43-51 Ch 13 ID's

Elizabeth (1558-1603)

Elizabeth ascended the throne of England in 1558. She had a difficult childhood, been imprisoned for while and learned to hide her feelings early on from private and public sights. She was confident, cautious and intelligent and attempted to quickly solve the problems the queen before her, Mary, had created. She hoped make England more tolerant of religions other than Catholic, as she did not want England to be ripped apart by religious wars. As far as foreign policies went, Elizabeth believed in "caution, moderation and expediency." Importance: During her reign, England rose to it's peak and became the leader of the Protestant nations of Europe, laid the groundwork for a world empire and experienced a cultural renaissance.

the Netherlands

Governed by Philip II (even though he was never there), the Netherlands were one of the richest parts of Philip's empire and was consisted of seventeen provinces. The seven in the north were Germanic in culture and Dutch speaking, while the south provinces were closely tied to France and spoke French and Flemish. The Netherlands was a prosperous country though commerce and a lucrative textile industry. The Netherlands was set at the commercial crossroads of northwestern Europe, and because of this they were open to several religious influences. Some had adopted Lutheranism or Anabaptism, but when Philip II came around, Calvinism was becoming popular. Philip II wanted to strengthen his power over the Netherlands, which was opposed by nobles, towns and provincial states, because they thought they would lose their places in government and freedoms. Philip was resented even more when the Netherland residents realized the taxes Philip was imposing were solely for Spanish interests. Religion became a major part of rebellin when Philip brought about the idea of crushing Calvinism. A revolt began in 1566 when Calvinists destroyed statues and stained-glass windows in Catholic churches. This went on for many years. The revolt, however, had become organized and especially in the north because of William of Nassau (the prince of Orange), who wished to unify all seventeen provinces. This was achieved in 1576 with the Pacification of Ghent, but because of so much religious differentiation, it did not last long. The Union of Arras was made in 1579 of a Catholic union in the southern provinces, and the seven northern provinces made the Union of Utrecht, the Dutch-speaking union. The struggles lasted until 1609, when a twelve year truce ended the war. Importance: Were a large part in the downfall of Philip II's Spain and eventually divided into two parts.

Huguenots

Huguenots were the French Calvinists who came from all levels of society. About 40-50% of the French nobility became Huguenots, because of this large percentage of conversion of upper classmen, the Huguenots became a potential dangerous political threat to monarchical power. Even though only about 10% of the population were Calvinists, they were a strong-willed and well-organized minority. Importance: The Huguenots, coming from all levels of society, stood their ground and didn't give up in the Religious Wars of France, despite the immense force of Catholics.

the Edict of Nantes

Issued in 1598, the Edict of Nantes said that Catholicism was the official religion of France, but still let the Huguenots worship in selected places in every districts and allowed them to retain a number of fortified towns for their protection. Also, Huguenots were allowed to hold public offices and be a part of all other political privileges. Although the Edict of Nantes said that the Protestants were the minority and apparently said France would tolerate the religion, it did so only because of political necessity, not out of conviction. Importance: The Edict of Nantes led to religious tolerance throughout France and allowed the Huguenots to hold political privileges, even though they were the minority.

Philip II (1556-1598)

King Philip II of Spain, the son and heir of Charles V, had one major goal: consolidate and secure the lands he had inherited from his father. He did this by confirming his countries to Catholicism, enforcing this by aggressive use of the Spanish Inquisition and establishing a strong, monarchical authority, which was not easy because at that time was each state and territory had their own individual relationship to the king. He expanded royal power by making the monarchy less dependent on the traditional landed aristocracy. He was the center of the whole government and supervised work of all departments. He was not willing to give others authority and failed to distinguish important and trivial matters, leading to him falling weeks behind on state correspondence. Another one of his aims was to make Spain a dominant power in Europe. Spain gained a prosperous economy (gold and silver from New World, agriculture, commerce and industry, especially textiles, silk and leather goods) but eventually, Philip spent too much money on war and other things and after 1580 the economy went downhill. The government imposed new taxes but was still forced to borrow. The attempts to make Spain a great power led to its decline after Philip's reign. He was known as the "Most Catholic King" and Spaniards soon had little difficulty seeing themselves as people divinely chosen to save Catholic Christianity from the Protestant heretics. Him being so Catholic led him to many victories, but also many defeats. Importance: Philip's reign brought a new age of Spanish greatness, both politically and culturally, however, with the victories also came major defeats.

the New World

Parts of the new world were governed by Philip II, and on his land were large amounts of gold and silver mining. Importance: Brought in another source of income for Spain.

Henry IV

Taking part in the War of the Three Henries, Henry IV of Navarre became king after Henry III was assassinated by a monk. He realized we would never be accepted by Catholic France by being a Protestant, so he converted once again to Catholicism. With his coronation in 1594, the French Wars of Religion finally came to a halt. Importance: Henry IV's coronation into the throne was the beginning of the end to the Religious Wars of France.

Saint Bartholomew's Day

The Saint Bartholomew's Day was a massacre in August of 1572, a time when Catholic and Calvinist parties began to reconcile through the marriage of the sister of Charles IX (reigning Valois king) and Henry of Navarre (Bourbon ruler of Navarre, son of Jeanne d'Albret who introduced Calvinist ideas into Navarre). While many Huguenots traveled to Paris for the wedding because Henry was the political leader of the Huguenots, the Guise family persuaded the king and his mother that this Huguenot gathering posed a threat to them. So, they decided to abolish the Huguenot leaders with one swift blow. This led the beginning of the massacre when the king's guards sought out murdered some prominent Huguenot leaders. The fighting lasted for quite awhile, but within just a three day period, 3,000 Huguenots were dead. However, Henry of Navarre was not killed because he proclaimed himself as a Catholic before entering Paris. Importance: Saint Bartholomew's Day began the religious wars between the Catholics and the Calvinists by massacring a peaceful group of Huguenots.

Spanish Armada (1588)

The Spanish Armada ended in a failure. This was because there was not the amount of ships nor troops that Philip had planned on sending. They were "sailing against England in the confident hope of a miracle," which did not come. The Spanish fleet sailed back to Spain after many encounters with England, and was battered even more by storms on it's northward route around Scotland and Ireland. Importance: The Spanish Armada guaranteed that England would remain a Protestant country, and although Spain made up for its defeats within a year and a half, this particular defeat was a psychological blow to the Spaniards.

Union of Utrecht

The Union of Utrecht was established by William of Orange, and was made up of the seven northern provinces in the Netherlands, who were Dutch-speaking and were largely Germanic in culture. The "United Provinces" eventually became the Dutch Republic, but Spain did not recognize them as independent until 1648. Importance: The Union of Utrecht was one of the two parts of the Netherlands under the time of Philip II's reign.

the Battle of Lepanto (1571)

Under Philip II's leadership, the Spaniards were able to defeat the Turkish fleet in the Battle of Lepanto in 1571. This came from the Muslim attack on the island of Cyprus and Spain's leadership of a holy league against Turkish encroachments in the Mediterranean. Importance: The Spaniards victory at the Battle of Lepanto was astonishing.