Global History Summer Review

Unit 11 - Absolutism

Timeline

1500 1525 1550 1575 1600 1625 1650 1675 1700

Ferdinand &

Isabella of Spain

Charles V of

Spain

Phillip II of Spain

Akbar the Great of India Louis XIV of France

Peter the Great of Russia

Important Concepts

Monarchy

Divine Right

Absolutism

Machiavelli

Thomas Hobbes

First thing’s first: What is a monarchy?

A type of government

Where the ruler inherits power through the family line

Real Life Example?

Divine RightBelief that kings

were allowed to rule by God

What was this idea called in China?

Mandate of Heaven!

Bishop Jacques-Benigne Bossuet, 1679

“Behold an immense people united in a single person; behold this holy power, paternal and absolute…

you see the image of God in the king, and you have the idea of royal majesty.

• Kings, exercise your power then boldly, for it is divine and salutary for human kind...”

AbsolutismWhen monarchs

ruled with total power (aka centralized power)

What can an absolute king do?

ABSOLUTELY ANTHING!!!

Can an absolute monarch…

Machiavelli

Wrote The Prince

A guide for rulers

Better to be FEARED than LOVED

Thomas Hobbes

Wrote The Leviathan

Life without government is “nasty, brutish, and short”

And “A war of every man against every other man”

Said people need a strong ruler to control society

Famous Absolute

Rulers

Absolute Ruler

Where Major Contribution

Results of Contribution

Ferdinand and Isabella

Spain

Sponsored voyages of Columbus

Brought land & wealth to Spain, made them powerful

Absolute Ruler

Where Major Contribution

Results of Contribution

Charles V Spai

nFought off the Ottoman Empire

Kept Europe safe from the Ottomans (Muslims)

Absolute Ruler

Where Major Contribution

Results of Contribution

Philip II Spain

Spent Spain’s wealth defending the Catholic Church

Spain lost its power and became weaker

Absolute Ruler

Where Major Contribution

Results of Contribution

Akbar the Great

India Organized the Empire of India

Made India a power in Southern Asia

Absolute Ruler

Where Major Contribution

Results of Contribution

Louis XIV Franc

e

Built the Palace of Versailles and fought many wars

High taxes made poor people even poorer and angry

Absolute Ruler

Where Major Contribution

Results of Contribution

Peter the Great

Russia

Introduced Western culture to Russia

Modernized the culture of Russia (westernization)

England

Step 1: Magna CartaWhat happened:

(1215) Magna Carta written – signed by King John I of England & LIMITED POWER OF ENGLISH KINGS

Which is like

Result:

Parliament was created to make the laws and watch the king

Everybody must be Anglican insteadof Roman Catholic

That is not fair!

Step 2: The English Civil War

I answer only to God!Divine Right!

You answer to the people!It’s in the Magna Carta!

Step 2: The English Civil War

This is WAR!

What happened: King Charles I, claimed divine right and abolished Parliament

I refuse to listen to Parliament!

English Civil WarWho won?

Parliament, led by Oliver Cromwell and…

They put the king on trial

Result: The monarchy was replaced by a “commonwealth” (a republic)

Led by Cromwell

Step 3: The “Restoration”

What happened:

Result:

Cromwell became power hungry so…

Parliament invited Charles II to return as King.

King Charles II

Charles shared power with Parliament.

The “Merrie Monarch”

Parliament invited Charles II to return as King.

Step 4: The Glorious Revolution

What happened:

Charles II’s son James was too absolute

Protestants William and Mary were asked by Parliament to take the throne

Glorious Revolution of 1688Called “Glorious” because there was hardly any

bloodshed

James II abdicated the throne (fled)

And two rulers were invited to take over, but first:

William and Mary agreed to sign the English Bill of Rights and share power with the Parliament

TodayEngland has a “Limited

Constitutional Monarchy”

Parliament has the real power (not the king/queen)

Essential QuestionHow did the rule of absolute monarchs in the

16th and 17th centuries reflect the ideas expressed in Machiavelli’s book The Prince and in the writings of Thomas Hobbes?