Chapter 7: Crisis and Absolutism in
Europe
7.1 Europe in Crisis: The Wars of
Religion
French Wars of Religion
By 1560, Calvinism and Catholicism had become
militant – aggressive in trying to win converts
and in eliminating each others authority
French Wars of Religion (Civil War) – Between the
Huguenots and the Catholics
Huguenots (Bourbons) minority but made up
40-50% of nobility
Catholics make up majority; party- ultraCatholics: recruit and pay for large armies
• War goes on 30 years, 1589 Henry of Navarre
(Bourbon) succeeded to he throne; realizes a
Protestant would never be accepted as king;
converts to Catholicism; fighting comes to an
end
• Edict of Nantes: recognized Catholicism as
the official religion of France but allowed
Huguenots the right to worship and the right
to enjoy all political privileges
Philip II and Militant Catholicism
–
Philip II inherited Spain, the Netherlands, and
possessions in Italy and the Americas from his father
Charles V
–
Phillip insisted absolute rule and strict conformity to
Catholicism
–
Phillip tried to crush Calvinism in the Spanish
Netherlands; 1566, Calvinist destroyed statues in
Catholic churches; Phillip sent 10,000 troops to put
down the rebellion; resistance continued until 1609
under the leadership of William the Silent; after the
truce the northern provinces began to call themselves
the United Provinces of the Netherlands
–
1598, Phillip’s reign ended; treasury was bankrupt from
fighting wars; government inefficient; armed forces out
of date; result: power in Europe shifts to England and
France.
Philip II
The England
of Elizabeth
–
Elizabeth Tudor became the leader of
protestant nations in Europe.
–
Elizabeth I repealed laws favoring Catholic;
allowed religious tolerance, but the Church of
England remained protestant.
–
Phillip II prepared to attack England and
restore Catholicism; the armada that set sail
in 1588 was too small and ill equipped to be
able to defeat the English; after a few
encounters with the English the Spanish
retreated; many Spanish ships sank in a storm
Spanish Armada
Section 7.2: Social Crisis, War, and
Revolution
4. Economic and Social Crisis:
A. major problem was inflation; caused
by:
1) gold and silver coming from the
Americas and
2) population increase causes an
increase in demand for all goods –
both drive prices up
5. The Witchcraft Trials:
A. The same religious zeal that led to the hunt of
heretics also led to the hunt of witches.
B. 16th and 17th Centuries, approximately
100,000 people were charged with witchcraft in
Europe.
The Accused
People who were poor and without
property were most
often accused. 75% were women;
single or widowed; over 50 yrs. Under
intense torture, they confessed
C. By 1650, witchcraft hysteria begun to
lessen because people found it
unreasonable to believe in the old view
of a world haunted by evil spirits.
The Witchcraft Trials
Tombstones of the Victims
“I have no hand in witchcraft.”
“I am no witch!”
“I am innocent!”
“I know nothing of it!”
“…I am wronged! “It is a
shameful thing that you
should mind these folks that
are out of their wits.”
“If it was the last
moment I was to live,
God knows I am
innocent!”
Village of Salem
The house at 'Olde Burying Point'
The House of Seven Gables
Judge Corwin’s House
“The house at the “Old Burying Point”
Gallows Hill
6. The Thirty Years’ War:
A. Takes place in the Holy Roman Empire;
several small separate states; states paid little
attention to their emperor; Ferdinand, inherited
from brother Charles V
B. War starts over religion; Northern states
protestant; Southern states Catholic; led by
the Hapsburgs
C. Soon the war turned political:
- France joins Sweden in fighting the
Catholic Hapsburgs
D. Peace of Westphalia ends the war. Terms:
- all German states could choose their own
religion
- 300+ states of the Holy Roman Empire are
recognized as independent; ends Holy Roman
Empire
- France gains territory from Germany and
Spain; the Netherlands wins independence.
7. Revolution in England
A. The Stuarts and Divine Right:
- Elizabeth I dies; no heir; throne passes
to her cousin James I of England (James VI
of Scotland); He joins crowns – calls them
Great Britain
James believed in divine right; parliament
assumed they ruled England with the king
or queen; Tudor’s had
James I of England
The Puritans wanted to make The Church
of England more protestant; problem
begins in James I reign, but becomes a
conflict in Charles I reign
Charles believes in divine right; parliament
passes a petition the king raising taxes without
the consent of Parliament; put limits on the
king’s power; he doesn’t accept petition
Charles tries to impose more rituals on the
Church of England; Puritans who could not
accept these religious policies chose to go to
America
B. Civil War and the Commonwealth:
- Civil War: fought between the Cavaliers\Royalist –
supporters of the king and the Roundheads –
they were led by Oliver Cromwell; parliament
Cromwell was a military genius; put together the
New Model Army; made up mostly of puritans;
soldiers were well disciplined and trained in new
military tactics; result: Roundheads win the war
Cromwell purged parliament of members who did
not support him; had Charles I executed; made
England a commonwealth; eventually set up a
military dictatorship
Oliver Cromwell
C. Restoration:
Cromwell dies in 1658, parliament restores the throne
to Charles II
Charles II (sympathetic) and his brother James
(outright) were catholic; therefore parliament
debated the Exclusion Bill: barred professed
Catholics from the throne; created two political
groups: 1. the Whigs – wanted to excluded James
and 2. the Tories – did not want to interfere with
lawful succession to the throne; later they become
political parties
Charles dismisses parliament in 1861; dies in 1865;
James II a devout Catholic becomes king; James
appoints Catholic to all top positions
Charles II
D. A Glorious Revolution:
A. A group of English noblemen invited
William of Orange to invade England and take
the throne because they are protestant;
William’s wife, Mary is James II daughter; they
raised an army and invaded England; took the
throne with almost no bloodshed; James and
his family fled to France – Becomes known as
the Glorious Revolution
Parliament offered William and Mary the
throne only if they would accepted the
English Bill of Rights; they do; destroys
the divine-right theory of kingship
Bill of Rights:
- Parliament has the right to make laws
and levy taxes (Amendment #16)
- armies could only be raised by
parliament (Legislative Branch)
- citizens had the right to bear arms
and the right to a jury trial
(Amendment #2 and #6)
- created a limited monarch; king
rules with laws and parliament is
elected. (Executive Branch)
Toleration Act of 1689: granted puritans,
not Catholics, the right of free worship