1. Warmup 2/1 Grab a textbook as you come in
What kind of political system does the following government use?
Alpensloss: the rather small kingdom of Alpensloss is a monarchy. However, by agreement with his great grandfather, the King of Alpensloss has a strange deal. On each citizen’s 18th birthday, the King (or King’s representative) signs a contract with that citizen that clearly states whether that citizen will join society or not. If the citizen chooses not to join, they can still live within Alpensloss but are immune to all its laws and are not covered by any of its services.

2. Scientific Revolution
Little Ice Age
Reformation
Renaissance
Scientific Revolution
Europe
Age of Exploration
Age of Absolutism
Military Revolution
The Black Death

3. Notes: The Age of Absolutism
Roughly
Describes the period in which:
European countries developed absolute monarchies.
European countries became centralized.
Centralized: a country in which power and administration is focused in one place.

4. Absolute Monarchy
An absolute monarchy is any system in which the following are true:
Is a monarchy
Is an autocracy
The monarchs power approaches 100%

5. Absolute Monarchy
These things will be true of rulers whose power “approaches 100%”
Centralized: government focused in one place, not spread out (to lords, for example)
Power of the Purse: can decide when/how to raise taxes and how revenue is used.
Arbitrary Power: can do anything or make/unmake any law without consent of any other person

6. Divine Right of Kings
Monarchs justified their power with Divine Right.
Divine Right: the belief that a monarch has been chosen by God to lead.
Therefore no one else may limit their power.
Sovereignty comes from God

7. ASSIGNMENT: Age of Absolutism
Each person will be reading a different textbook section.
Your job is to decide if the monarchs described in this section was actually an absolute monarch.

8. ASSIGNMENT: Age of Absolutism
Read assigned section.
Detail their Actions: what did they do to increase absolutism? What did they do to decrease it? Record specific actions.
At the end: how successful were these monarchs at achieving Absolute Monarchy?
10 minutes

9. ASSIGNMENT pt 2
You will be presenting your section to people sitting around you.
Copy:
Reasons they were or were not absolute
Whether they were an absolute monarch
2 minutes per person

10. ASSIGNMENT pt 3
Some historians say that Absolute Monarchies were never actually achieved in this period.
Do you agree?