OverviewIn the 1500s and 1600s, several rulers in Western, Central, and Eastern Europe sought to centralize their political power. Claiming divine right, or authority from God to rule, leaders such as Philip II in Spain and Louis XIV in France gained complete authority over their governments and their subjects. England resisted the establishment of absolutism.

After a civil war, England’s Parliament enacted a Bill of Rights that limited the English monarch’s powers.

Overview

Main Ideas:• Monarchs acted to establish absolute power• Monarchs used the divine right theory and similar ideas to justify their power• Parliament and the Puritans in England resisted absolutism• A limited monarchy was established in England

AbsolutismAbsolutism: Belief that monarchs hold supreme power, and are responsible only to God.• King has all power• People have no power

Divine Right Theory: Idea that a king gets his authority to rule directly from God.

• Kings gain power & centralized governments lose power

ABSOLUTISMIN SPAIN

In the 1500s Spain was the most powerful nation in Europe.

Charles I (V)Country: Spain (& Holy Roman Empire)Years: 1519 - 1556 Biography: Charles was only 16 years old when he inherited the throne. He was born in Belgium, raised in Austria, and didn’t even speak Spanish! He ruled over Spain, which included Belgium & the Netherlands as Charles I. He ruled over Austria, part of Italy, & some of the German states as Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor. (Charles bought votes so he would be elected to rule the HRE.) Obviously, he was a staunch Catholic.

Pitfalls: The HRE was a large diverse empire with many threats – Turks, French, and German Protestant princes. Charles V struggled to create an entirely Catholic Europe. Unsuccessful & exhausted he gave up his titles and divided his empire in 1556. His brother Ferdinand became Holy Roman Emperor, and his son Philip II ruled Spain and its vast overseas empire.

Achievements: Charles V ruled Spain when it was the strongest state in Europe. Spain’s success in the Americas made it incredibly wealthy. The Spanish Armada was the most powerful navy in the world.

Philip IICountry: Spain

Years: 1556 - 1598

Achievements: He was a hard-working ruler who ushered in the golden age of Spain, still the most powerful nation in Europe until…

Biography: Like his father, Charles V, Philip was a devout Catholic and dreamed of a Catholic Europe. He married Queen Mary of England (the infamous Bloody Mary) & was even bloodier than her. He tortured & executed the rebellious Protestant Dutch by the thousands. When Mary died he wanted her sister Elizabeth I to marry him but she wisely refused.

Pitfalls: Philip II grew increasingly angry over England’s support of the rebellious Dutch as well as England’s attacks on Spain’s ships. (Perhaps Elizabeth’s refusal to marry him didn’t help.) Philip ordered the Spanish Armada to attack England. A storm brewed & the SA bottle-necked in the channel. Between the storm & the English navy, the SA was destroyed. Ships could be rebuilt but the economy couldn’t. Too much war cost too much $ (4 bankruptcies). Influx of gold & silver from the Americas = inflation.