Unit 3; Absolutism and Constitutionalism Flashcards
1
Q
conscription
A
-compulsory (mandatory) enlistment for state service, typically into the armed forces→ drafting/recruiting
2
Q
absolutism
A
- absolute monarchy; sovereign power (ultimate authority) in the state rested in the hands of a king who claimed to rule by divine right
3
Q
Jacques Bossuet
A
- 1627-1704
- divine-right monarchy
- Politics Drawn from the Very Words of Holy Scripture
- thought that gov was divinely ordained so that humans could live in an organized society
- God established kings and through them reigned over all ppls of the world
- kings receive power from God= authority was absolute; they were responsible for no ones except God
- kings faced serious responsibilities and limits on power b/c God would hold a king accountable for his actions (but a monarch’s power was often limited greatly by practical realities)
4
Q
Louis XIV
A
- 1643-1715
- best example of the practice of absolute monarchy
- before Louis= time of ministerial gov struggling to avoid the breakdown of the state
- Louis XIII and Louis XIV= too young to rule when inherited the throne; gov depended on royal ministers to rule
- -Edict of Fontainebleau
5
Q
Cardinal Richelieu
A
- Louis XIII chief minister from 1624-1642; strengthen monarchy;
- took away military and political rights of Huguenots; more reliable subjects
- made a network of spies that uncovered the plots of nobles; crushed conspiracies; executed conspirators; eliminated a major threat to royal authority
- intendants
- Richelieu= less capable in financial matters; many ppl benefitted from the system’s inefficiency and injustice→ strong resistance
- taille (land/property tax)= increase; crown lands= mortgaged
- French debt
- died 1642
6
Q
intendants
A
- reform and strengthen central admin (financial reasons); royal officials; execute orders of central gov; strengthened powers of crown
7
Q
Cardinal Mazarin
A
- Richelieu’s trained successor; attempted to carry his policies; dominated gov
- foreigner; disliked by French population
- nobles= didn’t like centralized admin power building up at the expense of provincial nobility; temporarily allied with Paris Parlement (opposed new taxes to pay for 30 Yrs War) and masses of Paris
- PARLEMANT
- died in 1661
8
Q
The Fronde
A
- revolt (series of 2)
- 1648-1652
- ????????
- 1st =________
- 2nd Fronde 1650= led by nobles of sword (ancestors= medieval nobles)
- wanted to overthrow Mazarin to secure their positions and increase their power
- crushed in 1652; nobles began fighting each other
9
Q
The Parlement of Paris
A
-most important court in France; jurisdiction over half of half of half of kingdom; members formed nobles of the robe (service nobility of lawyers and admin), who led the first Fronde (1648-1649) that broke out in Paris (ended by compromise)
10
Q
Edict of Fontainebleau
A
- October 1685; revoked Edict of Nantes; destruction of Huguenot churches and closing of Protestant schools
- 200,00 Huguenots= defied; sought refuge in England, United Provinces, and German states
- support of expulsion of Protestants came from Catholic layppl who rejected Protestant rights, banned them from gov meetings, and destroyed Protestant churches to regain Catholic control of heavily populated Protestant regions
11
Q
Versaille
A
-came to set standard for monarchies and aristocracies all over Europe
-personal household of the king
-location of central gov machinery (state affairs)
-place where powerful subjects came to find favors and offices for themselves and their clients
-where rival aristocratic factions fought for power
home to thousands of royal officials and aristocratic courtiers
12
Q
divine-right monarchy
A
- theory of that kings receive power from God= authority was absolute; they were responsible for no ones except God
- Jacques Bossuet
13
Q
Jean-Baptiste Colbert
A
- 1619-1683
- controller of general finances for Louis
- wanted to increase wealth and power of France through general adherence to mercantilism (stressed gov regulation of economic activities to benefit states)
- decrease need for imports and increase exports= he attempted to expand quantity and improve quality of French manufactured goods
- founded new luxury industries (royal tapestry works @ Beauvais); invited Venetian glassmakers and Flemish clothmakers to France
- regulated quality of good produced; oversaw training of workers
- granted special privileges (tax exemptions, loans and subsidies) to ppl who established new industries
- roads and canals= improve communication and transport good internally
- decrease imports (directly)= raised tariffs on foreign manufactured goods (especially English and Dutch cloth)
- created merchant marine to make the transporting of French goods easier
- downside= the more revenue Colbert collected to help Louis make war; the faster Louis depleted the treasury
- although Louis bankrupted the treasury, the changes Colbert made to the economic practices allowed for greater economic growth in 18th century
14
Q
Peace of Utrecht
A
- 1713
- confirmed Philip V as Spanish ruler; initiated a Spanish Bourbon dynasty that would last into the 20the century
- throne of Spanish and French are separate
- “natural borders”
15
Q
French Classicism
A
- 2nd half of 17rh century= France replace Italy as cultural leader of Europe
- rejected baroque (overly showy and emotional)
- remained committed to Classical values of High Renaissance
- clarity, simplicity, balance, harmony of design
- reflected shift from chaos to order in 16th century French society
- continued baroque concept of grandeur in the portrayal of noble subjects, especial classical
- Nicolas Poussin= scenes from Classical mythology; orderliness of landscapes; postures of figures copied from sculptures of antiquity; used of brown tones; FRENCH CLASSICISM
