definitions and ids absolutism “l’ etat c’est moi!” the “sun king” junkers cossacks...
TRANSCRIPT
Definitions and IDs• Absolutism• “L’ Etat c’est moi!”• The “Sun King”• Junkers• Cossacks• Peter the Great
Questions and Imperatives• Discuss family life in the early modern era• Discuss the absolutist leaders of the Bourbon,
Habsburg, Hohenzollern, and Romanov families of the 17th century, noting similarities and differences.
• How do political systems reflect the structure of social and economic life? (Class discussion)
What is Absolutism?• complete and unrestricted power in government• roots of absolutism found in the late feudal period• struggling monarchies had to combat the privileges
of the Catholic Church and nobility• Absolutism more an ideal than practical reality• corrective to excessively decentralized institutions• seen as the personal power of some monarchs over
the limited power of other monarchs• absolutism was a cry from the people when they felt
that the monarch had too much power• Term coined in 1830, after absolutist monarchs
Bourbons of France
• Henry IV and Edict of Nantes• Henry IV 1589-1610, succeeded by 9-year-old son
Louis XIII• Marie de’ Medici served as regent for her son• Calvinists feared for their safety• Nobles began to reassert themselves• Marie summoned the Estates General in 1614• nothing came of the meeting• Marie soon declared her son of age
and dissolved the regency
King Louis XIII of France
• France had no direction for the next 10 years until Cardinal Richelieu 1624
• Marie had tried to regain some power; “Dismiss Richelieu,”, but he concentrated his power
• Richelieu – Reduced the independence of the nobility– Abolished a number of guarantees in the Edict of Nantes– Sold offices at a great rate and– Taxes…led to peasant uprisings– concentrated on foreign affairs
• Richelieu died in 1642 • King Louis XIII died the following year, 1643
Another young King
• 5-year old Louis XIV succeeded, but with a regent
• Louis XIII’s widow, Anne of Austria (daughter of King Philip III of Spain), took over the government, placing power in the hands of Italian Cardinal, Mazarin, a protégé of
Richelieu’s• When Mazarin died in 1661, Louis XIV was of age• Louis XIV, THE SUN KING
The Sun Kingreigned 1643-1715
• “L’état, c’est moi!”• Absolutism proved a failure• Ancien Régime (political & social system in France before Rev.)• Many sought the King’s favor• Versailles• tiny, crowded rooms, no palace toilet facilities, and often so
cold that their drinking water froze at dinner parties• Louis XIV reorganized and created new government
institutions • strengthened his authority at home and increased his power
over neighbors abroad
Louis XIV - France
Absolutism under Louis XIV• Louis’s Foreign affairs– Acquired more territories– Left royal treasury bankrupt– most powerful army in Europe
• Louis in domestic affairs– extended absolutism into the areas of social and religion– revoked the Edict of Nantes– Improved economy of France with reform measures• stimulated manufacturing, agriculture, and trade• welfare helped lower classes to find more
opportunities as cities began to grow• Many people breathed sigh of relief when he died in 1715
The Habsburg Empire• Habsburg Leopold I - HRE (1658-1705)– new palace in Schönbrunn– had come to the throne through the death of his brother– indecisive, but deeply religious– 30 years war showed HRE no longer had control over princes– Leopold’s affairs run by members of noble families– Prince Eugène had been passed over by Louis XIV– Eugène became field Marshall of Austria’s troops– Eugène influenced Habsburg affairs for the next 40 years– 1690s, Eugène urged Leopold to take bolder course against the
Turks and Austria expanded into the Ottoman Empire of the Turks
Prince Eugene
DIFFERENCES???
• The difference between the absolutism of Louis XIV and Leopold I:
• Louis supported his nobles after he subdued their independent positions in the provinces
• Leopold gave his nobles influence in government• Leopold’s absolutism was one in which the
aristocracy retained far more autonomous power and a firmer base of local support stimulated by regional loyalties than was the case in France
The Hohenzollerns• new power emerged from Brandenburg-
Prussia• close alliance established between ruler and
his nobles (Junkers)• Frederick William of Hohenzollern (1640-1688)• “the Great Elector”• ruled scattered territories in the north of “Germany”• took advantage of Thirty Years’ War and chaos that followed• His army grew to 22,000; he began to impose his will on his own
territories• Prussia became the leading force in unification and a model for a
unified Germany• Having military had been key (nobles and leader did well for each
other)
Frederick William
PRUSSIA• “granary of Europe” & nobles made most of economic potential• Unlike Louis XIV in France, Frederick William did not force his
nobles to revolve their life around him• He began to develop his capital, Berlin into a major city and
cultural center• founded a great library in his palace there and set up the double
blvd of Unter den Linden• grew to an equal setting with the other great powers of Europe• Successors improved the cultural and social atmosphere• Frederick III made his palace a center of art & polite society,
hoping to compete with Versailles• He continued the growth of Berlin with many churches and an
Academy of Sciences
Charlottenburg Palace - Berlin
To the East =• Ottoman Empire• central control in the Ottoman Empire was
effective by the early 1500s and the first signs of decline came in 1566
after death of one of the great Sultans, Suleiman the magnificent
• the Ottoman continued to be formidable enemies to the west and were constantly at war with the Hapsburgs
• Ottomans began to lose ground to Habsburgs in the 18th century
To the East• Poland • largest kingdom in Europe and as
de-centralized as the HRE• King of Poland could exercise control over his personal lands,
but powerful nobles held control elsewhere in the country• Poland was also continually at war• Poland fought to push out Protestantism• religious divisions and power of local nobles became serious
problem• Like rest of Europe, Poland faced a major internal clash in the
mid-17th century
To the East• crisis arose in Ukraine, borderland that had long been occupied
by soldier farmers, known as Cossacks • Like their Russian counterparts, these Cossacks were allowed a great
deal of independence because they protected the countryside• They were firm adherents to the Greek Orthodox Church and did
not like the push for Catholicism• They rebelled in 1648 and took control of Eastern Ukraine and in
1654, offering allegiance to Tsar• Czar – Tsar – Caesar -- Kaiser• this title was adopted by Ivan III (or Ivan the Great) a Russian
sovereign looked for national unity• Ivan III is known as the founder of the modern Russian state• His grandson Ivan the Terrible…
Ivan the Terrible
• ruled as Tsar of Russia from 1533-1584• member of Rurik dynasty, began 9th century • he used his military strength both at home and in conquests• Russia still feudal & Ivan had fewer political limitations than any
other ruler in Europe• peasant class was serfs & the Lords were called boyars, who
controlled the local areas• Ivan had come to power at age 3• At age 16, he pushed aside the hated boyars who had been used
as advisors• launched vicious campaigns to bring more area under his rule &
enlarged bureaucracy
Ivan the Terrible• Ivan married Anastasia Romanov and
thus entered the dynasty to follow• Ivan continued warring throughout the
regions and in 1557 moved on Poland• Many had had enough and fled toward
regions to the east and south• There they formed outlaw groups,
Cossacks (they came from the lower classes)• With Ivan’s death came great confusion , given his tight fist
around his reign• warring factions vied for the leadership against Fedor, Ivan’s son• The Romanov’s step in in 1613 with Michael (Michel)• The first Romanov Tsar, Michael, was the great-nephew of
Anastasia (her brother’s grandson)
Peter the Great• another absolutist of the 17th-18th c.
• only one among his contemporaries to declare himself “emperor”
• named the city St. Petersburg after his Patron Saint• Made “great” contributions to Russia, but known as peculiar &
called a moral monster• So, why was he great?• took control of the Russian Church when the patriarch died in
1700…he took over the monasteries, used their income for his own purposes
• The Church became a branch of the government• Peter basically ignored his advisory council• GREAT???
GREAT!?• He copied western models • his reign marked the beginning of
bureaucracy that characterized Russia from then on
• He laid the foundation for a two-class society that persisted until the 20th century
• Now, all peasants were one level, and there existed below them, serfs
• He created a uniform class of nobles• The result was a greater control than seen in the west• Peter demanded the support of the nobles but helped to build
their fortunes• He created a navy with little success, but it was a beginning• He brought Russia closer to being a power in Europe
So, what about these leaders – similarities, differences, future???
DISCUSSION QUESTION: Does the term “absolutist” reverberate
anyway/anywhere today?