Absolutism in Western and

Eastern Europe
Ch. 17: Emergence of the European
State System
 Absolutism
Characteristics:
• Absolute monarchs not
subordinate to national
assemblies
• Nobility reigned in
• Bureaucrats (17th C.) were
career officials and
answered only to monarch
• Maintained large standing
armies even during
peacetime
 Louis XIV (r. 1643-1715)
L’etat, c’est moi Louis XIV, 1701 by Rigaud
• Personified sovereignty of
state resided in ruler
• Quintessential absolutist and
advocate of Divine Right
• “the Sun King”
• France became undisputed
major power during his reign
– French language became
international language
– France epicenter of literature
and art
 Versailles
Baroque Architecture: Marquis Louvois
• Grandest and most impressive
palace in Europe
• Large-scale reinforced image as
most powerful absolute ruler
• Gardens by LeVau
• 60% royal revenues went to
maintaining Versailles
• Façade 1/3 mile; 1400 fountains
• Royal court grew from 600 to
10,000 people when court moved
from Paris
• Louis had absolute control over
nobility, who were required to live
there for several months a year
 Religious Policies: Edict of
Fontainbleu (1685)
• Louis considered himself head of
the French Catholic Church
– Did not allow the pope to
exercise political power
• Revoked the Edict of Nantes (Henry
IV–1598)
– Huguenots lost right to practice
Calvinism
– 200,000 fled to England,
Holland, and the N. American
colonies
– Cracked down on Jansenists
(Catholics who held some
Calvinist ideas) Protestant peasants rebelled against the officially
sanctioned dragonnades (conversions enforced by
dragoons, labeled "missionaries in boots") that followed
the Edict of Fontainebleau.
 Mercantilism: Finance Minister
Jean Baptiste Colbert (1665-83)
• State control over country’s economy to
achieve favorable balance of trade with
other countries
– Bullionism:
• Colbert’s goal: economic self-sufficiency
– Oversaw construction of roads and
canals
– Granted gov sponsored monopolies
to certain industries
– Heavy regulation of guilds
– Reduced local tolls
– Organized French trading companies
– Forbade exports of foodstuffs
• By 1683, France was leading
industrial country
– Textiles, mirrors, lace, steel and
firearms
• Developed merchant marine
• Louis’ military buildup stimulated
economy
• Negatives:
– Poor peasant conditions led to
emigration
– Massive army at expense of
strong navy
– Wars later on nullified Colbert’s
gains
 Wars of Louis XIV
Overview Costs
• At war for 2/3 of reign • Destroyed French economy
• Initially successful, but due to trade disruption
economically disastrous • 20% French subjects died
• Balance of Power system • Huge debt fell on 3rd estate
emerged in response to
• Sowed the seeds of the
Louis/France threat
French Revolution
– No one country could be
allowed to dominate continent
– Dutch Stadholder William of
Orange most important in
stopping expansionism
 Wars
First Dutch War, 1667-1668 (War of
Devolution)
• Louis XIV invaded Spanish
Netherlands (Belgium)
without declaring war
• Treaty of Aix-la-Chappelle
gave Louis 12 fortified
towns on the border of the
Spanish Netherlands; gave
up Burgundy to Spain
The Dutch War (1672-1679)
• Invaded the southern
Netherlands as revenge for
Dutch opposition in previous
war
• Dutch flooded countryside to
prevent invasion of Holland
• Peace of Nijmegan (1678-79)
– Took back Burgundy, some
Flemish towns, and Alsace
– Greatest extent of Louis
Nine Years’ War (War of League of
Augsburg) 1688-97 War of Spanish Succession, 1701-1713
• Invasion of Spanish Netherlands • Charles II (Spanish Hapsburg) willed
led to formation of League of all Spanish territories to grandson
Louis XIV
Augsburg (HRE, Spain, Sweden,
– Fear of consolidation of crowns
Bavaria, Saxony, and the Dutch
and upset of balance of power
Republic) and balance of power • Grand Alliance formed: England,
• William of Orange (King William Dutch Republic, HRE, Brandenburg,
III England) initiated period of Portugal, Savoy
Anglo-French rivalry lasting
until 1815
• France kept Alsace and
Strasbourg (Lorraine)
 War of Spanish Succession
Treaty of Utrecht (1713)
• Most important treaty between Peace of Westphalia
(1683) and Treaty of Paris (1763)
• Maintained balance of power
• Ended expansionism under Louis
• Spanish possessions partitioned
– Britain gained most
• Asiento (slave trade) from Spain and right to
send one ship to trade in New World
• Gained Gibraltar and Minorca
– Austria gained Spanish Netherlands
– Netherlands gained buffer zone
• Prohibited unification of Spanish and French
Bourbon dynasties
• Kings formally recognized in Sardinia and Prussia –
nucleus of future unified states of Germany and Italy

Grand Strategy to defeat France

 War of Spanish Succession

Europe before War Europe after Treaty of Utrecht

 Absolutism in Eastern Europe, 1600-1740
HOP RAP
3 Aging Empires 3 Emerging Empires
• HRE • Russia
• Ottoman Empire • Austria
• Polish Kingdom • Prussia

HRE: religious divisions due to

Reformation and religious
wars in 16th/17th centuries
split Germany among
Lutheran, Calvinist, and
Catholic princes
 3 Aging Empires
Ottoman Empire
• Could not maintain possessions in eastern
Europe and the Balkans in the face of Austrian
and Russian expansion
• Under Suleiman the Magnificent (r. 1520-
1566) conquered nearly ½ eastern Europe
• Highly talented Christian children
incorporated into the Ottoman Empire’s
bureaucracy
• Janissary Corps: Christian slaves not selected
for bureaucracy but served loyally in Turkish
army
• Tolerant of religion in conquered provinces
• Failure to conquer Vienna in 1683 led to
decline thereafter
Polish Kingdom
• Liberum veto: voting in Parliament
had to be unanimous for changes
to happen, thus little reform
– Inability of Polish monarchy to
consolidate its power over
nobility led to its partition
– Russia and Prussia encouraged
system because it weakened
country
– By 1800, Poland ceased to exist
as a sovereign state: carved up by
Russia, Prussia, and Austria
 Eastern vs. Western Absolutism
East West
• Based on powerful nobility, weak middle class, • In France, nobility limited,
and oppressed peasantry of serfs
• Threat of war with European and Asian middle-class strong, and
invaders served as motivators to consolidate peasants – not serfs
power
• 2 methods:
• Why no serfs in west?
– King imposed taxes without consent – Black Death resulted in labor
– Large standing armies shortages
• Serfdom: nobles demanded kings issue laws – Supremacy of noble landlords
restricting peasants’ right of movement,
confiscated peasant land, and imposed labor
obligations
• Hereditary serfdom revived in Poland, Russia,
and Prussia 17th c. and growth of agriculture
 The Austrian (Hapsburg) Empire
The Rise of Austria
• Ruler of Austria also HRE
• But, after the War of Spanish Succession
(1701-1713) and Peace of Utrecht (1713)
Bourbon dynasty included Spanish throne,
thus Hapsburg power only in Austria
• Areas:
– Naples, Sardinia, Milan
– Austrian Netherlands (Belgium)
– Hungary (largest part of empire) and
Transylvania (Romania)
• Reorganization of Bohemia major step
towards absolutism
• Serfdom intensified during Hapsburg rule
 Government
• Austria NOT a nation-state,
rather a multinational empire:
– Austria proper: Germans, Italians
– Bohemia: Czechs, Germans
– Hungary: Hungarians, Serbs,
Croats, Romanians
• No single constitutional system
or administration – each region
had a different legal
relationship to the emperor
 Important Hapsburg Rulers:
Ferdinand II
• Took control of Bohemia during
Thirty Years’ War
Ferdinand III
• Centralized government in
Austria proper
Leopold I (1658-1705)
• Restricted Protestant worship
• Siege of Vienna (1683): repelled
the Turks from the gates of
Vienna marking last Ottoman
attempt to take central Europe
Emperor Charles VI (1711-1740)
• Austria saved from French
expansion during War of
Spanish Succession due to its
alliance with Britain and under
leadership of Prince Eugene of
Savoy
• Pragmatic Sanction (1713)
– Hapsburg possessions divided and
passed to a single heir
– Daughter, Maria Theresa,
inherited empire in 1740 ruling
for 40 years
 Prussia: House of Hohenzollern
Frederick William, the “Great Elector” (r.
1640-1688)
• Strict Calvinist, but granted religious
toleration to Catholics and Jews
• Admired Swedish government and
Netherlands economy
• Ongoing struggle between Poland
and Sweden for control of Baltic
region after 1648 and wars of Louis
XIV created permanent crisis
– Prussia invaded 1656-57 by
Tartars
– Weakened nobles estates and
created need for larger army
• Established Prussia as a great power and laid
foundation for unification
• Oversaw Prussian militarism
– Used power and taxation to unify
Rhineland, Prussia and Brandenburg
– Nobles not exempt
– Soldiers tax collectors and policemen
– “Junkers” backbone of Prussian military
officer corps
• Nobles and landed dominated
Estates
• 1653: hereditary subjugation of
peasants used to compensate nobles
• Economy:
• Built industry and trade
– Woolens, cotton, linen,
velvet, lace, silk, soap,
paper and iron
– Trade failed due to lack of
ports and naval
experience
• Imported skilled
craftsmen and Dutch
farmers
 Frederick I “The Ostentatious”
(r. 1688-1713)
The first “King of Prussia”
• Most popular
• Tried to imitate Louis XIV
• Encouraged higher education
– Founded university and academy
of science
– Welcomed immigrant scholars
• Fought two wars against Louis XIV and
allied with Hapsburgs
– Nine Years’ War (1688-1697)
– War of Spanish Succession (1701-
1713)
• Peace of Utrecht recognized
the title “King of Prussia”
 Frederick William I (r. 1713-1740)
The Soldiers’ King
• Most important Hohenzollern king in terms
of absolutism
– Calvinist
– Obsessed with finding tall soldiers
• Militarism into society “Sparta of the North”
– Society rigid and disciplined
– Unquestioning obedience highest virtue
• Double size of army (4th largest, but best)
• 80% gov spending – very high taxed
• Designed to deter from war
• Most efficient bureaucracy – merit based
• Compulsory elementary school in 1717
 Frederick II (r. 1740-1786)
Frederick the Great
• Enlightened despot
• most powerful and famous
of Prussian kings
• Increased Prussian territory
at expense of Hapsburgs
 Russia: The Romanov Dynasty
• Lasted from ascent of Michael Romanov in 1613 to the Russian Revolution in 1917
• Michael Romanov (r. 1613-1645)
– Came to power in Muscovy after the “Time of Troubles” civil war
– Romanov favored the boyars (Russian nobles) in return for their support
– Russian Empire expanded to the Pacific Ocean in the Far East
– Fought several unsuccessful wars against Sweden, Poland, and the Ottoman Empire
• Russian society transformed in 17th century
– Nobles gained more exemptions from military service
– Rights of peasants declined
• Bloody Cossack revolts led to more restrictions on serfs
– “Old Believers” of the Orthodox Church resisted influx of new religious sects from the west (Lutherans and
Calvinists)
• Persecuted by government
• Many burned themselves in protest over 2 decades
– Western ideas gained ground
• Via literature, clothing, customs
– By 1689 Russia world’s largest country (3x size of Europe)
 Peter the Great (r. 1682-1725)
• Revolt of the Strelski put down by Peter in 1698
securing his reign
• Military power greatest concern
– 75% budget on military
– Royal, military, and artillery academies
– Royal army over 200K men + 100K special
forces (Cossacks and foreigners)
– All young male nobles required to serve 5
years of compulsory service, but non-nobles
could rise in rank
– Large navy built on Baltic
 Peter the Great
Great Northern War (1700-1721)
• Russia (with Poland,
Denmark and Saxony allies)
vs. Sweden (under Charles
XII)
• Treaty of Nystad (1721):
– Russia gained Latvia, Estonia
and its “Window on the
West” in the Baltic Sea
Modernization and westernization
• Imported western technicians
and craftsmen to build large
factories
• Russia out-produced England
in iron ore
– Industrial serfdom – workers
bought and sold
• State regulated monopolies
created
– Stifled economic growth
– Inferior production
 Peter the Great
Government
• Ruled by decree (absolutist)
– No representative political body
– All landowners owed lifetime service to state
(either military, civil service, or court); got
control over serfs in exchange
• Table of Ranks
– Set education standards for civil servants
(nobles)
– Sought to replace Boyar nobility with service-
based nobility loyal to tsar
• Secret police crushed opposition
• Heavy taxes on trade sales and rent; head tax on
every male
• Orthodox Church became government department
St. Petersburg
• Sought to create eastern Amsterdam;
conscripted labor (peasants) began
construction in 1703
• Peterhof palace to rival Versailles
• Largest city in Europe by his death
(75,000)
• Capital of Russia
• Ordered nobles to move to city as were
merchants and artisans
• Reforms modernized Russia
– Modern military and bureaucracy
– Interest in state over tsar began
– Gained popular support
Peterhof Palace
Constitutionalism in
Europe 1600-1725
Beginning 17th c: Dutch Golden Age
Oligarchy of urban gentry and rural
landholders to promote trade and
protect rights
The Dutch Republic
Government: confederation of seven
provinces, each with representative
gov. dominated by bourgeoisie and
limited power of state
• Holland and Zeeland two richest and
most influential
• Each province autonomous with
elected stadholder and military
leader
• In crisis, provinces elected same
stadholder, usually from House of
Orange
 The Dutch Republic
Religious toleration
• Calvinism dominant religion
but split between Dutch
Reformed (majority) and
Arminian (no belief in
predestination) factions
• Catholics and Jews fewer
rights but tolerated
• Allowed for cosmopolitan
society and trade promotion
Mercantilism 17th century
• Innovations in banking and
finance promoted urban
financial centers and a
money economy
• Amsterdam banking and
commercial center of Europe
(replaced Antwerp)
Bank of Amsterdam (1609): first
central bank in European
history; offered lowest interest
rates
 Dutch East India Co. (1602-1799)
• Few natural resources, relied on commerce
• Largest fleet in the world with several ports
• Lacked government controls and monopolies
• Fishing industry, but also textiles, furniture,
woolens, sugar, tobacco, brewing, pottery,
glass, printing, paper, weapons, and ship
building
• DEIC and DWIC cooperative ventures of
private enterprise and state
– Challenged Portugese in Indonesia, India,
Sri Lanka, South Africa
– By 1700 dominated spice trade
– DWIC trade in Latin America and Africa
 Decline of the Dutch Republic
Foreign Policy
• England’s Navigation Acts
and removal of Dutch from
New York reduced its
influence in N. America
• War with England and France
in 1670s led to weakening
• By end of the War of Spanish
Succession in 1713, Britain
and France two dominant
trading powers
The Dutch Style
• Human-centered naturalism
that considered individuals
and everyday life appropriate
objects of artistic
representation
• Encouraged via patronage of
princes and commercial elites
• Reflected outlook and values
of commercial and bourgeois
society
 Dutch Style vs. Baroque
• Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669)
Characteristics:
– Greatest of all Baroque-era artists,
• Did not try to overwhelm though not of one style
viewer – Used tenebrism characteristic of
Baroque
• Reflected wealth and • Johannes Vermeer (1632-1675)
religious toleration of – Simple, domestic interior scenes of
ordinary people
secular subjects – Master of use of light
• Reflected urban and rural • Frans Hals (1580-1666)
– Portraits of middle-class people and
settings of Dutch life militia companies
• Commissioned by • Jan Steen (1626-1679)
merchants or government – Genre painter
– Known for humor, use of light and
organizations color
 Rembrandt
The Syndics 1663 Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Tulp 1632
 Johannes Vermeer (1632-1675)
Girl with a Pearl Earring 1665 The Allegory of Painting 1666-68
 Frans Hals
Buffoon Playing Lute 1623 Banquet of the Officers at St. George Civic
Guard Company, 1627
 Jan Steen
Wine is a Mocker 1663-64 The Drawing Lesson 1665
 England, 17th Century
(Constitutionalism W. Europe)
Society
• Capitalism played a major
role in the high degree of
social mobility
– Commercial Revolution
increased size of middle class
– proportionally larger than
any other European nation
(except Netherlands)
– Improved agricultural
techniques improved farming
and husbandry
• Gentry: wealthy non-noble
landowners in the countryside
• Dominated politics in the House
of Commons
• Moved from middle to upper
class due to commercial activity
• Relied on legal precedent limiting
king’s power
• Willing to pay taxes as long as
they had a say in national
expenditures
 The Glorious Revolution, 1688-
1689
Causes:
• James’ reissue of the
Declaration of Indulgence
• Birth of Catholic heir in 1688
• Parliament unwilling to
sacrifice constitutional gains
of Civil War
– James II forced to abdicate and
fled to France
– William III (of Orange) and
Mary II declared joint
sovereigns
 English Bill of Rights 1689
• England becomes constitutional
monarchy
• Petition of Right (1628), Habeas
Corpus Act (1679) and Bill of Rights
all part of English Constitution
• Not a democratic revolution
– Power in hands of nobility and
gentry
– Parliament represented upper
class
Provisions:
• Monarch could not be Catholic
• Laws only made with consent of
Parliament
• Parliament right of free speech
• No standing army in peace time
• No taxation without Parliament
approval
• No excessive bail nor cruel and unusual
punishment
• Right to trial by jury, due process of law,
and reasonable bail
• Right to bear arms (only for Protestants)
• Free elections
• People had right of petition
 Hobbes vs. Locke
 Hobbes’ Social Contract (1651)
 Humans are born self-interested,
wicked…
 Life in state of nature is “nasty,
brutish, and short”
 w/o gov. to keep order = chaos
 Social Contract: People agree to
give up absolute freedom to a
strong (absolute) ruler, in
exchange they get law & order
 Hobbes: Leviathan (1660), absolute
monarchy necessary to protect us
from ourselves
 Locke’s Social Contract (1690)
 People are born w/ a clean slate
“tabula rasa” & are shaped by
experiences
 We have God-given natural
rights (life, liberty, property)
 Purpose of gov. is to protect our
rights, if they fail to do this,
people have the right to rebel
 Gov. power comes from the
people (democracy)
 Influenced American, Dutch, &
French Revolutions
Toleration Act, 1689
• Right to worship for Protestant
non-conformers, but could not
hold office
Act of Settlement, 1701
• If William or sister-in-law Anne died
without heirs, throne passes to
Protestant heirs
• No more Stuarts in line of succession
• Anne died in 1714, Hanoverian heir
assumed throne as George I (1714-
1727)
• George II (1727-1760) more
concerned with territory in Hanover,
did not speak fluent English, reduced
decision making by crown
Act of Union, 1707
•United Scotland and England into
Great Britain
•Scots wanted access to English trade
empire
•Scottish Presbyterians feared Stuart
return to throne
Robert Walpole, PM 1721-1742
•Viewed as first Prime Minister,
member of majority party in
Parliament and leader of
government
•Created precedent that cabinet is
responsible to House of Commons
 Essay Questions
1. Analyze the extent to which absolutism developed in France under Henry
IV and Louis XIII.
2. Analyze the ways in which the absolutism of Louis XIV impacted the
bureaucracy, the nobility, the peasantry, economics and religious issues
in France.
3. To what extent did the balance of power remain intact in Europe
between 1600 and 1715?
4. Analyze the role of mercantilism in France in the 17 th century.
5. Analyze how the Baroque reflected the “Age of Absolutism.”
6. Analyze the military, political, and social factors for the rise of absolutism
in Austria, Prussia, and Russia in the 17th and 18th centuries.
7. Compare and contrast absolutism in eastern Europe with that of France
in western Europe.