Monarchy in check?
Had absolutist
tendencies (Strong belief
in Divine Right)
James I & son Charles
I Consistently clashed
with Parliament over
finance & foreign policy
Angered Puritans
Known as the Puritan
Revolution (1643)
Charles’s Cavaliers vs.
Roundheads led by
Oliver Cromwell
Charles I is overthrown
by forces loyal to
Parliament
beheaded in 1649
15. How did the Stuarts anger the Puritans?
16. What happened during the English Civil War?
England became a Republic
called the Commonwealth
At first Cromwell & Parliament
share power
•1653 Cromwell assumes Title of
Lord Protector & rules as a
dictator
Cromwell brutally put down
revolts in Ireland & Scotland
(Genocide)
17. Who was Cromwell and how was he important to England?
18. What happened to Cromwell after 1653?
•Upon Cromwell’s death, Parliament
restores Stuart Monarchy to throne
•Charles II & James II became
unpopular due to absolutist policies
•Parliament fears return of
Catholicism(James II)
•Parliament overthrows James II
& asks William & Mary to
assume throne (Glorious Revolution)
1688-William & Mary
forced to sign English Bill
of Rights.
Guarantees Parliament’s
superiority over the
Monarchy
 England becomes a
Limited Monarchy
(Remains today)
19. What happened after Cromwell’s death?
20. How does the monarchy change after William and Mary come
to power?
Last Question!!!!! Worth 5 points!!!!!
21. Explain how did the English Monarchy change from the Magna
Carta to William and Mary’s reign.