1. Absolute Monarchs Philip II Elizabeth I Henry IV Louis XIV Peter the Great Frederick the Great Catherine the Great

2. Philip II  1556-1598  Spain  Catholic  Pol: increased Hapsburg family power; made Castille (Madrid) center of Spain  Soc: Supported Inquistion, put down Aragon revolt in 1590s, Golden Age: 1550-1650, Cervantes wrote Don Quixote  Ec: great wealth from overseas trade, heavy inflation  War(s): Netherlands revolt, 1567 (independence declared, 1581); naval victory over Turks in the Med. Sea, 1571; Spanish Armada defeated by English, 1588 - *Turning Point

3. Elizabeth I  1558-1603  England  Anglican  Pol: never married –”The Virgin Queen”, increased navy, balance of power  Soc: Elizabethan Age, middle class “gentry” source of Tudor stability, lowest rank - “yeomen”  Ec: English “sea dogs” raided Spanish ships; heavy debt  War: Spanish Armada defeated, 1588

4. Henry IV (Bourbon dynasty)  1589-1610  France  Protestant-con. To Catholicism  Pol: “Paris is worth a Mass”, Assassinated 1610; Cardinal RICHELIEU real power in France, 1624-1642  Soc: Edict of Nantes (1598)-protected Huguenots (Prot.); intendants were middle class govt. officials  Ec: improved economy  War(s): 30 Years War (1618-1648) – R. joined with Protestant side to defeat Spanish & Austrian Hapsburgs in the German states

5. Louis XIV  1643-1715  France  Catholic  Pol: Longest reign, Sun King, “I am the state”  Soc: Versailles, Repealed Nantes Edict (1685)  Ec: tax burden on the poor, projects & wars left France in near ec. Ruin  War(s): Fronde rebellion (1648-53), War of Spanish Succession (1701-13) – lost to Britain & allies

6. Peter the Great  1689-1725  Russia  Eastern Orthodox  Pol: built St. Petersburg, settlements in Siberia, Alaska; made R. a European power; goal was to modernize and westernize  Soc: Turned R. to the west, church under his rule, serfs have little freedom  Ec: reforms had limited success, beard tax  War(s): defeated Sweden (1721) & gained access to Baltic Sea; failed to win Black Sea port from Turks

7. Frederick the Great  1740-1763  Prussia  Lutheran  Pol: attacked Maria Theresa’s Austria, P. becomes European power  Soc: military glorified, Junkers (nobles) with great power  Ec: retained territory of Silesia  War(s): War of the Austrian Succession (1748), Seven Years War (1756-1763)

8. Catherine the Great  1762-1796  Russia  Eastern Orthodox  Pol: Seized throne from weak husband, took Black Sea port (Crimea peninsula), helped carve up Poland  Soc: influenced by enlightenment thought  Ec: plight of serfs actually worsened  War(s): crushed revolts, defeated Turks to gain warm –water port