T HE A GE OF E MPIRES Land and Sea Absolutism Constitutional Monarchs Enlightened Despots and more

W HAT IS AN E MPIRE ?? R EVIEW C ONRAD -D EMEREST M ODEL I. Necessary preconditions for the rise of empires: state-level government high agricultural potential in the area an environmental mosaic several small states with no clearly dominant state (power vacuum) mutual antagonisms among those states adequate military resources II. The primary reason a state succeeded in empire building was an ideology supporting personal identification with the state, empire, conquest, and militarism III. The major rewards of empire: economic rewards, reaped especially in the early years and redistributed to the elite and often to all levels of the citizenry population increase, often supported by the government and its ideology IV. Empires fall because: the ideology of expansion and conquest fueled attempts at conquest beyond practical limits failure to continue conquest indefinitely and to continue to bring home its economic fruits eroded faith in the ideology that supported the empire revolutions toppled the empire

S O WHAT ? What constitutes a land empire? What constitutes a sea empire?

D EFINITION OF A BSOLUTISM Divine Right of Kings king was God’s representative on earth obedience to king = obedience to God King could do no wrong

C HARACTERISTICS OF A BSOLUTISM  Title was inherited  Decisions of king were final  King controlled lawmaking body  King controlled all foreign affairs  People had no voice

L OUIS XIV 1643 Most powerful ruler in French history “L’etat, c’est moi” Sun King Economic, political and cultural advances Mercantilism CONTROL Spain, Austria, Prussia, Russia all looked up to France as model

V ERSAILLES

A ND SOME MORE … Philip II (Spain) Strengthened Catholic power Peter I (Russia) Westernization Russian Expansion

A ND STILL OTHERS …J APAN Tokugawa Ieyasu 1687 Unified Japan Tamed the daimyo “What is good for me is good for my son.” Great stability for Japan

A ND STILL OTHERS …C HINA Kangxi(1661) Manchu Dynasty Reduced government expenses Gained support of intellectuals by offering jobs Policy of isolationism

A ND STILL OTHERS …G UNPOWDER E MPIRES Suleiman the Lawgiver ( ) Ottoman Sultan: supreme military and political ruler Janissaries Abbas the Great ( ) Safavid Limited the power of “red hats” Punished corruption in government; promoted officials who proved loyalty Modernized military

ENLIGHTENED DESPOTS (still absolutists, but with “a heart”) Catherine the Great ( ) Russia Commission to review laws Religious toleration Akbar ( ) Mughal Religious freedom Governed through a bureaucracy of officials

C ONSTITUTIONAL M ONARCHIES England and Netherlands Characterized by limited powers individual rights representative institutions Prominent merchant class and unusual prosperity Both built commercial empires overseas with minimal state interference Constitutional monarchy in England evolved out of a bitter civil war, SEA BASED

So, what are some commonalities?