MONARCHIES OF EUROPEChapter 5
Philip II Louis XIVElizabeth I Peter the Great
Age of Absolutism• Monarchs had complete
authority• Divine Right legitimized
their rule to the common people
• Period defined by rulers who kept power for decades
• Charles V split the Hapsburg Empire when he retired in 1556
Spain• Philip II was given
control of the western Hapsburg empire
• Ruled from 1556-1598
• Philip II was a hard working, suspicious leader as well as devoutly Christian
• Married Mary I of England
ESCORIAL
Social Unrest in Spain• Spanish were a regional people
• Castile region in power under Philip II
– Language, Capital (Madrid)
• Other regions resented Castile
Philip’s Religious Policy
• Religious minorities faced inquisitorial persecution
• Protestantism never took hold in Spain
• Efforts to Catholicize the Netherlands led to Dutch independence and a war with England
Spanish Armada• Protestant England
threatened Catholic Spain worldwide
• In 1588, the Spanish Armada attacked England, but was defeated
• Defeat marked the beginning of the end of Spanish naval power
Golden Century
• Miguel de Cervantes wrote Don Quixote
• Expulsion of religious minorities leads to over taxing of middle class
• Inflation
England
Tudors (1485-1603)
• Henry VII was first Tudor• Henry VIII was most powerful• Edward VI (age 9)• Mary married Philip II and led a return
to Catholicism (1553-1558)• Elizabeth I became Queen in 1558
and ruled for 45 years
Elizabeth’s Reign
• Intelligent and strong willed• Refused marriage• Period of cultural growth• Social classes were important and
fixed• Kept England in severe debt
English Foreign Policy
• With no more holdings on Europe, English Channel was vital for protection and thus the Navy
• Balance of power in Europe helped control growing nations
• Conflict existed with Scotland and Ireland
• Execution of Mary, Queen of Scots
FRANCE
FRANCE’S BOURBON DYNASTY
• Henry IV (1589-1610)–First Bourbon
–Edict of Nantes
• Louis XIII / Cardinal Richelieu (1610-1643)–Centralize Monarch’s power
–Attempted to weaken Hapsburgs
LOUIS XIV (1643-1715)
• Gave power to middle class– Intendants
• 1685-Cancels Edict of Nantes• Moved Capital to Versailles• Domestication of the Nobility• Wars vs. the Netherlands
– League of Augsburg
• War of Spanish Succession 1700-1714
GERMAN STATES
Conflict• Protestant princes vs. Catholic Hapsburgs• 30 Years War (1618-1648)
– Ruined German Economy– French Influence– Peace of Westphalia (p. 170)
• Hapsburgs focus on Austria• Maria Theresa• Emergence of Prussia (Frederick II)• War of Austrian Succession (1740-1748)• 7 Years War (1756-1763)