Chapter 15 Terms and questions

Boyars

A boyar was a member of the highest rank of the feudal Bulgarian, Moscovian, Ruthenian, Wallachian, and Moldavian aristocracies, second only to the ruling princes, from the 10th century to the 17th century. The rank has lived on as a surname in Russia, Ukraine and Romania, and also in Finland. Boyars wielded considerable power through their military support of the Kievan princes. Power and prestige of many of them, however, soon came to depend almost completely on service to the state, family history of service and, to a lesser extent, land ownership. Ukrainian and Russian boyars were visually very similar to knights, but after the Mongol invasion, their cultural links were mostly lost. The boyars occupied the highest state offices and, through a council (Duma), advised the Grand Duke. They received extensive grants of land and, as members of the Boyars' Duma, were the major legislators of Kievan Rus'. After the Mongol invasion in the 13th century, the boyars from central and southern parts of Kievan Rus' (modern Belarus and Ukraine) were incorporated into Lithuanian and Polish nobility (szlachta). In the 16th and 17th centuries, many of those Ukrainian boyars who failed to get the status of a nobleman actively participated in the formation of the Cossack army, based in the south of modern Ukraine.

Absolutism

Absolute monarchy, or absolutism, meant that the ultimate authority to run a state was in the hands of a king who ruled by divine right. Divine right was the claim that a king was given his position by some higher power (a God). The authority of the monarch included: administration, taxes, justice and foreign policy. Other absolutist traits were the centralization of power, forced religious and standing military. One of the most prominent advocates of divine-right monarchy during the 17th century was Bishop Jacques-Benigne Bossuet. According to Bossuet, all governments were ordained by God to allow humanity to live in an organized society. Because kings and queens were given their authority by god, their power was unconditional. Unlike a limited monarchy, the absolute monarch would not share his power with another governing body, such as parliament.

Romanovs

After the failed rebellion of the Cossacks, Michael Romanov ascended to the throne. He achieved to reconsolidate central authority, but he and his successors did not improve the lot of the common people. he extended serfdom to all peasant in the realm, gave nobles unrestricted rights over the serfs and established penalties for harboring runaways. This resulted in social and religious uprising among the poor and oppressed to continue throughout the seventeenth century. On of the largest rebellions was led by the Cossack Stenka Razin, he and his followers killed landlords and government officials and proclaimed freedom, but their rebellion was defeated. The Romanov stars, made several important achievements. Russia gained Ukraine and Poland and completed the conquer of Siberia. There was a growth of the bureaucracy and the army.

War of Spanish Succession-causes and results

Causes- The precarious health of the childless King Charles II of Spain left the succession open. England and Holland were opposed to the union of French and Spanish dominions, which would have made France the leading world power and diverted Spanish trade from England and Holland to France. On the other hand, England, Holland, and France were all opposed to Archduke Charles, because his accession would reunite the Spanish and Austrian branches of the Habsburg family. Louis XIV, exhausted by the War of the Grand Alliance, sought a peaceful solution to the succession controversy and reached an agreement with the english King. This First Partition Treaty designated Joseph Ferdinand as the principal heir. The unexpected death (1699) of Joseph Ferdinand rendered the Anglo-French treaty. England and Holland, although willing to recognize Philip as king of Spain, were antagonized by France's growing commercial competition. There was an anti-French alliance among England, Leopold, and the Dutch. Te war ended with the peace of Utrecht, leaving the French king´s grandson as the king, with the condition that Spain and France could never be united. The major consequences were Canada was lost to France due to the loss of some territories in North America. There is also little doubt that this war laid the foundations for the Anglo-Saxon empire and domination of the world. Thirdly: the overexertion of France, the further erosion of traditional political structures and the apparent success of the English parliamentary structure probably hastened the outburst of the French Revolution. With regard to the political organization of their kingdoms, Philip issued the Decretos de Nueva Planta, following the centralizing approach of the Bourbons in France, ending the political autonomy of the kingdoms of the Crown of Aragon. With the Peace of Utrecht, the wars to prevent French hegemony that had dominated the seventeenth century were over for the time being.

Charles I

Charles I was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland. Charles was the second son of King James VI of Scotland. After his succession, Charles quarrelled with the Parliament of England, which sought to curb his royal prerogative. Charles believed in the divine right of kings and thought he could govern according to his own conscience. Many of his subjects opposed his policies, in particular the levying of taxes without parliamentary consent, and perceived his actions as those of a tyrannical absolute monarch. His religious policies, coupled with his marriage to a Roman Catholic, generated the antipathy and mistrust of reformed groups such as the Puritans and Calvinists, who thought his views were too Catholic. From 1642, Charles fought the armies of the English and Scottish parliaments in the English Civil War. After his defeat in 1645, he surrendered to a Scottish force that eventually handed him over to the English Parliament.

Charles II

Charles II was king of England, Scotland, and Ireland. Although the Parliament of Scotland proclaimed Charles II King, England entered the period known as the English Interregnum or the English Commonwealth, and the country was a republic, led by Oliver Cromwell. Cromwell defeated Charles II at the Battle of Worcester. Cromwell became dictator of England, Scotland and Ireland. A political crisis that followed the death of Cromwell in 1658 resulted in the restoration of the monarchy, and Charles returned to Britain. He favoured a policy of religious tolerance. The major foreign policy issue of his early reign was the Second Anglo-Dutch War. Charles dissolved the English Parliament in 1681, and ruled alone until his death.

What is constitutionalism? How does it differ from a democratic form of government? How does it differ from Absolutism?

Constitutionalism is when the ruling power has limitations due to set laws creating a balance between power of the government and the rights of the citizens. A constitution is an important part of constitutionalism and gets its power from the government's recognition and serves as the people's protector of their rights, liberties, and property. A constitutional government can either be in the form of a monarch or republic but the electorate has the ultimate power. It differs from a democracy because a true democracy grants all citizens the right to vote for their representative, where constitutionalism gave some selected men and no women a vote. Constitutionalism differs from absolutism because an absolutist state has one ruler who claims he has the divine right and controls everything within his state, he has no regulation as he is only responsible to God himself. On the other hand, constitutionalism relies on a constitution, whether its written or unwritten to regulate their laws and rules.

Cossaks

Cossacks were free gorps of warrior bands which peasants joined. As landlords demanded more from the serfs who survived the persecutions, growing numbers of peasants fled to the wild, recently conquered territories to east and south to join cossacks. Ivan responded to this by tying peasants ever more firmly to the land and to noble landholders. Simultaneously, he ordered that urban dwellers be bond to their towns and jobs so that he could tax them mire heavily. When Russia entered the "Time of Troubles" cossacks and peasants rebelled against nobles and officials, demanding fairer treatment. The Cossacks rebellion, however, was crushed and brought Michael Romanos to the throne.

How did countries centralize their power? What was a result of this centralization?

Countries centralized their power by: only having one monarch instead of one ruler for each province, the power of nobles was also restricted, many countries made their nobles move to their palaces so they could hace a closer what on their movements, avoiding rebellion, laws and taxes were controlled from one place. The result of centralization was a very powerful monarch, that with other traits like forced religion, standing military and belief of divine right led to an absolutist state.

How did countries grow their militaries? What happened as a result of this growth?

Countries grow their militaries by first absorbing the cost of the military, instead of leaving it to the nobles. Nobles formed part of the military and were aid with taxes from the people. Ina ditto , in many countries, military service and training was forced by law for middle class men, growing the size of the army. The result is that through fear, you may control people, it is a show of force. It can also bring bankruptcy to the country and debt because of the cost, as it is a state law many people harmed themselves and fled in order to avoid the military. A standing military s one of the main characteristics of an absolutist monarchy.

"little ice age"

During the 17th century, there was a period f colder and wetter climate called the "little ice age". It meant a shorter farming season with lower yields, which created food shortages that lead to famine. This had a great impact on population. Due to malnutrition, people started to get sick and die, making the population drastically decrease. There were even outbreaks of the bubonic plague. The peasants ad a harsh condition of life and as a consequence industry also suffered greatly. Food prices were high, there was unemployment and there was a huge economic crisis. Due to food shortages, peasants (especially women) began to invade bakeries and stole bread to sell it a a fair price, this was called moral economy.

Elizabeth I

Elizabeth I was Queen of England and Ireland. One of her first actions as queen was the establishment of an English Protestant church, of which she became the Supreme Governor. Her time on the throne provided welcome stability for the kingdom and helped forge a sense of national identity. During her reign, she exercised very great personal power. Elizabeth was able to maintain control over her realm impart by refusing to marry and submit to a husband. She was immensely popular with her people, but left no immediate heir to continue her legacy, which ruled in James Sturt ascending to the throne.

Frederick William

Frederick William I he was known as the 'Soldier King,', and he was the King in Prussia and Elector of Brandenburg from 1713 until his death. During his reign, Frederick William I did much to centralize and improve Prussia. He replaced mandatory military service among the middle class with an annual tax, established schools and hospitals, and resettled East Prussia. The king encouraged farming, reclaimed marshes, stored grain in good times and sold it in bad times. He dictated the manual of Regulations for State Officials.

Frederick William-Great Elector

Frederick William was Elector of Brandenburg and Duke of Prussia - and thus ruler of Brandenburg-Prussia - from 1640 until his death. A member of the House of Hohenzollern, he is popularly known as "the Great Elector" because of his military and political achievements. He restored the Hohenzollern dominions after the devastations of the Thirty Years' War—centralizing the political administration, reorganizing the state finances, rebuilding towns and cities, developing a strong army, and acquiring clear sovereignty over ducal Prussia. All these measures contributed to the foundation of the future Prussian monarchy. Frederick William was a staunch pillar of the Calvinist faith, associated with the rising commercial class. He saw the importance of trade and promoted it vigorously. His shrewd domestic reforms gave Prussia a strong position in the post-Westphalian political order of north-central Europe, setting Prussia up for elevation from duchy to kingdom, achieved under his son and successor.

Peter the Great

In 1613, the Russians crowned a new tzar from the Romanov family. This family or "dynasty' would rule Russia until 1917. He successfully pursued two major policies: Westernization and expansionism. Westernization. As a young man, Peter became fascinated with the culture and technology of Western Europe. He believed that Russia could become a major military power if they westernized. He introduced many reforms. He reorganized his army according to western models and created a navy. He invited western businessmen to Russia to teach Russians modern techniques. He also forced serfs to work in mines and factories. Nobles were required to serve in the military or government. Peter also adopted western fashions. Peter also moved the capital of Russia from Moscow to St. Petersburg - a city he built on the Baltic Sea. Expansionism. In 1682, under Peter, Russia aggressively expanded. Russia fought several wars and won land along the Baltic Sea (present-day Estonia and Latvia).

Stadholder

In each province of the United Provinces of the Netherlands, the Estates appointees an executiv officer, called the stadholder, he carried out ceremonial functions and was responsible for military defense. Although in theory freely chosen by the Estates and answerable to them, in practice the strong and influential House of Orange usually held office of stadholder in several of the seven provinces of the republic. This meant that tensions always lingered between supporter of the House of Orange and those of the staunchly republican Estates.

Mercantilism

In essence, mercantilism is an economic policy in which a country must sell more than it buys, or export more than it imports. It promoted governmental regulation of a nation's economy for the purpose of augmenting state power at the expense of rival national powers. It was the economic counterpart of the previous medieval version of political power: divine right of kings and absolute monarchy. Mercantilism includes a national economic policy aimed at accumulating monetary reserves through a positive balance of trade, especially of finished goods. One of the best examples of mercantilism is France during the reign of King Louis XIV under the guidance of Colbert. The goal of mercantilist economic policies was to build up the state, especially in an age of incessant warfare.

Was the revocation of the Edict of Nantes an error on the part of Louis XIV? Why or why not?

In my opinion it was an error on the part of Louis XIV. When Louis XIV reign began, a big part of the population were Huguenots who enjoyed religious toleration. Louis wanted to have one single faith and it precluded religious diversity, so he revoked the Edict of Nantes and Huguenots were persecuted. To avoid persecution, they fled. I believe it was a huge mistake because Huguenots happened to be highly skilled workers and business leaders, when they fled France different economically speaking, because the workers and businessmen had fled due to religious intolerance.

Mongols

In the 13th century much of Europe was conquered by the Mongols from East Asia. The Mongols dominated Russia for 240 years. They ruled by force but allowed the Russian princes to remain in power as long as taxes were collected for the Mongol ruler. The Mongol rule led to the rise of Moscow as the new center of power in Russia. Kiev lost importance. By the end of the Mongol Empire around 1480, princes had evolved into czars (tsars) or absolute rulers of Russia. Ivan III, started to get them out of Russian territory, that led to the beginning of Russian absolutism

United Provinces of the Netherlands

In the late sixteenth century the seven northern provinces of the Netherlands fought for an down their independence from Spain. The independence of the United Provinces of the Netherlands was recognized in 1628 in the treaty that ended the Thirty Yeas War. In this period, also called the golden age of the Netherlands, Dutch ideas and attitudes played a profound role in shaping a new and modern worldview. At the same time, the Unitd Provinces developed its own distinctive model of a constitutional state. Rejecting the rule of the monarch, the Dutch established a republic, a state in which power rested in the hands of the people and was exercised through elected representatives. Among the Dutch, an oligarchy of wealthy businessmen called regents handled domestic affairs in each province´s Estates, and these held virtually all power.

Why is it said that Locke was the sookesman for the liberal English Revolution of 1689 and for representative government?

It is said that Locke was the spokesman for the liberal English Revolution of 1689 and for representative government because he maintained that people set up civil governments to protect life, liberty, and property. A government that oversteps its proper function-protecting the natural rights of life, liberty, and property-becomes a tyranny. Under such a governemnt, the people have the natural rights to rebel. Locke linked economic liberty and private property with political freedom.

Constitutionalism

It is the limitation of government by law. Constitutionalism also implies a balance between the authority and power of the government, on the one hand, and the rights and liberties of the subjects on the other. All constitutionalist governments have a constitution, be it written or unwritten. A nation´s constitution may be embodied in one basic document and occasionally revised bu amendment, like the Constitution of the United States. Or it may be only partly formalized and include parliamentary statutes, judicial decisions, and a body of traditional procedures and practices, like the English and Dutch constitutions. England and the Netherlands evolved t this type of government.

Versailles-what purpose did it serve?

It offered him protection from any civil unrest going on in the city. It also forced the nobles to travel to Versailles and seek lodging in the palace, something that impeded their ability to build up regional power bases that could potentially challenge the king. By making nobles live at the palace with the king, he was able to keep at close watch all the movements of the nobility.

"The Great Chain of Being"

It was the social order that linked God to his creation in a series of ranked social groups. At the top, the monarch was celebrated as a semi divine being, chosen by God to embody the state. In Catholic countries, the clergy occupied the second leve, due to their sacred role interceding with God and the saints on behalf of their flocks. Next came nobles, whose privileged status derived from their ancient bloodlines and centuries of sacrifice on the battlefield. Many merchants shared spot with the nobles through service to the rising monarchs of the 15th and 16th centuries, they constituted a second tier of nobles. Those lower on the social scale, the peasants and artisans who constituted the vast majority of the population, were expected to defer to their betters with humble obedience. This new social hierarchy differed from pas times in one important detail: after the religious wars the clergy was not above the monarch, in this time period the monarch is in a superior level.

Ivan III

Ivan III Vasilyevich also known as Ivan the Great, he earned the title "the Great" by building beautiful churches. He also enclosed Moscow in a wall that became known as the Kremlin. He was a Grand Prince of Moscow and Grand Prince of all Rus' He tripled the territory of his state, ended the dominance of the Golden Horde over the Rus', renovated the Moscow Kremlin, and laid the foundations of what later became called the Russian state. He was one of the longest-reigning Russian rulers in history. Ivan conquered or brought under his control the lands of north-eastern Rus', marking the beginning of Muscovite dominance over Rus' territory. Ivan arguably became best known for his consolidation of Muscovite rule. Following his second marriage, Ivan developed a complicated court ceremonial on the Byzantine model and began to use the title of "Tsar and Autocrat". Also during the reign of Ivan and his son, Vasily III, Moscow came to be referred to by spokesmen as the Third Rome. New buildings were erected in the Kremlin, and the Kremlin walls were strengthened and furnished with towers and gates. Ivan believed that the Mongol's power had weakened. He stopped paying taxes to them and drove out the Mongols. After the fall of the Byzantine Empire, Ivan saw himself as the defender of the Eastern Orthodox Church. He called himself "czar" which meant "Caesar" in Russian.

What were the attitudes and policies of James I that made him so unpopular?

James I wasn't interested in displaying the majesty and mystique of monarchy, he lacked the common touch. He was also a poor judge of character, and in a society already hostile to Scots, his Scottish accent didn't help him. James was devoted to the theory of the divine right of kings and went so far as to lecture the House of Commons. He said that there is nothing that can stand against a king. He was implying total royal jurisdiction over the liberties, individuals, and properties of English men and women formed the basis of the Stuart concept of absolutism, which made him widely unpopular.

James I

James VI and I was King of Scotland as James VI and King of England and Ireland as James I. The kingdoms of Scotland and England were individual sovereign states, with their own parliaments, judiciary, and laws, though both were ruled by James in personal union. James himself was a talented scholar, the author of works such as Daemonologie (1597), The True Law of Free Monarchies (1598), and Basilikon Doron (1599). He sponsored the translation of the Bible. James´s greatest problem, however stemmed from his absolutist belief that a monarch has a divine right to his authority an d is responsible only to God. Bitter squabbles erupted between him and the House of Commons.

Colbert

Jean-Baptiste Colbert was a French politician who served as the Minister of Finances of France from 1665 to 1683 under the rule of King Louis XIV. He achieved a reputation for his work of improving the state of French manufacturing and bringing the economy back from the brink of bankruptcy. Colbert worked to create a favourable balance of trade and increase France's colonial holdings. Colbert worked to develop the domestic economy by raising tariffs and by encouraging major public works projects. Colbert also worked to ensure that the French East India Company had access to foreign markets, so that they could always obtain coffee, cotton, dyewoods, fur, pepper and sugar. In addition, Colbert founded the French merchant marine. He regulated the guilds.

Johann Sebastian Bach

Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer and musician of the Baroque period. He enriched established German styles through his skill in counterpoint, harmonic and motivic organisation, and the adaptation of rhythms, forms, and textures from abroad, particularly from Italy and France. His music is revered for its technical command, artistic beauty, and intellectual depth. Organist and choirmaster of several Lutheran churches across Germany, Bach was equally at home writing secular concertos and sublime religious cantatas. Bach´s organ music combined the baroque spirit of invention, tension, and emotion in an unforgettable striving toward the infinite.

John Locke

John Locke FRS was an English philosopher and physician, widely regarded as one of the most influential of Enlightenment thinkers and commonly known as the "Father of Liberalism". Considered one of the first of the British empiricists he is equally important to social contract theory. His work greatly affected the development of epistemology and political philosophy. His writings influenced Voltaire and Rousseau, many Scottish Enlightenment thinkers, as well as the American revolutionaries. Locke was the first to define the self through a continuity of consciousness. The Glorious Revolution and the concept of representatve government found its best defense in Locke´s Second Treatise of Civil Government. Roche maintained that a government that oversteps its proper function (protecting the natural rights of life, liberty and property) becomes a tyranny.By natural, Locke meant rights basic to all men because all have the ability to reason. under a tyrannical government, the people have the natural right to rebellion. He justified limiting the vote to property owners. His ideas were very popular in America .

Cardinal Mazarin

Jules Mazarin was Richelieu´s successor. In the service of the French crown, Mazarin's diplomatic goals were to secure peace between Spain and France. His initial years in France were full of domestic political instability and crisis with the death of Richelieu, closely followed by that of Louis XIII. The succession of the five-year-old Louis XIV to the throne in 1643 ushered in a regency government with the acting regent, the Spanish Queen Anne of Austria, holding the political authority of the king in trusteeship until he reached the age of majority when he could assume the full powers of the crown. As Richelieu's protégé and Louis XIV's godfather, Mazarin became the first minister. The Fronde, developed in France during his being minister. The revolts began with the judges of the parlement or law court in Paris, spread to gain backing among some key nobles and princes, and then found popular support in Paris as well as the provinces. The causes involved royal authority, including the levying of new taxes, the perceived abuse of royal authority in dealings with the parlement, and the crown's reliance on royal commissioned officers (intendants) in the outlying provinces. Even in the midst of the Fronde, Mazarin continued to direct France's foreign policy. He played an important part in the negotiations for the Peace of Westphalia at the end of the Thirty Years' War in 1648. Mazarin pursued a policy of allying with German princes and England against the Habsburgs in an effort to force peace with Spain. Under the terms of the Peace of the Pyrenees in 1659, Mazarin finally secured his long-term goal of peace between France and Spain.

What were the immediate and long-range causes of the English Civil War? What were the results?

Long term causes: -The status of the monarchy had started to decline under the reign of James I. James was a firm believer in the "divine right of kings". -Parliament handled money, which James lacked. -James used his friends to run the country and they were rewarded with titles. This caused great offence to those Members of Parliament who believed that they had the right to run the country. -Possible union with Spain could have made the country Short term causes: -Charles´s strong belief in his divine right to be king, he could never be questioned. -Arguments about religion and economy with the Parliament -Charles refused to let Parliament meet. -Charles ruled by using the Court of Star Chamber. To raise money for the king, the Court heavily fined those brought before it. -In 1635 Charles ordered that everyone in the country should pay Ship Money. This was historically a tax paid by coastal towns and villages to pay for the upkeep of the navy. -Charles ordered that the Scottish should use a new prayer book for their church services. This resulted in the invasion of England. The overall outcome of the war was: -The trial and execution of Charles I -The exile of his son, Charles II -The replacement of English monarchy with, at first, the Commonwealth of England (1649-53) and then the Protectorate (1653-59) under Oliver Cromwell's personal rule, which became dictatorship.

Louis XIII

Louis XIII assumed the throne after his father's death but his mother ruled during his childhood. When Louis took full control he then ruled with much guidance and support from Cardinal Richelieu. In 1618, Thirty Years War between the Catholics and the Protestants broke out. Going against the advice of the noblemen, King Louis XIII supported the Habsburg Ferdinand II, the Holy Roman Emperor. It antagonized the nobles to some extent. This was also the year when he revoked paulette tax, which further annoyed them. The nobles then began to riot. In August 1620, the royal force finally routed the rebels. He formed a council of ministers, which would help him to govern. In the same year in October, the King signed a treaty with Duke of Roahan, which ended the rebellion by the Huguenots. During his reign, France witnessed a tremendous growth. Under Richelieu's guidance, King Louis XIII was able to keep the nobility under his control and successfully intervened in the Thirty Years War. He also strengthened the navy and established absolute monarchy. The reign of King Louis XIII is also remembered for the cultural development of the nation.

Discuss the foreign policy goals of Louis XIV. Was he succesful?

Louis XIV wanted to expand the frontiers of France to what are called its natural boundaries - the Rhine river to the east and northeast,the Alps to the southeast, and the Pyrenees to the southwest. This would increase the population of France, increase agricultural land and areas of natural resources. All this would make France richer and more powerful. By establishing the boundaries of France behind the natural barriers of the Rhine and the Alps and Pyrenees mountain ranges, France would be protected from foreign attack by natural barriers that could easily be defended,and thus much safer from invasion by potential enemies. His foreign policies were mainly against the Habsburg dynasty's power and the ownership of French-speaking territories by nations other than France.his foreign policies included many wars. He did take over the Spanish Netherlands and some of the United Provinces of Holland, and Franche-Comté. However, his aggressive advances caused alliances to be formed against him which included the Habsburg domains of Spain and the Holy Roman Empire, England, and Holland in all of their incarnations. Eventually, Louis XIV could not defeat the alliances, and some acquired territories were lost again in treaties, even French colonies.

In what ways does Richelieu symbolize absolutism? What were his achievements?

Most of his achievements in France are important traits of absolutism. By decreasing and limiting the power of nobles he increased the power of the monarchy, having as a consequence a more centralized government. He reformed the army and the navy and grew the military, another absolutist characteristic. He believed in the Divine right of kings, idea that he transmitted to the king of France, yet another absolutist trait. He also centralized economy, which also characterizes absolutism.

Briefly explain the order and aspects of peasant life in the seventeenth century socially, politically, and economically.

Peasants were according to the Great Chain of being, always on the bottom of the social order. They were constantly exploded, heavily taxed, starved, underpaid and overworked. Due to the rising of Serfdom, they became serfs of landlords and were tied to their lands. In absolutist countries, they had a forced region and were constantly pressed by the military. Due to the little ice age, their crops and harvest was poor, and there were food shortages that struck them the most. as they could no longer afford food. In all countries, there were diverse uprising because of the fairness of their situation. In all cases, they were violently pressed to maintain an absolutism monarchy.

Republicanism

Republicanism is a form of government in which there is no monarch and the power rests in the hands of the people as exercised through elected representatives. Republicanism is an ideology of being a citizen in a state as a republic under which the people hold popular sovereignty.The word, republic, derives from the Latin, res publica, which referred to the system of government that emerged in the 6th century BCE following the expulsion of the kings from Rome by Lucius Junius Brutus and Collatinus.

Cardinal Richelieu

Richelieu dominated the history of France from 1624 to his death as Louis XIII's chief minister, he transmitted his ideas to the king at a young age. Richelieu is considered to be one of the greatest politicians in French history. Richelieu's time as chief minister is notable for many reasons. By restraining the power of the nobility, he transformed France into a strong, centralized state. His chief foreign policy objective was to check the power of the Austro-Spanish Habsburg dynasty. He attacked the Huguenots; reformed the navy and army; crushed any rebellions and advanced absolutism; he raised money by any methods required and he supervised a foreign policy that was designed to make France the greatest power in Europe.

Serfs

Serfs who occupied a plot of land were required to work for the lord of the manor who owned that land, and in return were entitled to protection, justice and the right to exploit certain fields within the manor to maintain their own subsistence. Serfs were often required not only to work on the lord's fields, but also his mines, forests and roads. The manor formed the basic unit of feudal society, and the lord of the manor and his serfs were bound legally, economically, and socially. Serfs formed the lowest social class of feudal society. Although serfdom declined, it saw an uprising in Austria and Prussia in absolutism, this was due to an increase in commercial agriculture in te countries.

Peter Paul Rubens

Sir Peter Paul Rubens was a Flemish Baroque painter. A proponent of an extravagant Baroque style that emphasized movement, colour, and sensuality, Rubens is well known for his Counter-Reformation altarpieces, portraits, landscapes, and history paintings of mythological and allegorical subjects. His commissioned works included religious and mythological subjects, and hunt scenes. He painted portraits and self-portraits, and in later life painted several landscapes. His drawings are mostly extremely forceful but not overly detailed. His style was colorful and characterized by animated figures, melodramatic contrasts, and monumental size. Nearly half of his pictures were of Christian subjects. Yet one of Rubens trademarks was the fleshy, sensual nudes who populate his canvases as Roman goddesses, water nymphs, and remarkably voluptuous saints and angels.

Sovereignity

Sovereignty is understood in jurisprudence as the full right and power of a governing body to govern itself without any interference from outside sources or bodies. The ruling power is not subject to regularized challenge or check by any other agency, be it judicial, legislative, religious, economic, or electoral. It is one of the main characteristics of absolutism.

Junkers

Term used to denominate Prussia´s nobility. The estates of Brandenburg and Prussia were dominated by the nobility and the landowning classes (junkers). Frederick William had to persuade the Junkers in the estates to accept taxation in their territories in order to fund an army, which in the ling term helped develop and absolutist monarchy. They agreed to do so in exchange or reconfirmation of their own privileges, including authority over the serfs. Having won over the junkers, the king crushed potential opposition to his power from the towns. Thereafter, the estates´power declined rapidly, for the Great Elector had both financial independence and superior force.

Baroque

The Baroque is often thought of as a period of artistic style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, architecture, literature, dance, theater, and music. The style began around 1600 in Rome and Italy, and spread to most of Europe. The popularity and success of the Baroque style was encouraged by the Catholic Church, which had decided at the time of the Council of Trent, in response to the Protestant Reformation, that the arts should communicate religious themes in direct and emotional involvement. The aristocracy also saw the dramatic style of Baroque architecture and art as a means of impressing visitors and expressing triumph, power and control. Baroque palaces are built around an entrance of courts, grand staircases and reception rooms of sequentially increasing opulence.

English Bill of Rights

The Bill of Rights is an Act of the Parliament of England that deals with constitutional matters and sets out certain basic civil rights. The Bill of Rights lays down limits on the powers of the monarch and sets out the rights of Parliament, including the requirement for regular parliaments, free elections, and freedom of speech in Parliament. It sets out certain rights of individuals including the prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment and reestablished the liberty of Protestants to have arms for their defence within the rule of law. Furthermore, the Bill of Rights described and condemned several misdeeds of James II of England. These ideas reflected those of the political thinker John Locke.

Describe the Dutch system of government. What was unusual about the Dutch attitudes toward religious beliefs?

The Dutch system of government was a republic, confederation of seven provinces with each having an oligarchy of wealthy merchants called regents. The regents handled the local domestic affairs and the provincial estate held most of the power. There was also a states general which took care of wars and foreign issues but it didn't have much power in local matters. The Dutch were different from that of Western European States because of its tolerance of all religion. The Dutch attitudes towards religious belief was unusual because at the time, most countries were absolutist ones that sought religious uniformity, and the Dutch formed a republic which had religious tolerance, no religion was forced upon their people.

Fronde

The Fronde was a series of civil wars in France between 1648 and 1653, occurring in the midst of the Franco-Spanish War, which had begun in 1635. The king confronted the combined opposition of the princes, the nobility, the law courts (parlements), and most of the French people, and yet won out in the end. The Fronde was divided into two campaigns, the Fronde of the parlements and the Fronde of the nobles. The timing of the outbreak of the Fronde des parlements, directly after the Peace of Westphalia (1648) that ended the Thirty Years War, was significant. The nuclei of the armed bands that terrorized parts of France under aristocratic leaders during this period had been hardened in a generation of war in Germany, where troops still tended to operate autonomously. Louis XIV, impressed as a young ruler with the experience of the Fronde, came to reorganize French fighting forces under a stricter hierarchy whose leaders ultimately could be made or unmade by the King. A. Lloyd Moote argues that Cardinal Mazarin blundered into the crisis but came out well ahead at the end. The Fronde represented the final attempt of the French nobility to do battle with the king, and they were humiliated. The long-term result was to strengthen Royal authority, but to weaken the economy. The Fronde facilitated the emergence of absolute monarchy.

The Glorious Revolution

The Glorious Revolution was the overthrow of King James II of England by a union of English Parliamentarians with the Dutch stadtholder William III of Orange-Nassau. William's successful invasion of England with a Dutch fleet and army led to his ascending of the English throne as William III of England. King James's policies of religious tolerance met with increasing opposition by members of leading political circles. After only two minor clashes between the two opposing armies in England, and anti-Catholic riots in several towns, James's regime collapsed The Revolution permanently ended any chance of Catholicism becoming re-established in England.

Austrian Habsburgs

The Habsburg emerged from the Thirty Years War impoverished and exhausted. They efforts to restore the power of the Holy Roman Empire had failed. They lost their power to separate political jurisdictions. Instead of turning t exploration, they decided to get themselves together, to unify their lands. They did this by establishing a common vernacular, which was German, imposing Catholicism as the national religion, making a norm that three days a week peasants were not to be paid and centralized government.. These new ideas were imposed to the people, which made it an absolutist monarchy.

Prussian Hobenzollerns

The House of Hohenzollern is a dynasty of former princes, electors, kings, and emperors of Hohenzollern, Brandenburg, Prussia, the German Empire, and Romania. The Hohenzollern family split into two branches, the Catholic Swabian branch and the Protestant Franconian branch. The Margraviate of Brandenburg and the Duchy of Prussia were ruled in personal union after 1618 and were called Brandenburg-Prussia. The Kingdom of Prussia was created in 1701, eventually leading to the unification of Germany and the creation of the German Empire in 1871, with the Hohenzollerns as hereditary German Emperors and Kings of Prussia.

Sword Nobles

The Nobles of the Sword were the noblemen of the oldest class of nobility in France dating from the Middle Ages and the Early Modern periods but still arguably in existence by descent. It was originally the knightly class, owing military service, in return for the possession of feudal landed estates. The term "noblesse d'épée" is largely synonymous with noblesse de race (nobility of family) and noblesse ancienne (old nobility) and is used in distinction from the other classes of the French nobility: The trend had other benefits for the monarchy, as it reduced the power of the old nobility and made it less able to revolt against the Crown. However, the nobility of the sword continued to provide much of the officer class of the French army and navy and so the kings of France needed to maintain good relations with them. Also, many such noblemen saw the importance of maintaining strong relations with the monarch and courting his good will and so remained at court.

Millet system

The Ottomans divided their subjects into religious communities called millets Each millet (or nation) enjoyed autonomous self-government under its religious leaders. The Ottoman Empire recognized Orthodox Christianity, Jews, Armenian Christians, and Muslims as distinct millets, but despite its tolerance, the empire was an explicitly Islamic state. The millet system created a powerful bond between the Ottoman ruling class and religious leaders , who supported the sultan´s rule in return for extensive authority over their own communities. Each millet collected taxes for the state, regulated group behavior, and maintained law courts, schools, houses of worship, and hospitals for its people.

What began the thirty years' war? Explain how the Thirty Years' war went from a religious confrontation to a political one.

The Thirty Years' War (1618-48) began when Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II of Bohemia attempted to curtail the religious activities of his subjects, sparking rebellion among Protestants. There was war between the Protestants and Catholics, making it a religious conflict. However at the first years of war, the Habsurgs had great power, and they were challenged by San and Sweden to avoid Habsburgs power and political influence to keep on growing. In addition, with the Edict of restitution, all Catholic properties that had been lost to protestantism were restored, which had a great political effects on the division of states and their properties.

Divine Right of Kings

The divine right of kings, divine right, or God's mandate is a political and religious doctrine of royal and political legitimacy. It asserts that a monarch is subject to no earthly authority, deriving the right to rule directly from the will of God. The king is thus not subject to the will of his people, the aristocracy, or any other estate of the realm, including (in the view of some, especially in Protestant countries and from the reign of Henry VIII of England) the Catholic Church. It implies that only God can judge an unjust king and that any attempt to depose, dethrone or restrict his powers runs contrary to the will of God and may constitute a sacrilegious act. It is often expressed in the phrase "by the Grace of God", attached to the titles of a reigning monarch.

Janissary corps

The less fortunate slaves (could not rise to the top of bureaucracy) formed the core of the sultan´s army, which as called the janissary corps. These highly organized and efficient troops gave the Ottomans a formidable advantage in war with western europeans. By 1683 service in the janissary corps had become so prestigious that the sultan ceased recruitment by force, and it became a volunteer army open to Christians and Muslims.

Peace of Utrecht

The peace of Utrecht is a series of treaties that concluded the War of the Spanish Succession. It put an end to French expansion and signaled the rise of the British Empire. -By the treaty between England and France Louis XIV recognized the English succession as established in the house of Hanover and confirmed the renunciation of the claims to the French throne of Louis's grandson, Philip V of Spain. Some French were ceded to England - By a treaty with the Netherlands France agreed to surrender to Austria the Spanish Netherlands. A commercial treaty between France and the Netherlands was also signed. France furthermore restored Savoy and Nice to Victor Amadeus II, recognizing him as king of Savoy. -France also signed a treaty with Portugal and one with Prussia confirming the kingship of the Prussian rulers. -The Anglo-Spanish treaty (July 13, 1713) confirmed the clauses of the Anglo-French treaties relating to the English and French successions. Spain ceded Gibraltar and Minorca to Great Britain and ceded Sicily to Savoy. -Britain and Spain signed the Asiento, an agreement giving Britain the sole right to the slave trade with Spanish America.

What happened as a result of the war?

The peace of Westphalia ended the war. The result of the war was that religious conflicts receded, this was the last major religious conflict. Another important facts was the the monarch´s power was now limited and religious freedom was allowed (Augsburg agreement).

Louis XIV

The reign of France's Louis XIV (1638-1718), known as the Sun King, lasted for 72 years, longer than that of any other known European sovereign. In that time, he transformed the monarchy. Unlike past kings, he relied through councils and had no first ministers. because of Mazarin´s teachings, he strongly believed on his divine right to be king (absolutist trait). He also ushered in a golden age of art and literature, presided over a dazzling royal court at Versailles, annexed key territories and established his country as the dominant European power. Louis also insisted on religious unity (important absolutist trait) forcing Catholicism and prosecuting Protestants. During the final decades of Louis XIV's rule, France was weakened by several lengthy wars that drained its resources, bankrupting the State and forced him to raise taxes upon the people which brought them poverty and sickness. The mass exodus of its Protestant population followed the king's revocation of the Edict of Nantes.

Why would the reign of the Great Elector be regarded as "the most crucial constitutional struggle in Prussian history for hundreds of years"? What did he do to increase royal authority? Who were the losers?

The reign of the Great Elector would be known as the "the most crucial constitutional struggle" because the Great Elector would remove representative powers and introduce absolutist power. Since the Estates of Brandenburg gave into the permanent taxation, constitutionalism would never be achieved. This caused him to have superior force and financial independence. To increase royal authority, he used permanent taxation. The losers were the peasants and the Estates of Brandenburg since they were the ones who became the ones ruled be the Frederick William the Great Elector, and had to pay his taxes.

What were the social conditions of Eastern Europe? How did rulers from Austria and Prussia transform their into powerful absolutist monarchies?

The social conditions were very diverse. Serfdom was back because of the rise of commercial agriculture. The Austrian Habsburgs had lost their power. Conditions for peasants, the bottom step of theistical order, included hey taxation, unemployment, less days of pay and oppression. In Prussia, Frederick William wanted to unify 3 separate states and by winning over the junkers and crushing his oppositors, he achieved a unified state. In addition everything that was parliamentary and independent was eliminated. By building a standing army, an honest and conscientious bureaucracy, Prussia was now an absolutist monarchy. regarding Austria, the Habsburgs had lost their power during the Thirty Years War. But taking over Bohemia was a huge step towards absolutism. A large portion of the Bohemian nobility was of recent origin and owed its success to the Habsburgs, and now they had noble support. Protestantism was stamped out and peasants had three days of unpaid work. Ferdinand centralized government and pushed the Ottomans away and established a permanent standing army. Finally, they established a common vernacular resulting in an absolutist state.

Sultan

The sultan was the ruler of the Ottoman Empire, he owned all the agricultural land of the empire and was served by an army and bureaucracy commodes of highly trained slaves.Agricultural lands were their personal heritage and peasants had to pay taxes to use the and. There was therefore an almost complete absence of private landed property and no hereditary nobility.

What were the reasons for the fall of the Spanish Empire?

There were many reasons for why the Spanish Empire fell: -Trade with colonies fell because of the competition with locals, English and Dutch merchants. -South-American natives died from disease, and the production of silver fell drastically. -Royal expenditure exceeded income (bankruptcy of the state) -Manufacture and commerce shrank, because the jews were kicked out. -Peasants left because of high rents, this led to agricultural decline -Conflicts with other European states and internal conflicts brought disaster. -Independence of Portugal

Peace of Westphalia

This ended the Thirty Years War and it marked a point in European history. For the most part, religious conflicts receded. The treaties recognized the independent authority of more that three hundred German princes, reconfirming the emperor`s limited authority. The Augsburg agreement became permanent, adding Calvinism to Catholicism and Lutheranism as legally permisible creeds. The north German stated remained Protestant, the south german states Catholic.

Robe Nobles

Under the Old Regime of France, the Nobles of the Robe or Nobles of the Gown were French aristocrats whose rank came from holding certain judicial or administrative posts. As a rule, the positions did not of themselves give the holder a title of nobility, such as baron, count, or duke (but the holder might also hold such a title), but they were almost always attached to a specific function. The offices were often hereditary, and by 1789, most had inherited their positions. The most influential of them were the 1,100 members of the 13 parlements, or courts of appeal. They were distinct from the "Nobles of the Sword", whose nobility was based on their families' traditional function as the knightly class and whose titles were usually attached to a particular feudal fiefdom, a landed estate held in return for military service. Together with the older nobility, the Nobles of the Robe made up the Second Estate in pre-revolutionary France.