Fear = people are afraid of consequences, so they act a certain way The Age of Absolutism 1500-1800 Do Now: What is a better way to get people to do things: using fear or love? Fear = people are afraid of consequences, so they act a certain way Love = people like or love the possible consequences, so they act a certain way

Timeline of European History 500 BCE – Golden Age of Athens, Greece 300 BCE – 100 BCE: Rise of Roman Empire 100 BCE – 300 CE: Pax Romana (Golden Age) 300-500 CE: Fall of Roman Empire 500-1453: Byzantine Empire in Eastern Europe 500-1400: Medieval Dark Ages in West Europe 1450-1650: Renaissance, Age of Exploration, Protestant Reformation, Scientific Revolution and rise of Absolutism in Western Europe

Absolute Monarch A monarch with total (absolute) control over their government A monarch means any king, sultan, czar, emperor, etc. who passes power down through his/her family after they die How did Yertle the Turtle act like an absolute monarch?

Divine Right Theory Absolute monarchs believed that God had chosen their family to be the kings Divine = from heaven Right = the right to rule Does this make sense to you? How would this idea help those kings stay in power?

The Magna Carta - 1215 In the Middle Ages, kings could be controlled or overthrown by other noble families, so they were not as powerful The Magna Carta was a law in England, written by the nobles in 1215, that forced King John to share power with Parliament But during the Age of Exploration and Renaissance, kings got wealthier, paid for bigger armies, and were more powerful

Age of Exploration and Monarchs During the Age of Exploration, Spain and Portugal gained so much wealth in gold and silver from the New World, that their kings built huge armies How do you think this made other countries like England, France, and the Dutch Republics feel?

Renaissance and Absolute Monarchs The Renaissance was supported by the new wealth coming into Spain and Portugal, but also into Italian city-states like Venice and Genoa from trade with Muslims Kings all over Europe began buying more art, bigger castles and palaces, and paying for huge libraries and universities – only for the rich. Why did they do this?

Protestant Reformation and Absolutism During the Protestant Reformation, Catholic kings from Spain, France, and Italy battled Protestant monarchs in England, Scotland, the Dutch Republics, and Germany England’s King Henry VIII and Queen Elizabeth made England a strong nation during this time

England and the Glorious Revolution The English kings pushed too far. They over-taxed the people, spent too much money on wars, and the nobles in Parliament (a group of elected nobles who advised the king) rebelled in the 1640s. They eventually forced the King to sign the English Bill of Rights – this is called the Glorious Revolution

France’s Absolute Monarchy During the English Civil War in the 1640s, France’s monarchs decided to go hard against their nobles to prevent a civil war King Louis XIV was the strongest of the French kings. He built huge palaces, paid for the arts, fought hard against Protestants, and controlled the nobles

Russia’s Absolute Monarchs (Czars) 1200s: Mongols conquered Russia 1400s: Russian kings Ivan the Great and Ivan the Terrible, overthrew the Mongols After that, many powerful Russian Czars like Peter the Great and Catherine the Great tried to modernize and westernize Russia to be like England, France, Spain, Italian, and German monarchs

But… These absolute monarchs couldn’t last forever. The questioning spirit of the Renaissance led people to start wondering why we needed kings at all – couldn’t the people have more power? The Scientific Revolution opposed many ideas without proof, like Divine Right Something was about to change…

Copy into notebook: Chart on Absolute Monarchs Country Years ruled Religion What they did Elizabeth England 1558-1603 Protestant (Anglican) Patron of the arts, unified the country, established Anglican religion Louis XIV France 1543-1615 Catholic He built huge palaces, paid for the arts, fought hard against Protestants, and controlled the nobles Peter the Great Russia 1672-1725 Orthodox modernize and westernize Russia to be like England, France, Spain, Italian, and German monarchs