Warm-up:
• You have risen to power in the United
States (with the help of God in this case!)
• You now have the title of the Absolute
Monarch of United States
• How would you rule?
• Create 3-5 laws and
punishments when necessary
Wars of Religion
• Post- Protestant and Counter Reformation
• As Catholics and Protestants both tried to
convert people to their beliefs, religious
and political wars broke out across
Europe.
War in Germany
(Holy Roman Empire)
– Birthplace of the Reformation
– But, the main ruler, Charles V, was
Catholic
– Many German princes were
Protestant
– Peace of Augsburg: Each prince
could choose the religion of his
territory
– This resulted in an uneasy peace
between Catholic and Protestant
War and Conflict in France
– Protestants in France were called
Huguenots (French Calvinists)
– Religious war between Catholics and
Huguenots split France in the 1500s
– In 1572, Catholics killed more than 20,000
Protestants in the
St. Bartholomew's
Day Massacre
War and Conflict in France
cont.
– Finally in 1598, Henry
IV (Huguenot converted
to Catholicism) signed
the Edict of Nantes,
which called for an end
to fighting between the
two Christian groups
– It also offered protection
to Huguenots in France
The Thirty Years’ War
– Began when Protestant rebels threw 2
Catholics out a castle window
– Brought devastation to central Europe,
especially Germany
– Approximately 1/3 of Germany’s
population died
– Ended in 1648 with the Treaty of
Westphalia, which did the same thing
the Peace of Augsburg had in the 1500s
Wars of Religion and Rise of
Absolutism
A. Series of religious wars across Europe led to:
1. Instability within nations
2. Peace of Augsburg (1555) began empowering
monarchy
3. Absolute monarchs already had foundation of
power to build on
4. New Monarchs of Europe created larger
territorial states—required more effective form
of government
5. Increase in centralized power under monarch
Seen as a natural response to the chaos of the religious
wars.