THE RISE OF THE

NEW MONARCHS

THE RISE OF THE

NEW MONARCHS

APEURO Lecture 1F

Mrs. Kray

NICCOLO MACHIAVELLI’S THE PRINCE, 1513

Manual for a realistic ruler Considered first work of

political science Some say “The Prince” was

Ferdinand of Aragon

Good government provided justice, law, and order The ends justify the means

Patriotic appeal for a free & united Italy “It is much more safe

to be feared than to be loved, when you have to choose between the

two.”

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE “NEW MONARCHS”

Taming the aristocracy (nobles of the sword) Offered the institution of monarchy as a guarantee to law and order

Develop a consistent stream of revenue through taxation

Break down the mass of feudal, inherited, customary, or “common” law in which the rights of the feudal classes were entrenched. The kings would MAKE law, enact it by his own authority, regardless

of previous custom or historic liberties What pleases the prince has the force of law!

Make armies and war the sole preserve of the state No more private armies

Develop bureaucracies to enforce royal authority Staffed with members of the middle class (nobles of the robe) – did

not happen in Eastern Europe

Maintain religious control over clergy and the functions of religion within their national boundaries

THE NEW MONARCHS IN

ENGLAND

CHALLENGES Hundred Years’ War

Severe financial burden Nobles had built up private

armies

War of the Roses Civil war between two factions

of nobles Devastated England

Many people were killed; food wasn’t grown; the wealthy spent money on weapons & soldiers

House of Lancaster (Red Rose) House of York (White Rose) Richard III

HENRY VII (1485-1509) First Tudor King

Tamed the nobles reduced the number of dukes

from 9 to 2 Ended livery and maintenance –

no private army

Established Star Chamber New system of courts to deal with

property disputes and infractions of public peace

Operated without a jury

Built England’s first navy

THE NEW MONARCHS IN

FRANCE

CHALLENGES The Hundred Years’ War

had left France devastated Experienced 100 years of

warfare on its soil

Burgundy aimed to replace French leadership on the continent

Feared encirclement by Habsburgs

THE VALOIS KINGS Louis XI “The Spider” (1461-1483)

Built up royal army, suppressed brigands, and subdued rebellious nobles

Added new territory to the royal domain through strategic marriages & by conquering part of Burgundy

Francis I (1515-1547) Concordat of Bologna gave king control of French

clergy through an agreement with the pope

Established taxation with taille (direct tax) and gabelle (salt tax)

Claimed lands in Italy

THE NEW MONARCHS IN

SPAIN

CHALLENGES There was no

Spain

Complete the Reconquista of the Moors who occupied the southern part of the Iberian Peninsula

Establish a national identity in a diverse kingdom

FERDINAND (1479-1516) & ISABELLA (1479-1504)

Their marriage united the 2 largest provinces in Spain (Aragon & Castile)

Made alliances with towns (hermandades) to establish law and order

Completed the reconquista

Established strict religious orthodoxy Spanishness linked to sense of Catholicity Spanish Inquisition Jews expelled 1492

Sponsored voyages of exploration

Spain emerged as the strongest nation in Europe Charles V inherited the Spanish throne, became

the most powerful monarch in Europe

THE NEW MONARCHS IN THE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE

STRUCTURE OF THE HRE 3 kinds of states

Princely states each one had a little hereditary dynastic monarchy Saxony, Brandenburg, Bavaria, Bohemia, Palatine, etc.

Ecclesiastical states run by a bishop or abbot Large portion of the Empire consisted of these church states

Imperial free cities Approximately 50 Not large but dominated commercial and financial life

Emperorship was an elective office 7 electors: 4 princely lords, 3 ecclesiastical lords (Palatine,

Saxony, Brandenburg, Bohemia, Mainz, Trier, Cologne) 1452 electors chose Archduke of Austria as emperor, he

was a Habsburg 1452-1806 – Habsburgs consistently get selves re-elected

CHARLES V (1515-1556) 1519 – Elected Holy Roman

Emperor and became symbolic head of Germany

Most powerful ruler of his day

Contemporaries feared that Europe was threatened with “universal monarchy” A kind of imperial system in

which no people could preserve independence from Habsburgs

This is France’s great fear

THE EMPIRE OF CHARLES V

“OTHER NATION’S MAKE WAR, YOU AUSTRIA,

MARRY”

CHALLENGES Because emperorship was an elected office German

states over the centuries had prevented the emperor from infringing upon their local liberties Extracted concessions before election Made centralizing gov’t power almost impossible

Fears of a universal Habsburg monarchy encouraged countries like France to interfere in German affairs to keep the area politically divided

Charles V battled numerous enemies during the course of his reign Ottoman Turks’ siege of Vienna, Habsburg-Valois Wars,

Algerian pirates, German Lutherans