Ch 15: Absolutism and Constitutionalism Flashcards
The economy _______ after economic growth in the sixteenth century
Fell
What were reasons for the poor economy across Europe?
- climate change
- religious divide
- war
What were the results of the poor economy?
Hunger and population loss
Who was on the top level of the social hierarchy?
Monarch
The monarch was often viewed as a _________ being chosen by God to rule
Divine
Who was on the second level of the social hierarchy (in catholic countries)?
Clergy
Who was on the third level of the social hierarchy?
Nobles
The status of nobility was ___________
Inherited
Why could merchants not hold positions as nobles?
There was a Christian prejudice against merchants
How did merchants still acquire positions in the nobility?
By buying their positions
The vast majority of the population was in the last level of the social hierarchy: __________
Peasants and artisans
Society was __________
Patriarchal
Where did most people in the seventeenth century live?
The country
Farmers who owned enough land to feed themselves; they were the leaders of peasant villages
Independent farmers
What was the main element of a seventeenth century diet?
Bread
The period that experienced a colder and wetter climate in Europe was called ____________
The little ice age
What social group was hit the hardest by the food shortages and poverty?
Peasants
The truce created by the ____________ deteriorated as the religion of areas shifted
Peace of Augsburg
Lutheran princes formed what Union?
Protestant Union
The Catholics retaliated to the Protestant Union with the _____________
Catholic league
This group strongly supported the Holy Roman Empire and the preservation of Catholicism during the thirty years war
Habsburgs
What were the four phases of the thirty years war? (In order)
Bohemian phase
Danish phase
Swedish phase
French phase
In which the estate (parliament) of Bohemia threw two Holy Roman Empire emissaries out of a window
Defenestration of Prague
The bohemian phase of the thirty years war turned into a civil war between who?
Catholics and Protestants
At what battle did Catholics defeat the Protestants in the bohemian phase?
Battle of White Mountain
Who won the bohemian phase?
Catholics
The Danish phase was called so because of the leadership of _______________ of Denmark
King Christian IV
What religion was Christian IV?
Protestant
Who led the catholic army during the Danish phase of the war?
Albert of Wallenstein
Who was Holy Roman Emperor during the thirty years war?
Ferdinand II
Who issued the edict of restitution during th Danish phase of the war?
Ferdinand II
What did the Edict of Restitution say?
- all catholic property lost to Protestants was to be restored
- only Catholics and Lutherans could practice their faith
The Swedish phase of the war began with the arrival of Swedish King ______________ and his army in Germany
Gustavus Adolphus
What religion was Gustavus Adolphus?
Lutheran
Why did French minister Cardinal Richelieu subsidize the Swedish during the TYW?
In hopes to weaken Habsburg power
Who signed the Peace of Prague?
-Ferdinand II and the Elector of Saxony
What did the Treaty of Prague do?
- revoked the edict of restitution
- solidified terms established by the peace of Augsburg
- ended the civil war/religious aspect of the war
What was Cardinal Richelieu’s response to his fear of a Habsburg resurgence of power?
He declared war on Spain
Treaty that ended the TYW
Peace of Westphalia
What did the peace of Westphalia do?
- reduced the power of the HRE
- recognized independence of Switzerland and the Dutch republic
- expanded the peace of Augsburg to include Calvinism
- gave freedom to make their own treaties and alliances to German states
- left Habsburg Spain isolated
Rulers who gathered all power under their personal control
Absolutists
Obliged to respect laws passed by representative institutions
Constitutionalists
What was the main similarity between absolutist and constitutionalist forms of government?
Both had the goal of increasing central control of their states
Rulers turned to ________ to meet the demands of expanding governments
Ministers
The seventeenth century saw a rise in military standards with many countries establishing ___________________
Permanent standing armies
French _________ were often officers that led men into battle
Nobles
Nobles had to _________ military position
Purchase
How did most countries pay for their expanding militaries?
Raising taxes
The sun King, seen as the epitome of the absolutists ruler
Louis XIV
As French power rose, __________ power faded
Spanish
This King of France acquired a country devastated by war and starvation, however he restored French virility
Henry IV
What did people call Henry IV?
Henri le grand
________________ allowed the French monarchy to maintain power
Cardinal Richelieu
Richelieu extended the use of __________
Intendants
What was Richelieu’s religious goal for France?
Suppress Protestantism
Who was the chief minister for young Louis XIV?
Jules Mazarin
Violent uprisings triggered by growing royal control and high taxation, happened when Louis XIV was still a child
Fronde
Louis XIV did not have a _____________
First minister
What were Louis XIV’s religious views?
Tolerant, but believes religious unity was essential to security of France
Louis XIV continued the policy of ______________ established by Richelieu
Protestant repression
In 1685, Louis XIV revoked the ________________
Edict of Nantes
Where did King Louis XIV move the royal court to?
The palace of Versailles
What did Louis require of his nobility in regards of Versailles?
They had to spend part of their year there
Louis was an enthusiastic ________________
Patron of the arts
Became the center of European politics
Versailles
French military strength was dependent on a good _________
Economy
Who was Louis XIV’s controller general? ; he was a financial genius
Jean Babtiste Colbert
Collection of policies for the regulation of economic activities by the state
Mercantilism
What did Colbert insist about French trade/exports/imports?
The French should make all the goods they need
Colbert _______ domestic tariffs
Abolished
Colbert ____________ tariffs of foreign goods
Raised
With the hopes of competing with the Dutch for Asian trade, Colbert created what company?
Company of the East Indies
Why did Colbert want Canada for France?
Rich in natural resources and fertile soil
Louis XIV’s Secretary of State for war
Marquis de Lavois
Instead of the local nobles, who employed soldiers for Lavois’s army?
The French state
The French pursued a policy of _________
Expansion
The war of the Spanish succession was endured by _________ and ___________ French
Starving and malnourished
What sparked the war of the Spanish succession?
The death of the Spanish King Charles II
Who did Charles II’s will give the crown to?
Philip of Anjou (Louis XIV’s grandson)
