Absolutism Flashcards
Define favorable balance of trade
While trading you export (sell) more than you import (buy)
Define divine right
The belief that the king is God’s representative on earth. The power of the king is equal to God
Define autocrat
An absolute ruler, especially a monarch who holds and exercises the powers of government as by inherent right, who rules alone.
Define Huguenot
A French Protestant
Define Heretic
A non-believer, esp concerning religion. Someone whose beliefs differ from the accepted beliefs of a society or group
Define Deficit spending
When a government’s expenditures exceed its revenues. This excess spending needs to be financed through borrowing, likely from foreign governments.
Define Regent
A person who exercises the ruling power in a kingdom during the minority, absence, or disability of the sovereign.
Define Capitalism
An economic system based on the private ownership of resources and property. Businesses are privately owned to make a profit.
What was the Spanish Inquisition?
The institution that guarded the supremacy of Catholicism in Spain, chiefly by the persecution of Jews and Muslims, esp from the 15th to 17th centuries.
Define Economics
A social science that studies how people use their resources to meet their needs.
Define Mercantilism
An economic system where in order to build up the nation’s treasury, a nation takes colonies and gains a favorable balance trade.
Who is the Pope?
The leader of the Catholic Church.
Define Bankrupt
Declared by law unable to pay outstanding debts.
Define Westernize
To modernize. This was the policy of Peter the Great of Russia
Define Czar
The title of a Russian monarch. It comes from the Roman title for their emperors, Casesar.
Define Boyar
A Russian noble
Identify Versailles
Palace built by Louis XIV outside Paris on a swamp. This palace set the standard for luxury for future European Monarchs to copy
Identify Escorial
Palace built in Madrid by Philip II
Edict of Nantes
This law issued in 1598 by French King Henry IV gave Huguenots freedom of religion in France. It was revoked by Louis XIV in 1685 causing 200,000 Huegenots to flee the country
Define Armada
A Spanish Navy
Who was the Absolute Monarch of Spain?
Philip II
How did the emigration of 200,000 Huguenots from France effect the French economy?
The Huguenots were a part of the Middle Class so the French economy declined.
Which country became the strongest European country as a result of the 30 years war?
France
What was the name of the financial minister who developed a mercantilist economy for France?
Jean Baptiste Colbert
Which part of Philip II’s empire did he tax as an attempt to bring Spain out of bankruptcy?
The Netherlands
Which European nation stepped in to help the Protestant Netherlands when Philip II closed their churches?
England
Why did Philip II want to go to war with England in 1588?
Philip wanted to reconvert England to Roman Catholicism and remove Elizabeth from the throne.
Why was England able to defeat the Spanish Armada in 1588?
The British ships were technologically superior. The British ships were smaller, more maneuverable (moveable), and carried more cannons.
How did the defeat of the Spanish Armada impact Spain?
The defeat of the Armada ended the Spanish golden age.
How did the defeat of the Spanish Armada impact England?
The defeat of the Armada strengthen Protestantism as England’s religion and secured England as the leading European Naval power.
What was Peter the Great’s goal for Russia?
Peter wanted to Westernize (modernize) Russia
What geographic disadvantage did Russia have in 1682 when Peter became the Czar Russia?
They were landlocked. They did not have a seaport.
Why did Peter demand that the Boyars cut their beards and coats?
He wanted to force the Boyars to be more modern, to westernize. To give up their medieval traditions.
How was Peter’s childhood similar to the childhood of Louis XIV?
They both became kings as children, they both had regents rule for them and they both had their lives threatened.
What was the Grand Embassy?
This was Peter’s 16 month journey to Western Europe to learn modern medicine and technology.
What did Peter learn during the Grand Embassy?
Ship building, dentistry, anatomy, printing, paper making
How did Peter weaken the Eastern Orthodox Church?
He put the Patriarch under his direct control.
Who did Peter fight for a port on the Baltic Sea?
Sweden
What did Peter name his new capital city on the Baltic?
St. Petersburg
Which palace did he try to outdo when building his new palace?
Versailles, the palace of Louis XIV
How did Peter and Louis XIV try to weaken the nobility?
They both forced them to live in the King’s new palace where they could be watched.
Who did Peter fight to win a warm water port on the Black Sea?
The Ottoman Empire (the Turks)
Which king was referred to as the “Sun King?”
Louis XIV
