U5-Absolutism (this will TOTALLY work)

Question 1

What were the causes of the Age of Crisis (1550–1650)?

Answer 1

Poor weather, crop failures, economic inequality, tax revolts, witchcraft accusations, and religious conflicts.

Question 2

What was the response to the Age of Crisis?

Answer 2

Desire for order and stability, leading to the development of absolutist theories.

Question 3

What is Divine Right Absolutism?

Answer 3

A theory where monarchs are seen as God’s representatives on Earth; opposing the monarch equated to opposing God.

Question 4

Who advocated secular absolutism based on social contract theory?

Answer 4

Thomas Hobbes.

Question 5

What did Hobbes argue in the Leviathan?

Answer 5

Humans in a ‘state of nature’ live in a brutal ‘war of all against all.’ People surrender freedoms to a sovereign in exchange for security and order. Rebellion is unjustifiable because it returns society to the state of nature.

Question 6

What did John Locke propose during the Glorious Revolution?

Answer 6

Constitutional government.

Question 7

What are the key ideas of John Locke?

Answer 7

Governments exist to protect natural rights (life, liberty, property). Authority derives from the consent of the governed. If the government violates rights, rebellion is justified.

Question 8

What was the significance of Versailles under Louis XIV?

Answer 8

Symbol of centralized power, controlling the nobility through court rituals.

Question 9

What cultural promotion did Louis XIV engage in?

Answer 9

Promoted neoclassical culture (art, opera, architecture) to glorify the monarchy.

Question 10

How did Frederick the Great contribute to Prussia?

Answer 10

Promoted Enlightened Absolutism, modernizing the bureaucracy and army.

Question 11

What was Peter the Great’s major contribution to Russia?

Answer 11

Westernized Russian technology, military, and culture; founded St. Petersburg.

Question 12

What was the outcome of the English Civil War (1642–1651)?

Answer 12

Ended with the execution of Charles I.

Question 13

What established the constitutional monarchy in England?

Answer 13

The Restoration and Glorious Revolution (1688) under William and Mary.

Question 14

What is mercantilism?

Answer 14

A philosophy that resources are limited; wealth and power depend on state-controlled trade.

Question 15

What are the key policies of mercantilism?

Answer 15

Accumulation of gold/silver, tariffs to protect domestic industries, colonization, and promotion of manufacturing and infrastructure.

Question 16

What was the Triangular Trade?

Answer 16

Europe exported manufactured goods to Africa, African slaves were transported to the Americas, and American goods returned to Europe.

Question 17

What was the impact of the Atlantic Economy?

Answer 17

12–15 million Africans enslaved; enriched European states and merchants, widening global inequalities.

Question 18

What characterized warfare from 1650 to 1763?

Answer 18

Shift from religious wars to strategic, economic conflicts with standing armies and limited wars.

Question 19

What was the outcome of the War of Spanish Succession (1701–1714)?

Answer 19

Ended with the Peace of Utrecht (1713); France and Spain could not unite crowns, and Britain gained Gibraltar and significant trade rights.

Question 20

What were the outcomes of the Seven Years’ War (1756–1763)?

Answer 20

Britain emerged as the leading global power, gaining dominance in India, North America, and the Caribbean.

Question 21

What happened to Poland by 1795?

Answer 21

Poland was divided among Austria, Prussia, and Russia, disappearing from the map.

Question 22

What are the features of Baroque Art?

Answer 22

Dramatic contrasts, vivid colors, grandeur.

Question 23

How did monarchs use Baroque Art?

Answer 23

Supported by absolutist monarchies to glorify their power.

Question 24

Who was Frederick the Great and what did he do?

Answer 24

Ruler of Prussia who implemented legal reforms and religious tolerance.

Question 25

What did Catherine the Great achieve?

Answer 25

Modernization and territorial expansion in Russia.

Question 26

What reforms did Joseph II of Austria implement?

Answer 26

Abolished serfdom, promoted education, limited church power.