What is absolutism?
A political belief that one ruler should hold all of the power within the boundaries of a country.
Goal: to control every aspect of society.
Believed in: divine right; idea that God created the monarchy and they were God's representative.
What were the causes of the rise of absolute monarchs?
1. Religious and territorial conflicts between states created fear and uncertainty.
-> 17th century was a period of great disruption in Europe; conflicts led to continuous warfare.
2. The growth of armies by government to deal with conflicts caused rulers
What were the effects of absolutism?
1. Rulers regulated religious worship and social gatherings to control the spread of ideas.
2. They created bureaucracies to control their countries' economies.
3. Rulers increased the size of their courts to appear more powerful.
What role did Henry IV play in strengthening the French monarchy?
1. Many Catholics, including the people of Paris, opposed Henry who was a Huguenot. For the sake of his war-weary country, Henry chose to give up Protestantism and become a Catholic.
2. He declared that the Huguenots could live in peace in France and set
What role did Cardinal Richelieu play in strengthening the French monarchy?
Minister of Louis XIII; leader of the Catholic church; became ruler of France
Took two steps to increase the power of the Bourbon monarchy.
1. He moved against Huguenots.
-> Believed that Protestantism often served as an excuse for political conspiracies
What did Louis XIV mean when he said "I am the state"?
He meant that not only was he an absolute ruler, but a government as a whole. He looked, lived, and acted like a king
Why and how did Louis XIV weaken noble power?
Why:
-> As a small boy, Louis had witnessed the rebellious nobles of the Fromde in Paris. He decided to remove himself from the dangers and humiliation he had faced, make his power absolute, and allow no opposition.
How:
1. He made nobles live at Versaill
What policies did Jean Baptiste Colbert adopt to expand the economy of France?
1. He believed in the theory of mercantilism.
-> To prevent wealth from leaving country, he made France SELF-SUFFICIENT: he wanted it to be able to manufacture everything it needed instead of relying on imports.
2. To expand manufacturing, he gave governm
What policy did Louis XIV adopt that slowed France's economic growth?
Believing that the Huguenots disturbed the unity of the country; he canceled the Edict of Nantes, which protected the religious freedom of Huguenots. As a result, thousand of Huguenot artisans and business people fled the country.
-> Louis policy thus rob
What did Louis see as the purpose of the arts during his reign?
The purpose of art was to glorify the king and promote values that supported Louis's absolute rule.
Versailles was a center of the arts during Louis's reign; he made opera and ballet more popular.
CHANGES OF VIEW IN ART:
Middle Ages = Glorify God
Renaissa
What policies did Marquis de Louvois adopt to improve the French army?
Marquis de Louvois was Louis's minister of war.
1. Soldiers were promoted on the basis of merit/quality rather than commission purchased for them.
2. He created a quartermaster's department to furnish supplies to his troops so that they did not always hav
Why did Louis XIV need such a large army?
He had territorial ambitions and was convinced that French security depended on achieving France's natural borders.
The Alps, Mediterranean Sea, etc, already protected France from many sides. He wanted to make France even safer by reaching the Rhine River
How did other European powers react to Louis XIV's ambitions?
His goals alarmed the other European countries, which united to counteract the great power of France. At other times, they formed alliances to amass enough power to equal or surpass that of France.
Maintaining an equilibrium in international politics is k
What was Louis XIV's legacy?
Positive effects:
- He had made France the most powerful nation in Europe. France remained the largest, richest, and the most influential nation. Their art, literature, and statesmanship ranked above all other European nations.
- In addition, France was c
What are the privileged estates?
1. First Estate
-> Consisted of the clergy of the Roman Catholic Church.
-> Provided education and relief services to the poor and contributed about 2% of its income to the government.
-> Owned 10% of land in France.
-> Received enormous amounts of money
Describe the third estate.
About 97% of people belonged to third estate. No privileges were granted to these members.
1. Bourgeoisie (middle class)
-> Made up with merchants, manufacturers, and professional people.
-> Were well educated and believed strongly in the Enlightenment id
What factors contributed to the revolutionary mood/growing discontent in France in the 1770's/1780's?
1. Growing resentment among the lower classes.
2. Enlightenment ideas
-> New views about power in government were spreading among the Third Estate, inspired by the success of the American Revolution.
-> Quoting Rousseau and Voltaire, they began to demand
What were the long range and short range causes of the French Revolutions?
Long Range:
1. Enlightenment philosophy
2. English civil war
3. Glorious Revolution in England
4. American Revolution
-> French saw the new government of the US as the fulfillment of Enlightenment ideals.
-> Declaration of Independence widely circulated a
How did the following contribute to the French Revolution: 1. National Assembly
- The Third Estate delegates, mostly members of the bourgeoisie, were eager to make changes in the government. They insisted that all three estates meet together and have a vote. (Gave advantage to the Third Estate which had an overwhelming number of memb
How did the following contribute to the French Revolution: 2. Tennis Court Oath
- Three days later after voting for the establishment of the National Assembly, Third Estate members found out they were locked out of their meeting room.
- They broke down the door to an indoor tennis court and pledged to stay until they had drawn up a n
How did the following contribute to the French Revolution: 3. Storming of the Bastille
- In response, Louis began to bring troops to Paris and to Versailles, where the representatives were meeting. People of Paris feared he will drive the National Assembly by force, and decided to take action.
- People stormed and captured the Bastille (Par
How did the following contribute to the French Revolution: 4. The Great Fear
- Violent events in Paris repeated throughout France. Soon, a "Great Fear" swept across the land.
- Peasants believed rumors that nobles planned to send bandits to kill them and the revolution.
- Eager to take revenge, peasants attacked and destroyed mona
Discuss the reforms/changes initiated by the National Assembly.
PURPOSE: reform country into a more democratic nation.
They felt that they could deal with revolutionary violence only by removing the oppression and injustice that produced it.
1. Declaration of the Rights of Man
(influenced by American Declaration of In
Explain the three factions that developed in the Legislative Assembly.
National Assembly created a limited constitutional monarchy, stripping king's authority. Also created the Legislative Assembly.
- Question to how to handle problems of food shortages and government debt caused the splitting of the Legislative Assembly to
Why did the French Revolution turn violent?
Monarchs and nobles in other European countries feared that similar revolts might break out in their own countries. In fact, some radicals were keen to spread their revolutionary ideas across Europe.
-> As a result, Austria and Prussia, for example, urged
Who was Robespierre and what was the Reign of Terror?
A Jacobian leader. He and his supporters set out to build a "republic of virtue" by wiping out all aspects of the "Old Regume"/ traditional France.
- Changed the calender; had no Sundays because radicals considered religion dangerous.
- Closed all churche
Reign of Terror
The Committee of Public safety's task was to protect the Revolution from its enemies. Under Robespierre's leadership, they had their 'enemies' tried in the morning and guillotined in the afternoon.
-> 'Enemies of revolution' = fellow radicals who challeng
What brought an end to the reign of terror?
- Fearing for their own safety, some members of the National Convention turned on Robespierre: they demanded his arrest and execution.
- Population grew weary of "Revolution of terror"
- Moderate leaders in National Convention drafted a new government, wh