1. Fear = people are afraid of consequences, so they act a certain way
The Age of Absolutism
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

2. 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)
CE: Fall of Roman Empire
: Byzantine Empire in Eastern Europe
: Medieval Dark Ages in West Europe
: Renaissance, Age of Exploration, Protestant Reformation, Scientific Revolution and rise of Absolutism in Western Europe

3. 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?

4. 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?

5. The Magna Carta
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

6. 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?

7. 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?

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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

12. 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…

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