Absolutism Peter the Great, Louis XIV, and Tokugawa Ieyasu

Peter the Great One of Russia’s greatest reformers When he came to power, Russia was still caught in the Middle Ages Many people in Russia knew very little about western Europe Geographic barriers didn’t help; its only seaport was frozen most of the year and that prevented travel Religious differences also widened the gap

Russia had converted to the Orthodox form of Christianity – most of western Europe was Catholic or Protestant

Peter Takes a Trip… In the 1680’s, Peter decided to take a tour of western Europe He was fascinated by their modern tools and machines – especially their ships He was so inspired that upon his return to Russia, he began what is known as the “Westernization of Russia”

Westernization He brought the Russian church under state control Reduced the power of wealthy landowners Hired European officers to train his soldiers Introduced potatoes as a staple crop Started Russia’s first newspaper and edited it himself

Raised the status of women by including them in social events Ordered nobles to give up their traditional dress, and adopt a more “European” look Opened schools

Building St. Petersburg Peter wanted a seaport so Russia could trade In 1703, he began building St. Petersburg which gave Russia access to the Baltic Sea

Louis XIV Most powerful ruler in French history He weakened the power of nobles Increased the power of government officials He wanted to make France self-sufficient - he wanted everything to be made in France and not have to rely on imports He gave tax breaks to French companies

Put high taxes on imported goods Promoted the growth of French colonies as sources of wealth Started many wars to gain territory

The Legacy of Louis… His last years were sad – not glorious He realized that he had ruined France with all his wars Upon his death, the people of France cheered On the positive, France gained power, respect, and created a strong military On the negative side, France was heavily in debt because of war

Tokugawa One of the strongest leaders of Japan Unified Japan and created a capital in Edo which would later become Tokyo He put restrictions on the wealthy to prevent them from having too much control Society was very structured Confucian values were instilled

Japan and Europe Collide Europeans began coming into Japan in the 16 th Century They brought clocks, eyeglasses, tobacco, and firearms Japanese business owners were happy to receive these new goods They began purchasing swords from the Europeans – which became the weapon of choice for Samurai

But when the samurai clashed with the European musket, they proved defenseless – thus the end of the samurai

Christianity in Japan In 1549, Christian missionaries began arriving in Japan By 1600, they had converted 300,000 Japanese This upset Tokugawa, and by 1612 he banned Christianity and attempted to rid his country of Christians Missionaries were killed and all Japanese were forced to demonstrate faithfulness to Buddhism

By 1639, Japan instituted a “closed country policy” Commercial contacts with Europe ended For more than 200 years, Japan remained closed to Europeans and the Japanese were forbidden to leave