Crisis+&+Absolutism+in+Europe

=Crisis & Absolutism in Europe =

Maddie Bryant, Hannah Gad & Mikayla Klein 1550-1715 "I will have but one mistress England, and no master." -Elizabeth I media type="custom" key="12311500"

media type="custom" key="12313082" __Terms__ media type="custom" key="12312212" __People__
 * Witchcraft- the practice of magic by people supposedly in league with the devil, was part of traditional village culture for centuries
 * Divine right of Kings- the belief that kings receive their power from God and are responsible only to God, James the first believed in it, but Parliment didn't think much of it
 * Commonwealth- a republic, this is one of the names Parliment abolished the monarchy and the house of lords declared England a republic or commonwealth
 * Absolutism- a political system in which a ruler holds total power, it was tied to the idea of the divine right of Kings
 * Boyar- a Russian noble, Ivan expanded his territories of Russia eastward and he crused the power of the Russian nobility, this is why he was known as Ivan the terrible.
 * Mannerism- an artistic movement that emerged in Italy in the 1520s and 1530s; it marked the end of the Renaissance by breaking down i the principles of balance, harmony, and moderation
 * Baroque- an artistic style of the seventeenth century charcterized by complex forms, bold ornamentation, and contrasting elements
 * Natural Rights- in this state of nature humans had certain rights with which all humans are supposedly born, including the rights to life, liberty, and property
 * Czar- Russian for "Caesar," the title used by Russian emperors, Ivan IV was the first to take the title of Czar
 * Inflation- the rise of prices, inflation was one of Europes witnessed severe economic

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 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">Elizabeth I - she was called the "Virgin Queen" and "Good Queen Bess", she was one of Englands most powerful leaders. One of her sayings was " I will have but one mistress England, and no master."
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">Rodrigo Diaz- he was known as the "El Cid" meaning the champion, he was the spanish hero who fought the Muslims in Spain
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">Francis Drake- he was the guy who had destroyed the spanish Armada
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">Oliver Cromwell- he was known as the lord protector and the dictator in 1646-1658, he was also one of the strictest Puritan and strict rules
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">King Henry IV- in 1589-1610 he was the first of Bourbon Kings to France
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">Ferdinand II- in 1618 he tried to restore the Catholic Church in Germany
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">King Frederick William I- was known as the royal drill sergeant and he was the first king of Prussia. He had strict discipline and had the most efficent a army in Europe
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">Gustavus Adolpus- he was known as the Lion of the North
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">Charles VI- he was the Holy Roman Emperpr in 1711- 1740 and no male heir to the throne
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">King Fredrick II- in 1740-1786 he was one of the most greatest miliatry and political leaders in Prussia

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 * Crisis and Absolutism in Europe**

Catholicism and Calvinism became highly militant by 1560 because they were trying to defeat one another. This was one of the main causes of the sixteenth century European plague, but economic, social, and political forces also contributed to it. The greatest religious wars of this time were the French Wars of Religion. Even though the French kings harassed the Protestants during these wars, Protestantism still kept spreading. Although Huguenots were powerful and politically threatening to the Crown, they were highly outnumbered by Catholics and highly opposed by ultra-Catholics. These religious wars lasted for 30 years until Henry of Navarre succeeded to the throne. After he became king in 1594, he converted to Catholicism and issued the Edict of Nantes. The Edict of Nantes made Catholicism France’s official religion, but gave Huguenots the right to worship, which ended the religious fighting in France. King Philip II of Spain, who was considered the “Most Catholic King”, led Spain to many spectacular victories, and Spain gained a lot of power, but the greatest power in Europe was in England and France. Elizabeth Tudor became queen of England in 1558, when England was a small island kingdom of less than 4 million people. However, she made England the leading Protestant nation in Europe. She did this by taking away all laws favoring Catholics. Elizabeth also balanced power so that Spain and France would not become more powerful and start war. Despite this, in 1588, Philip II ordered a Spanish armada toward England in hopes to gain power. After encountering the English, they sailed back to Spain but were attacked by storms, and most of their ships sank.<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">

Throughout 1560 to 1650, Europe suffered inflation. Spain especially was suffering severely. This inflation led to many social disagreements. Witchcraft had been a belief for a long time, but especially during this time. Hundreds of thousands of people had been charged with it, and even after it started to decline, there were still religious disagreements in Germany. It was a main cause of the Thirty Years War. The Thirty Years War was at first between Catholics and Protestants, but later became more political when Denmark, Sweden, France, and Spain became involved. It was very destructive, but was eventually ended by the Peace of Westphalia, which declared that all German states could decide on their own religion. France became the new dominant nation in Europe, and the Thirty Years War was considered the last of the religious wars. Eventually, a civil war started in England in 1642 between the Cavaliers and the Roundheads. When James II became king, religion became a conflict again and many people were afraid of the idea of a Catholic monarchy. After William and Mary took the throne in 1689, they accepted a Bill of Rights. This Bill of Rights allowed Parliament to make laws and became the foundation for a constitutional monarchy. Slowly, the English would stop being persecuted because of their religion.

Absolutism was supposed to be a solution for Europe’s crises, and it was best shown by Louis XIV. He took power in 1661 and desired to be the sole ruler of France. He tried to make his people believe that he was the Sun King (the source of light for them). As for government, Louis built the royal court at Versailles. There were three purposes for Versailles: a personal household for the king, a location of the chief offices of the state, and a place for powerful subjects to find themselves favors and offices. Louis’s reign was an expensive one, so he put Jean-Baptiste Colbert in charge of his finances. Louis XIV died in 1715.



For more information on Crisis and Absolutism in Europe, visit... [|Elizabeth I, Queen of England] [|Reign of Louis XIV] [|A History of Witchcraft Persecutions] [|About the "Baroque" Period] [|Versailles] [|English Bill of Rights] [|The Divine Right of Kings] [|The Tudor Monarchs] [|The Evolution of Parliament] [|The Spanish Armada]
 * Links**