Chapter 21 Absolute Monarchs

Don Quixote de la Mancha

- called the birth of the modern European novel and written by Miguel de Cervantes

habeas corpus

-"to have the body"; This 1679 law gave every prisoner the right to obtain a writ or document ordering that the prisoner be brought before a judge to specify the charges against the prisoner.

Holy Roman emperor Ferdinand II

The future Holy Roman emperor was head of the Hapsburg family. As such, he ruled the Czech kingdom of Bohemia. The Protestants in Bohemia did not trust Ferdinand, who was a foreigner and a Catholic. When he closed some Protestant churches, the Protestants revolted. Ferdinand sent an army into Bohemia to crush the revolt. Several German Protestant princes took this chance to challenge their Catholic emperor. He paid his army of 125,000 men by allowing them to plunder, or rob, German villages. This huge army destroyed everything in its path.

Hapsburgs of Austria/Austrian Hapsburg

The war can be divided into two main phases: the phase of Hapsburg triumphs and the phase of Hapsburg defeats. During the first 12 years of the Thirty Years' War, Hapsburg armies from Austria and Spain crushed the troops hired by Protestant princes. They succeeded in putting down the Czech uprising. They also defeated the German Protestants who had supported the Czechs.

Inflation

a decline in the value of money, accompanied by a rise in the prices of goods and services.

Isabella and Ferdinand

had used the Inquisition to investigate suspected heretics, or nonbelievers in Christianity

Michel de Montaigne

lived during the worst years of the French religious wars. After the death of a dear friend, he thought deeply about life's meaning. TO communicate his ideas, he developed a new form of literature, the essay. In one essay, he pointed out that whenever a new belief arose, it replaced an old belief that people once accepted as truth.

Diego Velazquez

paintings reflected the pride of the Spanish monarchy. He was the court counter to Philip IV of Spain. He is best known for his portraits of the royal family and scenes of court life.

El Greco

spent much of his adult life in Spain; - Means "the Greek" - Art often puzzled the people of his time. He chose brilliant, sometimes clashing colors, distorted the human figure, and expressed emotion symbolically in his paintings. - Techniques showed the deep Catholic faith of Spain

Reconquista

the effort by Christian leaders to drive the Muslims out of Spain, lasting from the 1100s until 1492.

Golden Hind

the first English vessel to circumnavigate the globe, sailed from Plymouth, England, on 13 December 1577. It was rechristened the Golden Hind by its commander, Sir Francis Drake, in Magellan Strait. Sailing up the South American coast, it plundered Spanish treasure ships and reached the vicinity of present-day San Francisco in June 1579. The Golden Hind sailed home around the Cape of Good Hope, reaching Plymouth on 26 September 1580.

Oliver Cromwell

A general who the Puritans thought could win. Held the king prisoner and faced a public trial and execution. He now held the reins of power. In 1649, he abolished the monarchy and the House of Lords. He established a commonwealth, a republican form of government.

Fronde

A political party in France, during the minority of Louis XIV., who opposed the government, and made war upon the court party.

Louis XIII

After Henry IV's death, his son reigned. He was a weak king, but in 1624, he appointed a strong minister who made up for all of his weaknesses.

Jan Vermeer

An artist fascinated with the effects of light and dark. He chose domestic, indoor settings for his portraits. He often painted women doing such familiar activities such as pouring milk from a jug or reading a letter. His work reveals how important merchants, civil leaders, and the middle class in general were in the 17th century Netherlands.

Jean Bodin

An influential French writer that defined absolute rule as "The first characteristic of the sovereign prince is the power to make general and special laws, but - and this qualification is important- without the consent of superiors, equals, or inferiors. If the prince requires the consent of superiors, then he is a subject himself; if that of equals, he shares his authority with others if that of his subjects, senate or people, he is not sovereign".

Peter I or Peter the Great (Russia)

At first, he shared the throne with his half-brother. However, he became sole ruler of Russia. He is known to history as Peter the Great, because he was one of Russia's greatest reformers.

Hohenzollerns/Hohenzollern family

Built up their state from a number of small holdings, beginning with the German states of Brandenburg and Prussia. In 1640, a 20-year old Hohenzollern named Frederick William inherited the title of elector of Brandenburg.

Maria Theresa

Charles' eldest daughter and the heir to all of Charles' Hapsburg territories. In theory, this agreement guaranteed Maria Theresa a peaceful reign. Instead, she faced years of war. Her main enemy was Prussia, a state to the north of Austria.

Charles II

During his reign, Parliament passed an important guarantee of freedom, habeas corpus. In addition, Parliament debated who should inherit Charles's throne because Charles had no legitimate child, his heir was his brother James, who was a Catholic.

Bohemia

Ferinand II ruled the Czech kingdom of Bohemia. The Protestants of Bohemia did not trust Ferdinand, who was a foreigner and a Catholic. He sent an army into Bohemia to crush the revolt.

War of the Austrian Succession

Frederick underestimated Maria Theresa's strength. He assumed that because she was a woman, she would not be forceful enough to defend her lands. In 1740, he sent his army to occupy Silesia. Even though Maria Theresa had recently given birth, she journeyed to Hungary. Even though the nobles resented their Hapsburg rulers, they pledged to give Maria Theresa an army. Although Maria Theresa did stop Prussia's aggression, she lost Silesia. With the acquisition of Silesia, Prussia became a major European power.

Huguenots

French Protestants; In 1572, the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre in Paris sparked a six-week, nationwide slaughter of Huguenots. The massacre occurred when many Huguenot nobles were in Paris.

James II

He soon offended his subjects by displaying his Catholicism. Violating English law, he appointed several Catholics to high office. English Protestants became terrified at the prospect of a line of Catholic kinds when James's second wife gave birth to a son.

Gustavus II Adolphus or Gustavus Adolphus (Sweden)

Him and his disciplined army of 23,000 shifted the tide of war in 1630. They drove the Hapsburg armies out of northern Germany. However, he was killed in battle in 1632

Lord Howard

Howard took advantage of his high birth to sustain a long and distinguished career. Anne Boleyn was his first cousin. He was a grandson of the 2nd duke of Norfolk, the hero of Flodden; he went on to serve Mary as lord high admiral and Elizabeth as lord chamberlain. In 1569 he accompanied Hunsdon on the campaign which crushed the northern rebellion and in 1575 was given the Garter. In 1585 he was appointed lord high admiral for life, holding the position until he was 83: he held supreme command when the Armada was destroyed in 1588. In 1596, with Essex, he stormed Cadiz to forestall another Armada. The following year he was created earl of Nottingham and served as lord high steward until 1615.

Spanish Armada

In 1588, Philip launched the Spanish Armada in a n attempt to punish Protestant England and its queen, Elizabeth I.

"Defenestration of Prague"

Incident of Bohemian resistance to Habsburg authority. In 1617 Catholic officials in Bohemia closed Protestant chapels in violation of the religious-liberty guarantee of 1609. At an assembly called by the Protestants, the imperial regents were found guilty of violating the guarantee and were thrown from the windows of the council room of Prague Castle. Though the victims were not seriously hurt, the incident sparked the Bohemian revolt against Emperor Ferdinand II and led to the Thirty Years' War.

Charles I

James' I son, took the throne. Charles always neede money, in part because he was at war with both Spain and France. Several times when Parliament refused to give him funds, he dissolved it. After agreeing to the Petition of Right, he ignored it. He offended Puritans by upholding the rituals of the Anglican Church. Oliver Cromwell took him as prisoner and he faced a public execution.

Palace at Versailles

Louis XIV's palace at Versailles was proof of his absolute power. Only a ruler with total control over his country's economy could afford such a lavish palace. It cost an estimated $2.5 billion in 2003 dollars. Louis XIV was also able to force 36,000 laborers and 6,000 horses to work on the project.

Prussia

Maria Theresa's main enemy. Rose to power in the late 1600s. Prussia's ruling family, the Hohenzollerns, also had ambitions. Ruled by Frederick the Great

Montauban

Montauban was a stronghold of the Albigenses in the 13th cent. and of the Huguenots in the 16th cent. It enjoyed prosperity until the time of Louis XIV's religious persecutions (17th cent.). Points of interest include a 14th-century brick bridge over the Tarn and a cathedral (17th-18th cent.), which contains a celebrated painting by Jean Ingres, who was born in Montauban. The city has several army instruction centers.

Jean Baptiste Colbert

No one assisted Louis more in achieving these goals than his minister of finance. He believed in the theory of mercantilism. To prevent wealth from leaving the country, he tried to make France self-sufficient. He wanted it to be able to manufacture everything it needed instead of relying on imports. To expand manufacturing, he gave government funds and tax benefits to French companies. To protect France's industries, he placed a high tariff on goods from other countries. He also recognized the importance of colonies, which provide raw materials and a market for manufactured goods.

Moliere

One of Louis' favorite writers was Moliere, who wrote some of the funniest plays in French literature. His comedies included Tartuffe, which mocks religious hypocrisy.

St. Petersburg

Peter called the city after his patron saint. To build a city on a desolate swap was no easy matter. Every summer, the army forced thousands of luckless serfs to leave home and work in St. Petersburg. An estimated 25,000 to 100,000 people died from the terrible working conditions and widespread diseases. When St. Petersburg was finished, Peter ordered many Russian nobles to leave the comforts of Moscow and settle in his new capital. In time, it became a busy port.

"Grand Embassy"

Peter embarked on the "Grand Embassy," a long visit to western Europe.

Elizabeth I

Protestant England's queen; Elizabeth had supported Protestant subjects who had rebelled against Philip.

Junkers

Prussia's landowning nobility resisted the king's growing power. Frederick William I gave them the exclusive right to be officers in his army.

Marie de Medici

Queen consort of Henry IV of France. The daughter of Francesco de' Medici, of the noted Medici family, she was married in 1600 to Henry as his second wife. On his assassination in 1610, she became regent for their son, Louis XIII. Guided by the unscrupulous marquess d'Ancre, she squandered state revenues and bought the loyalty of rebellious nobles. After Ancre was assassinated, Louis assumed the throne (1617) and exiled Marie to Blois. She tried to raise a revolt and won favourable peace terms through her adviser, the future cardinal de Richelieu. Restored to the king's council (1622), she obtained a cardinal's hat for Richelieu and persuaded Louis to make him chief minister. Richelieu gradually withdrew from Marie's influence and by 1628 was opposing her policies. She attempted to have him dismissed, but Louis rejected her plot and banished Marie from court. In 1631 she fled to Brussels, where she later died in poverty.

Austria

Rose to power in the late 1600s. Austria's ruling family was the Hapsburgs. Ruled by Maria Theresa.

United Provinces of the Netherlands

The people practiced religious toleration. The United Provinces was not a kingdom but a republic. Each province had an elected governor, whose power depended on the support of merchants and landholders.

Tsar

The title, derived from caesar, was used in the Middle Ages to refer to a supreme ruler, particularly the Byzantine emperor. With the fall of the Byzantine Empire in 1453, the Russian monarch became the only remaining Orthodox monarch, and the Russian Orthodox clergy considered him a possible new supreme head of Orthodox Christianity. Ivan IV (the Terrible) was the first to be crowned tsar, in 1547. Though theoretically wielding absolute power, he and his successors were limited by the power of the Orthodox church, the Boyar Council, and the successive legal codes of 1497, 1550, and 1649. In 1721 Peter I changed his title to "Emperor of All Russia," but he and his successors continued to be popularly called tsars.

Peace of Westphalia

The treaty ended the war. The treaty had these important consequences: weakened the Hapsburg states of Spain and Austria; strengthened France by awarding it German territory; made German princes independent of the Holy Roman emperor; ended religious wars in Europe; introduced a new method of peace negotiation whereby all participants meet to settle the problems of a war and decide the terms of peace. This method is still used today

War of the Grand Alliance

Third major war of Louis XIV of France, in which his expansionist plans were blocked by an alliance led by Britain, the United Provinces of the Netherlands, and the Austrian Habsburgs. The deeper issue underlying the war was the rivalry between the Bourbon and Habsburg dynasties. Louis launched a campaign in the 1680s to position the Bourbons for future succession to the Spanish throne. To oppose him, the Habsburg emperor Leopold I joined other European nations in the League of Augsburg. The league proved ineffective, but in 1690 Britain, Brandenburg, Saxony, Bavaria, and Spain, alarmed at Louis's successes, joined with Leopold to form the Grand Alliance. As war broke out in Europe and in overseas colonies, including America (see King William's War), Louis found his military inadequately prepared, and France suffered heavy naval losses. In 1695 Louis started secret peace negotiations, which culminated in the Treaty of Rijswijk (1697). The underlying conflict between the Habsburg and Bourbon rulers and English-French conflicts remained unresolved and resurfaced four years later in the War of the Spanish Succession.

Royalists

Those who remained loyal to Charles

Cavaliers

Those who remained loyal to Charles; another name for Royalists.

Peace of Augsburg

a 1555 agreement declaring that the religion of each German state would be decided by its ruler

Edict of Nantes

a 1598 declaration in which the French king Henry IV promised that Protestants could live in peace in France and could set up houses of worship in some French cities

Reformation

a 16th-century movement for religious reform, leading to the founding of Christian churches that rejected the pope's authority.

Thirty Years' War

a European conflict over religion and territory and for power among ruling families, lasting from 1618 to 1648

Intendants

a French government official appointed by the monarch to collect taxes and administer justice

Dutch East India Company

a company founded by the Dutch in the early 17th century to establish and direct trade throughout Asia.

The Seven Years' War

a conflict in Europe, North America, and India, lasting from 1756 to 1763, in which the forces of Britain and Prussia battled those of Austria, France, Russia, and other countries.

English Civil War

a conflict, lasting from 1642 to 1649, in which Puritan supporters of Parliament battled supporters of England's monarchy. Royalists - Those who remained loyal to Charles

War of the Spanish Succession

a conflict, lasting from 1701 to 1713, in which a number of European states fought to prevent the Bourbon family from controlling Spain as well as France.

Cabinet

a group of advisers or ministers chosen by the head of a country to help make government decisions

Puritans

a group of people who sought freedom from religious persecution in England by founding a colony at Massachusetts Bay in the early 1600s

absolute monarchs

a king or queen who has unlimited power an seeks to control all aspects of society

Boyar

a landowning noble of Russia

Skepticism

a philosophy based on the idea that nothing can be known for certain

constitutional monarchy

a system of governing in which the ruler's power is limited by law

Lord Protector

a title used in British constitutional law for certain heads of state at different periods of history. It is also a particular title for the British Heads of State in respect to the established church. It is sometimes used to render in English other posts of temporary regent, acting for the absent monarchic head of state.

Westernization

an adoption of the social, political, or economic institutions of Western - especially European or American - countries.

Henry IV of France

became the first king of the Bourbon dynasty in France. As king, he showed himself to be decisive, fearless in battle, and a clever politician. He chose to give up Protestantism and become a Catholic. He declared that the Huguenots could live in peace in France and set up their own hoses of worship in some cities. He devoted his reign to rebuilding France and its prosperity. Some people hated him for his religious compromises. In 1610, a fanatic leaped into the royal carriage and stabbed Henry to death.

Cardinal Richelieu

became, in effect, the ruler of France. For several years, he had been a hard-working leader of the Catholic church in France. Although he tried sincerely to lead according to moral principles, he was also ambitious and enjoyed exercising authority. As Louis XIII's minister, he was able to pursue his ambitions in the political arena. He took two steps to increase the power of the Bourbon monarchy. First, he moved against Huguenots. He believed that Protestantism often served as an excuse for political conspiracies against the Catholic king. Second, he sought to weaken the nobles' power. He ordered nobles to take down their fortified castles. He increased the power of government agents who came from the middle class. He involved France in the Thirty Years' War

Sir Francis Drake

best known for fighting against Spain, especially as a privateer (pirate). He was the first English captain to circumnavigate the world (1577-1580)

Ivan IV called Ivan the Terrible

came to the throne in 1533 when he was only three years old. His "bad period" began in 1560 after Anastasia, his wife died. Accusing the boyars of poisoning his wife, Ivan turned against them. He organized his own police force, whose chief duty was to hunt down and murder people Ivan considered traitors. Using these secret police, he executed many boyars, their families, and the peasants who worked lands.

Prague

capital of Czechoslovakia

Mikhail Romanov

grandnephew of Ivan the Terrible's wife, Anastasia. He restored order to Russia. They strengthened government by passing a law code and putting down a revolt.

Rembrandt van Rijn

greatest Dutch artist of the period. He painted portraits of wealthy middle-class merchants. He also produced group portraits. In The Night Watch, he portrayed a group of city guards. He used sharp contrasts of light and shadow to draw attention to his focus. His work reveals how important merchants, civil leaders, and the middle class in general were in the 17th century Netherlands.

Charles VI

he became the Hapsburg ruler. His empire was a difficult one to rule. Within its borders lived a diverse assortment of people- Czechs, Hungarians, Italians, Croatians, and Germans. He sent his entire reign working out an answer to this problem. With endless arm-twisted, he persuaded other leaders of Europe to sign an agreement that declared they would recognize Charles's eldest daughter as the heir to all his Hapsburg territories.

Frederick II or Frederick the Great

he followed his father, Frederick William's military policies when he came to power. However, he also softened some of his father's laws. With regard to domestic affairs, he encouraged religious toleration and legal reform. According to his theory of government, he believed that a ruler should be like a father to his people.

Philip II

inherited Spain, the Spanish Netherlands, and the American colonies. -Shy, serious, and deeply religious -Could be aggressive for the sake of his empire -Philip's empire provided him with incredible wealth

Frederick William or elector of Brandenburg (later known as the Great Elector)

inherited the title of elector of Brandenburg at 20 years old. After seeing the destruction of the Thirty Year's War, he decided that having a strong army was the only way to ensure safety. To protect their lands, him and his descendants moved toward absolute monarchy.

Whigs

opposed James

Asiento

permission to send enslaved Africans to Spain's American colonies.

Tories

supported James

Glorious Revolution

the bloodless overthrow of the English king James II and his replacement by William and Mary

Bill of Rights (a general understanding only)

the first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution which protect citizen's basic rights and freedoms

divine right

the idea that monarchs are God's representatives on earth and are therefore answerable only to God.

Louis XIV (the "Sun King")

the most powerful ruler in French history. Although he became the strongest king of his time, he was only a four-year-old boy when he began his reign. When Cardinal Mazarin died in 1661, the 22-year-old took control of the government himself. He weakened the power of the nobles by excluding them from his councils. In contrast, he increased the power of the government agents called intendants. He devoted himself to helping France attain economic, political, and cultural brilliance.

Restoration

the period of Charles II's rule over England, after the collapse of Oliver Cromwell's government

Catherine the Great (Russia)

the ruler most admired by the philosophies. She ruled Russia from 1762 to 1796. The well-educated empress read the works of philosophes, and she exchanged many letters with Voltaire. She ruled with absolute authority but also sought to reform Russia. She recommended allowing religious toleration and abolishing torture and capital punishment.

Cardinal Jules Mazarin

the true ruler of France was Richeliu's successor, Cardinal Mazarin. His greatest triumph came in 1648, with the ending of the Thirty Year's War. Many people in France, particularly the nobles, hated him because he increased taxes and strengthened the central government. From 1648 to 1653, violent anti- Mazarin riots tore France apart.

Rene Descartes

was a brilliant thinker. In his Meditations on First Philosophy, he examined the skeptical argument that one could never be certain of anything. He used his observations and his reason to answer such arguments. IN doing so, he created a philosophy that influenced modern thinkers and helped to develop the scientific method.

siege @ La Rochelle

was a result of a war between the French royal forces of Louis XIII of France and the Huguenots of La Rochelle in 1627-1628. The siege marked the apex of the tensions between the Catholics and the Protestants in France, and ended with a complete victory for King Louis XIII and the Catholics.

Sir John Hawkins

was an English shipbuilder, naval administrator and commander, merchant, navigator, and slave trader. As treasurer (1577) and controller (1589) of the navy, he rebuilt older ships and helped design the faster ships that withstood the Spanish Armada in 1588.At age twenty-three, Frances Drake made his first voyage to the New World, sailing, in company with his second cousin, Sir John Hawkins, on one of a fleet of ships owned by his relatives, the Hawkins family of Plymouth. In 1569 he was again with the Hawkins fleet when it was trapped by the Spaniards in the Mexican port of San Juan de Ulua. He escaped along with Hawkins but the experience is said to have led him to his lifelong revenge against the Spanish.

Miguel de Cervantes

wrote the Don Quixote de la Mancha. Wrote about a poor Spanish nobleman who went a little crazy after reading too many books about heroic knights. Some critics believe the he was mocking chivalry, the knightly code of the Middle Ages.