Chapter 15_Akhila Flashcards
absolutism
sovereign power or ultimate authority in the state rested in the hands of a king who claimed to rule by divine right
Bishop Jacques Bossuet
chief theorist of divine-right monarchy; argued that government was divinely ordained so that humans could live in an organized society; since kings received their power from God, their authority was absolute
Cardinal Richelieu
Louis XIII’s chief minister; initiated policies that eventually strengthened the power of the monarchy; eliminated political and military rights of the Huguenots while preserving their religious ones
intendants
royal officials sent by Richelieu to execute orders of central government; victorious in disputes with provincial governors; sent for financial reasons
taille
an annual direct tax usually levied on land or property
Cardinal Mazarin
Richelieu’s trained successor, allowed to dominate the government by Anne of Austria, wife of dead King Louis XIII; greatly disliked
the Fronde
a revolt during Mazarin’s rule; last serious attempt to limit the growing power of the crown until the French Revolution
Sun King
fostered by Louis XIV; the source of light of all the people; relates to the theory of absolute monarchy
Francois Michel Le Tellier
secretary of state for War for Louis XIV
Jean-Baptiste Colbert
replaced Fouquet as superintendent of finances; another noble of bourgeois origin
Edict of Fontainbleau
revoked Edict of Nantes; provided for the destruction of Huguenot churches and the closing of their schools; issued by Louis XIV
Versailles
where the court of Louis was; residence of the king, a reception hall for state affairs, and office building for the members of the government, home of royal officials and aristocratic courtiers
“natural frontiers”
the Alps, Pyrenees, and Rhine River; “natural boundaries” of France
War of the League of Augsburg
Louis XIV against the League of Augsburg (Spain, HRE, United Provinces, Sweden, England); brought economic depression and famine to France
War of the Spanish Succession
Louis XIV fought for succession to the Spanish throne; Spain and France vs. coalition of Eng, Holland, Habsburg Austria, and German states
Peace of Utrecht
confirmed Philip V as the Spanish ruler, initiating a Spanish Bourbon dynasty that would last into the 20th century; thrones of Spain and France were to remain separated
Gaspar de Guzman
chief minister of Philip IV; dominated the king’s every move and worked to revive the interests of the monarchy
Hohenzollerns
located in Brandenburg-Prussia; laid foundations for Prussian state; ruled northeastern Germany
Frederick William the Great
first important Hohenzollern ruler, laid the foundation for the Prussian state; built an efficient and competent standing army; established the General War Commissariat to levy taxes
Frederick III
less rigid and militaristic than his father; spent money building palaces, establishing a university, and copying the splendors of Louis XIV; became King Frederick I of Prussia
Habsburgs
Austrian, Holy Roman Emperors; never became a highly centralized, absolutist state
Treaty of Karlowitz
Austria took control of Hungary, Transylvania, Croatia, and Slovenia
Ivan the Terrible
1st rule to take title of tsar; expanded territories of Russia eastward; extended autocracy of the tsar by crushing the power of the Roman nobility, known as the boyars
Michael Romanov
the tsar elected by the Zemsky Sobor to end the Time of Troubles
Peter the Great
greatly westernized Russia; reorganized the army and created a navy; only consistent purpose was to win military victories; adopted Western mercantilism
Great Northern War
Peter attacked Sweden for access to the Baltic; Peter achieved vicotyr and Russia became a great European state