Spain’s Empire and European Absolutism Chapter 5 Section 1 Spain’s Empire and European Absolutism

A Powerful Spanish Empire Charles V fought off Muslims and opposed the Lutherans. In 1555 he grudgingly agreed to the Peace of Augsburg He ended up dividing his empire and retiring to a monastery. Left his brother Ferdinand all of Austria and the Holy Roman Empire He gave his son Phillip II Spain, the Netherlands, and American colonies

Phillip II was shy and deeply religious but very hard working. Would not take any advice when it came to ruling the country He trusted absolute no one Extremely aggressive, when king of Portugal died Phillip II marched in and took over.

Due to his expanding empire in 1600 American mines supplied Spain with 339,000 lbs. of gold. Between 1550-1650 roughly 16,000 tons of silver This will help to build a large army of about 50,000

Religious Reform When Phillip II took the throne he was fighting off religious wars from the reformation. He believed his duty was to defend the Catholic faith against the Muslims and Protestants. In 1571 the Pope called for all Catholic princes to raise an army to defeat the Ottomans. Phillip II responded with 200 ships. Then in 1588 he tries to fight England(Eliz. 1st) He will lose this badly.

Golden Age of Spanish Art and Literature Spain's new wealth allowed them to become patrons of the art. Between 16&17 centuries they had a golden age of arts. El Greco- Loved to distort the human figure and express symbolism through emotions Showed the deep faith of Catholicism

The Spanish Empire Weakens One problem Spain will deal with is inflation (decline of value of money with rise of price of goods and services) Spain's population has been growing meaning what??? As silver came into the country it flooded the market and dropped its own value. People needed more and more of it to buy stuff.

More economic troubles With the expulsion of the Muslims and Jews many valuable artisans and businesses moved. On top of this Spain’s nobles did not have to pay taxes therefore that tax burned fell on the lower class. If they had to be the ones paying then what does this cause for them?

More tax issues Spanish manufactured goods within Spain will become extremely expensive due to guilds and the middle ages therefore will have to turn to other sources. Buy from France, England, and the Netherlands which means wealth will flow out of the country instead of in. To finance any wars they will borrow money from German and Italian bankers. When silver was shipped into the country it was sent right back out to pay debts. Phillip had to declare bankruptcy 3 times.

The Dutch Revolt In the Spanish Netherlands Phillip II had to maintain army just to keep people under control To raise money Phillip II overtaxed the Netherlands What was their response? (Raided catholic churches) Phillip responded with force and make a public execution of 1,500 protestants/rebels

The Independent Dutch Prosper The Dutch will eventually in 1579 declare independence from Spain Will practice religious toleration. Why? Had provinces with elected governors. Eventually had the best artists in Europe and banks, and wealthy merchants.

The Dutch Trading Empire Because of the stability of the Dutch government, trading was a giant factor to their economic growth. Bought up surplus grain and re sold it at much higher priced markets will eventually have the largest fleet in the world Will become the powerhouse country of the merchant world

Absolutism in Europe Many monarchs will begin to rule with absolute authority. Wanted to be Absolute Monarchs- Kings or queens who held all the powers within their prospective states. Goal was to control every aspect of society Absolute monarchs believed in divine right- the idea that God created the monarchy and that the monarch was God’s representative on earth. Answered only to God and not his subjects.

Growing Power of European Monarchs The decline of feudalism and the rise of cities, and growth of national kingdoms led to centralized authority. Middle class usually backed the monarch because the monarchy usually kept business’s happy. Church authority eventually broke down which opened the way for monarchs to assume more control.

Crisis Leads to Absolutism In 17th century was a period of great upheaval in Europe. Continuous warfare over property and religions Governments will build up huge armies and levy heavy taxes. This pressure brought in unrest and frustration which will lead to peasant revolts.

Monarchs believed a way to counter this was to increase their power usually by a show of strength. Changed all aspects of life from religious worship to social gatherings. Created new beauracrcies in order to free themselves from nobles and parliaments.