Chapter 4Chapter 4 The Growing Power of The Growing Power of Western Europe Western Europe 1640-17151640-1715

Political themes of chapters 4 and 5

AbsolutismandConstitutionalismHow and why?

Seventeenth CenturyReligious Conflict and War

Population DeclineEconomic Problems

For stability some monarchs consolidated and

increased power

Absolute MonarchAbsolute MonarchRuler who’s Ruler who’s power is not power is not

limitedlimitedFrance, Spain, Austria, France, Spain, Austria,

Prussia, and RussiaPrussia, and Russia

Absolutism is a misleading term

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There was always some opposition, but how well was opposition subdued?

Kings competed for power with..

•Nobles•Church•Guilds•Town Councils•Autonomous Groups

Professional Armies funded by nobles in exchange for titles

Taxes,Bureaucracy, and

ObedienceSovereign State involved

in every citizen’s life

What is

Constitutionalism?Legal limits on government

Balance of authority of government and rights and

liberties of subjects

Dutch Dutch RepublicRepublic

(United Provinces)

Independence with 1648 Peace of

Westphalia

Constitutional Government

dominated by wealthy merchants

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States General (assembly) and Stadholder (head of state) shared power

“Golden Age of the Netherlands”1600s: Center of trade and finance,

religious tolerance, science, arts

Dutch East and West India Companies

-Bank of Amsterdam (reliable currency)-1st stock exchange

10,000+ ships traded

around the world

Anglo-Dutch Wars 1652-1781(not continual)

Series of battles for trade routesIncluded an attempted invasion of the Dutch

Republic by Louis XIV

1674 New Amsterdam seized by EnglandNew York City

post 1713 global sea trade trade dominance dominance shifted to EnglandEngland

Stadholder William of

Orange(1672-1702)Centralized power and

battled England and France

Became King William III of England when he married his cousin Mary II

English/Dutch alliance kept

France in check

England-Stayed out of Thirty Years’ War-Little internal religious conflict-Cath vs. Prot in Ireland

Elizabeth had a cooperative relationship

with Parliament

1603 Elizabeth died with no heir

House of

StuartRelatives of

Tudors from

Scotland

King

James I(1566-1625)--------------------------

Pro-Absolutism and “Divine

Right”

Opposition from

Parliament and Puritans

“No bishop, no king”

Conflict with House of Commons over money and taxes

Tolerated Catholics who swore loyalty

Created an

English Bible

Guy FawkesAnti-Protestant

Anti-JamesAnti-Parliament

Nov. 5, 1605 Gunpowder

Plot

King

Charles I (1600-1649)

“Ship-Money” dispute

Dismissed Parliament 1629-1640

1637 Scottish 1637 Scottish Presbyterian Presbyterian anti-Anglican anti-Anglican

RebellionRebellionCharles Charles

summoned summoned Parliament for Parliament for

$$

“Long Parliament” 1640-1660Limited royal power (abolished Star Chamber)

Triennial Act required Parliament to meet every three years

1642 Charles attempted to arrest 5 leading members of the Parliament

1642-1649 English Civil War

Cavaliers (Royalists)

vs.Roundheads

(Parliament)

PuritanOliver

Cromwell(1599-1658)

Commanded Parliament’s New Model

Army

Inventory of a New Model Army Musketeer, English Civil War 1645 by Thom Atkinson

King Charles I Defeated at the 1645 Battle of Naseby

The Sentence Against Charles I…this court is in judgment and conscience satisfied that he (the said Charles Stuart) is guilty of levying war against the said Parliament and people, … and therein guilty of High Treason and of the murders, rapines, burnings, spoils, desolations, damage, and mischief to this nation acted and committed in the said war…For all which treasons and crimes, this court doth adjudge that he, the said Charles Stuart, as a tyrant, traitor, murderer, and public enemy to the good people of this nation, shall be put to death by the severing of his head from his body.

1649 Charles I Executed by order of the Rump Parliament

At first England became a religiously tolerant

Commonwealth, but…

Cromwell’s Protectorate

(1653-1658) becamea military dictatorship

Dictatorship-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Censorship

Martial Law

Closed Rump Parliament

Violence in Scotland and Ireland

He didn’t care about

the…“Magna Farta”

1651 Navigation Act and war challenged Dutch superiority

1655 Took Jamaica from Spain

Battled with rising religious extremism(Quakers, Levellers, Diggers, Fifth Monarchy Men)

Cromwell ruled as “Lord

Protector” until his death

in 1658

Charles I’s SonKing

Charles II(1630-1685)

1660 Restoration of Monarchy

Made Peace with ParliamentAristocrats received power in

exchange for taxes

1st pineapple grown in England

Charles II ordered

Cromwell’s body dug up and his head placed on

a spike in Westminster hall

Charles II and James II converted to Catholicism (Louis XIV alliance)

Parliament passed the 1673 Test Act

Ignored the Test

Act

William IIIPrince of Orange

1688 Glorious RevolutionProtestants “invited” the invasion

Mary IIJames II’s

Protestant DaughterKing James II ran to

France

William III received

assistance from many

anti-Louis XIV sources

William III Mary II

Constitutional Monarchy with English Bill of Rights

Limited royal powerKing can’t suspend Parliamentary lawMonarch must be ProtestantForm of religious tolerance (not for Pretenders)

Only Protestants can own arms

1689 English Bill of Rights• 1. …suspending laws, or the execution of laws,

by regal authority, without consent of parliament is illegal…

• 5. …it is the right of the subjects to petition the king and all commitments and prosecutions for such petitioning are illegal…

• 8. The election of members of parliament ought to be free

• 9. …freedom of speech…ought not to be impeached or questioned in any court of place out of parliament

• 10. That excessive bail ought not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted

Ireland remained

pro-Catholic Repressive laws passed by England

Thomas Hobbes vs. John Locke

Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679)

England

Leviathan 1651

John Locke

(1632-1704)England1690 Two

Treatises of Civil

Government

Hobbes Social Contracts Locke

• People are evil and selfish

• Kings keep order in society

• Give up rights in exchange for order

• Rebellion against monarchy is wrong

• People good and reasonable

• Government protects natural rights

• People can rebel against a bad government

Absolutist

Anti-Absolutist

““The The condition of condition of man... is a man... is a

condition of condition of war of war of

everyone everyone against against

everyone”everyone”

d

““The state of nature has a law

of nature to govern it, … that

being all equal and independent, no

one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty, or possessions.” ”

France under Louis XIV-Large population

-Global trade and colonies

-Wealthy and self-sufficient

Cardinal Richelieu(1585-1642)Chief Minister King Louis XIII

1. Increase royal power over nobles2. Weaken the Habsburgs

Noblesse de robe“Robe Nobility”

Judicial or Admin (new)

Noblesse d’épée “Sword Nobility”Hereditary (old)

Types of French Nobility

Powerful Noble Louis II de Bourbon “The Grand Condé”

Parlements - Judicial, not LegislativeHigh courts independent of the King

Louis XIV 1643 became

king after deaths of

Louis XIII and Richelieu

CardinalMazarin(1602-1661)Continued Richelieu's Policies for

young Louis XIV

The FrondeFronde 1648-1653Nobility rebelled against Mazarin

and growing royal powerNo bourgeoisie/aristocrat/masses No bourgeoisie/aristocrat/masses

alliance = failurealliance = failure

Painting to commemorate the

defeat of the Fronde

“Jupiter, applauding Louis,

ceases his thundering and now the world

sees that a new Jupiter has

arrived”

1661 Real power for Louis XIV

How to control How to control the nobles the nobles differently?differently?

Which type did Which type did he favor?he favor?

Louis XIVLouis XIV(1638-1715)

“The Sun King”“The Sun King”

Absolutist r. 1643-1715r. 1643-1715

Claimed Divine Right of Kings

Divine RightDivine Rightof Kingsof Kings

Royal power and authority comes from God and should

not be challenged by men

Jacques-Jacques-Bénigne Bénigne BossuetBossuet

(1627-1704)(1627-1704)Pro-Divine Right of Kings Bishop

“…the person of the king is sacred, and that to attack him in any way is sacrilege… Kings

should be guarded as holy things, and whosoever neglects

to protect them is worthy of death…”

Politics Drawn From the Very Words of Holy Scripture

“Should God withdraw his

hand, the earth would fall to

pieces; should the kings

authority cease in the realm, all would be in confusion.”

Politics Drawn From the Very Words of Holy Scripture

Centralized all government at

his palace VersaillesIntendants

enforced his will

Skilled and highly

involvedNever

assembled the

Estates General

“L’état, c’est moi”

Does the following document show absolutism or lack of?

“They [Parlement in Dijon] are so totally carried away with their sovereignty that they believe they alone can initiate action and that the orders coming from the royal council are usurpatius, although I have done what I could to disabuse them of this idea; and thanks to your aid and protection I’ve established many good procedures and fully reestablished the authority of the king against all those who do not acknowledge it. But I have not yet been able to suppress their desire for their former grandeur.”

-Intendant Claude Bouchu, 1669 letter

Palace of Versailles

King’s Chambers

Queen’s Chambers

The Court of Versailles

A jour d'appartement

Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday is jour d'appartement. All the gentlemen of the Court assemble in the King's antechamber, and the women meet in the Queen's rooms at 6 o'clock. …Then comes the King's throne-room, with every kind of music, both played and sung… Next comes a large room--it could be called a hall--with more than twenty tables covered in green velvet with golden fringes, where all sorts of games can be played. Then there is the great antechamber where the King's billiard table stands, and then a room with four long tables with refreshments, all kinds of things--fruit-tarts, sweetmeats, it looks just like the Christmas spread at home. Four more tables, just as long, are set out in the adjoining room, laden with decanters and glasses and every kind of wine and liqueur.… It is unbelievable how many games there are,… Those who don't play, like myself and many others, wander from room to room, now to the music, now to the gamblers--you are allowed to go wherever you like. This goes on from six to ten, … If I could describe the splendor with which all these rooms are furnished, and the amount of silver there is everywhere, I should go on for ever. It really is worth seeing.

-Elisabeth Charlotte Duchess of Orléans, 1682

Wanted nobles around

and obedient When Possible

“He [Louis XIV] always took great pains to find out what was going on in public places, in society, in private houses, even family secrets, and maintained and immense number of spies and tale-bearers. These were of all sorts; some did not know that their reports were carried to him; others did know it; there were others, again, who used to write to him directly, through channels which he prescribed; others who were admitted by the backstairs and saw him in his private room. Many a man in all ranks of life was ruined by these methods, often very unjustly, without ever being able to discover the reason; and when the King had once taken a prejudice against a man, he hardly ever got over it… .”

-Duc de Saint-Simon 1788 Memoirs

“If anyone habitually living in the Court absented himself he insisted on knowing the reason; those who came there only for flying visits had also to give a satisfactory explanation; any one who seldom or never appeared there was certain to incur his displeasure.”

-Duc de Saint-Simon 1788 Memoirs

“Every time I appoint someone

to a vacant position, I make a hundred unhappy

and one ungrateful”

Patronage

This painting was displayed at Versailles

Why?

How does El Escorial compare to Versailles?

From a letter of advice to his son

“I have so often experienced myself: the

crowd of people who will press around you,

each with his own design; the difficulty that you will have in

obtaining sincere advice from them…”

“As for this art of knowing men,

which will be so important to you ... I shall tell you, my son, that it can be learned but that it

cannot be taught.”

From a letter of advice to his son

Other Other actions actions of Louis of Louis

XIVXIV

17th Cent French ClassicismEra of Louis XIV

Combo of Baroque and Classics

Louis and his family portrayed as Roman gods (1670 Jean Nocret)

Established Royal academies for literature, science, music, art, dance, etc.

French language,

fashion, and culture the standard across Europe

1685 Cancelled Edict of Nantes

Protestantism Illegal

Destroyed Non-Catholic

Churches and Schools

“And now we perceive, with thankful acknowledgment of God's aid, …the better and greater part of our subjects...have embraced the Catholic faith. And since by this fact...the Edict of Nantes...has been rendered useless, we have determined that we can do nothing better, in order wholly to obliterate the memory of the troubles, the confusion, and the evils which the progress of this false religion has caused in the kingdom, …, than entirely to revoke the said Edict of Nantes.”

“One king, one law, one

faith”

Many Protestants fled, resisted, or converted in name only

L. XIV failed to convert all to Cath.

Established direct taxation

(incl. nobles to an extent) and sold titles and

offices(demoralized the people)

Jean-Baptiste Colbert

Controller General of Finances

Mercantilism and

Self-Sufficiency

MercantilismMercantilism• Government regulation and

promotion of industry– Poor Laws, Navigation Acts, National Markets, etc.

• Protectionism• Wealth based on securing limited

resources (gold)• Sell more than you purchase

(Balance of Trade)

Supported new industriesPromoted exportsReduced internal tariffsMerchant Marine and East India CompanyColonized Quebec, Caribbean, and LouisianaReduced corruption and waste

“The art of taxation consists of plucking the goose so as to obtain the most feathers with the least hissing.”

Professionalized Military

(what does that mean?)

War as a “state activity”(33 years!)

4 Major wars and many small conflictsEnemies with the Dutch, English, Swedes, HRE, Spanish

All other European powers (except Russia) worked to reign in Louis XIV

“It is certain that he passionately wanted glory, rather than the conquests themselves. In the acquisition of Alsace and half of Flanders, and of all of Franche-Comté, what he really liked was the name he made for himself.”

-Voltaire on Louis XIV

By 1694 French people wanted peace

Economic downturn,

bad harvests, and war

Parody of Louis XIV set to the Lords Prayer, 1709Our Father at Versailles,Unhallowed is thy name,

Thy kingdom is no longer great,Thy will is no longer done,

Give us our bread which we lack,Forgive our enemies which have beaten us,But not your generals who let them do so,Do not succumb to the temptations of La

Maintenon (L XIV’s 2nd wife),And deliver us from Chamillart (minister of war)

War of Spanish Succession1701-1713

Charles II King of Spain died with no heir

(last Habsburg)

Power willed to Philip of AnjouLouis XIV’s Bourbon

Grandson

Maria Theresa Louis XIV’s 1st wife and Charles II’s sister

(died 1683)

“The Pyrenees

have ceased to

exist”

Louis XIV supported Philip

England, Austria, Netherlands, and Prussia opposed

France and formed the Grand Alliance

Inventory of an English Soldier, War of Spanish Succession 1709 by Thom Atkinson

Power “Balanced”

Peace of Utrecht 1713• Bourbons gained Spanish throne

• France lost $ and Canadian colonies to England

• Aust Habs gained Italian land• Dutch security• Spanish Americas opened• Prussian recognition

Louis XIV died in 1715

72 year reign!

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How absolutist was he really?

Reactions to the Death of Louis XIV Duc de Saint-SimonEveryone in general felt delivered from the inconvenience of a court requiring continuous novelty. Paris, weary of its subjugation, found relief in the hope of liberation and in the joy of witnessing the demise of those who had abused their authority. The provinces,… now breathed easy…. Parlements and judges, crushed by edicts and rulings, now had hope of new license and authority. The people, ruined, abused, despairing, now thanked God for a deliverance which answered their most ardent desires. Foreign nations, although delighted to be rid of a monarch who for so many years had imposed his law, and who had always miraculously escaped their efforts to bring him to task, behaved more proper than the French. The marvels of the first three quarters of his seventy-year reign, … had understandably dazzled them. …Not a single foreign court exulted; all took pains to praise and honor his memory.