Part IV September 22, 2009

 After 1450, the shift from divided feudal monarchies to truly sovereign rulers speeded up.  Feudal monarchies were characterized by a sharing of power between the king and powerful vassals.  Often there was a representative assembly such as the Estates General or the Cortes.

 Sovereign monarchs rarely called their representative bodies into session  These strong monarchs began to build standing national armies of professional soldiers  Monarchs were always concerned about raising money since warfare was now becoming more expensive

 France  France’s victory during the Hundred Years’ War (vss England) led to the consolidation of the power of the king)  Louis XI became the first king of a truly unified and powerful kingdom  France would travel down the road of absolute monarchy with the king having all the power

 Spain  Ferdinand and Isabella united the Spanish monarchy in  They embarked a campaign to Christianize the whole of Spain.  The toleration of Islam and Judaism ended dramatically with the institution of the Spanish Inquisition  Spain also became a vast colonial empire and the dominant world power of the 16 th Century

 England  England was wracked by Civil War during the latter half of the 1400’s.  Two families, the Lancaster’s and the York’s fought for supremacy  The Lancaster’s won and founded a new dynasty: The Tudors  The Tudors would dominate England through the 1500’s  Henry VIII  Elizabeth I

 The Holy Roman Empire  The German territories were not able to politically centralize  Territorial rulers and cities resisted all efforts to unify  Territories were also being split up into smaller and smaller units through inheritance to sons  The Holy Roman Emperor was elected by a 7 member electoral college  The Emperor had the title, but had little true power.