ToKuGAWA IEYASU, Louis XIV, and Peter The GReat Absolutism ToKuGAWA IEYASU, Louis XIV, and Peter The GReat

Tokugawa Ieyasu After Toyotomi ‘s death in 1598, one of his daimyo allies named Tokugawa Ieyasu completed the unification of Japan in 1600 Tokugawa Ieyasu In 1603, Tokugawa became shogun of Japan, moved to capital to Edo (later called Tokyo), & restored gov’t & order to Japan. Tokugawa Shogunate Unites Japan One of Hideyoshi’s strongest daimyo allies, Tokugawa Ieyasu (toh•koo•gah•wah ee•yeh•yah•soo), completed the unification of Japan. In 1600, Ieyasu defeated his rivals at the Battle of Sekigahara. His victory earned him the loyalty of daimyo throughout Japan. Three years later, Ieyasu became the sole ruler, or shogun. He then moved Japan’s capital to his power base at Edo, a small fishing village that would later become the city of Tokyo. Japan was unified, but the daimyo still governed at the local level. To keep them from rebelling, Ieyasu required that they spend every other year in the capital. Even when they returned to their lands, they had to leave their families behind as hostages in Edo. Through this “alternate attendance policy” and other restrictions, Ieyasu tamed the daimyo. This was a major step toward restoring centralized government to Japan. As a result, the rule of law overcame the rule of the sword. Ieyasu founded the Tokugawa Shogunate, which would hold power until 1867. On his deathbed in 1616, Ieyasu advised his son, Hidetada, “Take care of the people. Strive to be virtuous. Never neglect to protect the country.” Most Tokugawa shoguns followed that advice. Their rule brought a welcome order to Japan. The final unifier of Japan, Tokugawa Ieyasu, unlike the previous unifiers, was eventually named shogun and truly ruled Japan. He gained power after being named as a regent for Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s five-year old son. The next year, the most respected of the regents died and Ieyasu marched against the child heir at Osaka Castle. Eventually, Tokugawa Ieyasu, won control of Japan at the Battle of Sekigahara, which he killed or captured all of his opposition. He was named shogun in 1603 and ruled Japan until 1615 when he retired. In 1614, Tokugawa finally marched against the heir of Toyotomi Hideoyoshi, now twenty years old, at Osaka Castle. The seige lasted a year, resulting in the total destruction of the entire Toyotomi family.

He controlled the nobles by forcing them to stay in Edo every other year. (I.E. they couldn’t return to their home area to raise an army against him.) They also had to leave their families in Edo. Tokugawa ruled until 1615, but he created a line of succession called the Tokugawa Shogunate that ruled Japan until 1867.

LOUIS XIV Louis XIV inherited the throne at age 5, & his Chief Minister worked to secure his reign. Louis called himself ‘the Sun King’ (because the sun is the center of the solar system & he was the center of the nation).

Louis XIV L’ETAT C’EST MOI. Louis never called the Estates-General (the council made of representatives of all social classes), so they were not able to check his power.

Strengthening of Royal Power under Louis XIV Louis expanded bureaucracy intendants collected taxes, recruited soldiers, & made sure Louis’s policies were followed. He strengthened the army. With help of finance minister (Colbert), he strengthened the French economy by following policies of mercantilism (increasing exports and placing tariffs on imports).

Versailles Louis XIV built an extravagant palace at Versailles (near Paris) as a symbol of royal power. Versailles was the home of Louis, about 10,000 nobles, & was also the seat of the government. As a patron of the arts, Louis sponsored artists, playwrights, & musicians to provide entertainment at Versailles.

Peter the Great Before the rule of the Romanov czars in the 1600s, Russia was backwards & isolated from Western Europe. Peter the Great, who came to power in 1682, was able to regain the absolute power of the earlier czars.

Peter the Great Peter the Great carried out social & economic reforms to make Russia more modern.

Westernization of Russia Peter the Great also weakened the Russian nobles (boyars) & forced them to Westernize. Part of this program included requiring nobles to wear Western clothes & shave their beards. He gained territory along the Baltic Sea as a result of his war against Sweden.