World History Revolutions Monarchy in Europe

Terms Monarchy – Government led by an hereditary king or queen as ruler Absolute Monarch: A monarch with total power. - Divine Right of Kings: Belief that monarchs derive absolute power from God. Limited (Constitutional) Monarch: A monarch with limited, non-absolute power. The power of the monarch is limited by Law, such as a Constitution or Bill of Rights, and/or shared power with nobles or an elected legislative body such as a Parliament or National Assembly. Enlightened Monarch/Despot: A monarch who tries to rule fairly and justly according to principles of the Enlightenment.

Age of Absolute Monarchs, 1500s-1700s SPAIN Ferdinand & Isabella Charles V Philip II NETHERLANDS: Republic FRANCE Henry of Navarre (Henry IV) Louis XIII (Cardinal Richelieu) Louis XIV – Sun-King PRUSSIA Frederick the Great AUSTRIA Marie Theresa Joseph II RUSSIA Peter the Great Catherine the Great BRITAIN (see next page)

Age of Absolute Monarchs, 1500s-1700s GREAT BRITAIN Elizabeth I James I Charles I (beheaded) Oliver Cromwell Charles II James II William (and Mary)

Monarchy in Spain (1) In the 1400s, Spain was NOT one country, but several independent kingdoms on the Iberian Peninsula. Two of these kingdoms, Castille and Aragon, united in 1469 when their monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabella, got married. This new kingdom became Spain. By 1492, Spain conquered Granada, the last of the Muslim kingdoms in Iberia. This ended the Christian Reconquista of Iberia. In 1492, Ferdinand and Isabella paid for Columbus’ voyage, leading to the discovery of the Americas.

Monarchy in Spain (2) Charles V became the next king of Spain. At this time, Spain also controlled other parts of Europe outside of Iberia, including the Netherlands and Austria, known collectively as the Holy Roman Empire. In 1556, Charles resigned. He split his empire into two parts. His son, Philip II, became king in Iberia, and also controlled Spain’s New World colonies. His brother, Ferdinand, got the Holy Roman Empire. All the Spanish kings were absolute monarchs.

Monarchy in Spain (3) Philip became rich off of gold and silver from the Americas. He also took over control of Portugal and its many colonies in Africa, India and the Far East when the king of Portugal, who was his uncle, died without an heir. Philip was Catholic. He used his money to fight Protestants in Europe. These wars weakened Spain financially. In 1579, the Netherlands declared their independence from Spain. The Netherlands consisted of 7 tiny Protestant provinces and did not want to be ruled by a Catholic king, who taxed them heavily and tried to suppress their religion. The Netherlands won, forming the United Provinces of the Netherlands.

Monarchy in Spain (4) Ten provinces just south of the Netherlands remains a part of Spain. They were mostly Catholic. Today, they are the country of Belgium. In 1588, Philip also tried unsuccessfully to invade Protestant England using a Spanish navy known as the Spanish Armada. England’s Queen Elizabeth I defeated the Spanish. Her admiral, Sir Francis Drake, sank the ships of the Spanish Armada. Queen Elizabeth also had given support the the Protestants in the Netherlands, in their revolt against Spain. She had knighted and promoted Drake, who started as a pirate who raided Spanish ships sailing from the Americas, stealing their gold and silver and giving it to the queen.

Spain’s Golden Age of Art & Writing Artist: El Greco Writer: Cervantes’ “Don Quixote de la Mancha”

The Netherlands After winning independence from Spain, the Dutch created a republic, rather than a monarchy. The Dutch elected leaders and allowed religious freedom. By 1699, the Dutch created the first stock companies – the Dutch East India Company and the Dutch West India Company. These companies owned the largest fleet of merchant ships in the world. The Dutch created a worldwide trading empire, taking over the colonies of Portugal in Africa, India and Southeast Asia, and founding the colony of New Netherlands (later New York) in the Americas. The main town in this colony was named New Amsterdam.

Monarchy in France (1) In the late 1500s, after the Protestant Reformation, religious wars wracked France between Catholics and Protestants, known as Huguenots. In 1589, a Protestant prince, Henry of Navarre, became king of France, taking the name Henry IV. To end the wars of religion, he became Catholic. In 1598, he passed the Edict of Nantes, allowing Huguenots to worship in peace in France. A Catholic radical assassinated Henry IV. His son, Louis XIII, was a weak king. But Louis had a very capable advisor, Cardinal Richelieu, who ran the country for him. The cardinal strengthened the power of the king by weakening the power of the nobles and Huguenots.

Monarchy in France (2) When Louis XIII died, his son, Louis XIV, became king at about 5 years old. Another wise advisor, Cardinal Mazarin, ruled for the boy until he turned 22. Louis XIV became the most powerful of France’s absolute monarchs. During his long reign of 72 years, he turned France into the most powerful country in Europe, with the help of his powerful finance minister, Jean Baptiste Colbert. Louis XIV called himself the “sun king.” He built the fabulous Palace of Versailles, Europe’s largest, in the countryside outside Paris.

Monarchs in Central Europe (1) In the 1600s, the bloody Thirty Years’ War ( ) between Catholics and Protestants convulsed central Europe. German-speaking central Europe was most devastated. About 4 million people died. Finally, the Treaty of Westphalia ended the war, and also set a precedence for ending future wars by negotiations and the signing of a peace treaty. Even though France was Catholic, Cardinal Richelieu joined with the Protestants, hoping to weaken Catholic Spain, thus strengthening France. After the Thirty Years’ War, two German-speaking kingdoms grew in power: Austria and Prussia.

Monarchs in Central Europe (2): Austria and Prussia The Hapsburg Family ruled in Austria, Hungary and Bohemia in the 1600s and 1700s. This empire included many different ethnic groups: Czechs, Hungarians, Croatians, Italians and Germans. Prussia, in northern Europe, became a strong military power in the 1600s and 1700s. It was ruled by the Hohenzollern Family. In 1740, Maria Theresa became empress of Austria. Prussia’s ruler, Frederick the Great, attacked Austria, thinking a woman ruler would be weak. He was wrong. Austria lost some territory in this War of the Austrian Succession, but Maria Theresa remained in power and retained most of her empire. Her daughter was Marie Antoinette, who later became Queen of France during the French Revolution.

Monarchs in Central Europe (3): Austria and Prussia Frederick the Great was an Enlightened Monarch. He held absolute power but promoted many Enlightenment principles in his kingdom: freedom of religion, fair trials, more humane prisons, an end to the death penalty, etc. In Austria, after Maria Theresa’s death, her son, Joseph II, became Emperor. He also was an Enlightened Monarch who tried to modernize Austria and make life easier for the people of the empire, especially poor serfs (peasants).

Monarchs in Central Europe (4): Austria and Prussia In 1756, Frederick attacked Austria for a second time. This became known as the Seven Years’ War. The Seven Years’ War is very important in world history. England joined on the side of Prussia. France joined on the side of Austria. Prussia (and the English) won the war. Because Austria and France lost, France was forced to give up some of its most important colonies to England, including India and Canada in North America. In U.S. history books, the Seven Years’ War is known as the French and Indian War.

Monarchy in Russia (1) In the 1200s, Genghis Khan and the Mongols controlled Russia. In the late 1400s and 1500s, Russia gained its independence from the Mongols under a series of kings, or czars – Ivan III; his son, Vasily; and his grandson, Ivan IV, also known as Ivan the Terrible. Ivan IV started out as a wise ruler. But he went crazy after the death of his beloved wife, blaming the Boyars (nobles) for her death. He turned Russia into a police state and even murdered his own son. After Ivan IV’s death, the Boyars chose a relative of his wife, Michael Romanov, to rule as czar. The Romanov Family would rule in Russia until the Communist Revolution of 1917.

Monarchy in Russia (2): Peter the Great Peter the Great, a member of the Romanov family, was czar of Russia from 1682 to He was very tall – 6 feet 8 inches. He traveled around Western Europe in 1697 on the “Grand Embassy” tour, observing western ideas with the goal of modernizing Russia. On his return, he implemented many of these ideas, known as westernization. Peter fought a war with Sweden, winning territory on the Baltic Sea. Here, he built the city of St. Petersburg, giving Russia a northern warm-water port to improve trade with the rest of Europe.

Monarchy in Russia (3): Catherine the Great Catherine the Great ruled in Russia from 1762 to 1796, after conspiring to murder her inept husband. She was an Enlightened Monarch who tried to free Russia’s serfs (peasants) and institute other Enlightenment reforms.

Monarchy in Britain (1) Queen Elizabeth I - died, James I, her cousin, became king. He clashed with Parliament, a representative body of English nobles, and with Puritans, who were strict Protestants who believed that the Anglican Church (Church of England) was too “Catholic” and needed further purifying to become more authentically Protestant. James I died in Charles I, son of James !, becomes next king. Clashes continue between him and Parliament and the Puritans. In 1628, Parliament forced Charles to sign the Right to Petition, which gave Parliament power over him. But he then dissolved Parliament. Civil War followed. Puritans, led by Oliver Cromwell, seized power and beheaded Charles in Oliver Cromwell ruled England as Lord-Protector and dictator until his death in Parliament decided to restore the monarchy. For this reason, this period in English history is known as the Restoration. Parliament invited Charles II, son of Charles I, to become king. He ruled until his death in 1685.

England’s King Charles I beheaded; Puritan leader Oliver Cromwell becomes Lord-Protector, ruler of Britain as a dictatorship.

Monarchy in Britain (2) The reign of Charles II was peaceful. During his reign, Parliament passed an important law, habeas corpus, which also later became a part of the Bill of Rights in the U.S. Constitution. It says a person cannot be arrested and imprisoned indefinitely or arbitrarily. Rather, a judge must quickly review the charges against a person who has been arrested, and decide whether the person should be put on trial or freed. James II, brother of Charles II, became the next king. His pro-Catholic policies stirred fear among the Protestants in Parliament. They voted to depose him in a bloodless, peaceful coup. He fled into exile. This became known in England as the Glorious Revolution. Parliament invited William and Mary to become England’s next monarchs. Mary was eldest daughter of James I, and William of Orange, her husband, was prince of the Netherlands. Both were Protestants. William and Mary agreed to share power with Parliament and to follow England’s laws and Constitution, including a Bill of Rights that protected the people of England. Thus, Britain became a Limited, Constitutional Monarchy.

Word List: Terms, Events, Places, Names Absolute Monarch Bill of Rights Boyar Constitution Czar Divine Right of Kings Dutch East India Company Enlightened Monarch/Despot Glorious Revolution “Grand Embassy” Habeas Corpus Huguenots Limited (Constitutional) Monarchy Monarch Parliament Puritans Republic Spanish Armada Westernization Versailles Palace Edict of Nantes Peace of Westphalia Seven Years’ War (French & Indian War) Thirty Years’ War War of the Austrian Succession Baltic Sea Belgium Granada Holy Roman Empire Iberia / Iberian Peninsula Netherlands New Netherlands/ New Amsterdam St. Petersburg Prussia Russia Hapsburg Family Hohenzollern Family Romanov Family

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