Religious wars & new order in science

Religious Wars and State-Building

1600 - 1715

Religious/Civil War – France❖France had strong monarchy under kings Francis I (1515-1547) and Henry II (1547-1559). ❖Supported by the Catholic Church. ❖Henry II’s wife, Catherine de Medici (1519-1589), dominated the throne after her husband died – resulting in a contest for authority.

❖All this was complicated by religious matters. ❖Religiously, Calvinism was growing in France (included nobles and middle class). ❖French Protestants were called Huguenots (named after an early leader Besancon Hugues).

Religious/Civil War – France

❖An estimated 40-50% of nobles became Huguenots. ❖Mainly to demonstrate their independence from Catholic monarchy. ❖Thus, less than 10% of the population of France was Huguenots, but they became a very powerful group in the 16th century.


❖Civil war began in 1562; central government was weak and riots broke out. ❖The queen (Catherine de Medici) failed to keep monarchy Catholic (even married a Huguenot to King Charles IX to try and find a compromise between the two groups). ❖August 24th 1572, at a celebration on St. Bartholomew’s Day, authorities massacred 3000 Huguenots in Paris attending the wedding. ❖Fifteen years of rioting and violence followed.


❖France suffered economically and politically. ❖Agriculture was devastated, commercial transactions declined, and chaos prevailed. ❖In the midst of the conflict, a small group of people called politiques appeared.


❖Politiques were people from both sides, who were tired of fighting/conflict. ❖Sought political peace and a strong/stable France that could live. ❖1589, as a result of assassinations, Huguenot Henry IV (1589–1610) came to the throne.


Religious/Civil War – France❖Troubled the pope and Philip II of Spain, both whom viewed a Protestant France with horror. ❖Spain sent troops to support Henry’s enemies.

Religious/Civil War – France❖Henry was popular and decided to convert to Catholicism and follow a policy of toleration for the Huguenots. ❖Soon the wars of religion in France ended ☺

Philip II and Catholic Spain❖Philip II came to throne (1556–1598), its empire included most of the Americas, Italian possessions of Milan and Naples, seventeen provinces in the Netherlands, Burgundy, and some Mediterranean islands.

❖Golden century of Spain, major empire in the West, Spanish art and literature flourished. ❖Philip was devoted to Catholic Reformation. ❖Insisted on conformity, Spain was viewed as the champion of Catholicism against Protestants.

Philip II and Catholic Spain

❖To consolidate his lands, he organized a central bureaucracy, using lesser nobles, thus making him less dependent on the landed aristocracy. ❖His weakness was his excessive attention to detail. ❖Spain’s bureaucracy became known for its meticulousness and slow pace.


❖To symbolize Spain’s new state and empire, its power and its spirituality, Philip II build the Escorial, a new palace, just outside of Madrid. ❖It was a residence, a centre for government, a monastery, and a mausoleum for his ancestors.


❖Economy of Spain was dependent on silver and gold of the New World and other goods from its colonies. ❖To support wars, he resorted to heavy loans and was constantly in debt. ❖By the end of Philip’s reign, the majority of Spain’s income was spent on debt payments, leaving his successor with great financial difficulties.


❖Spain was largely responsible for high inflation in Europe.


Revolt of the Netherlands❖Spanish throne had inherited the Netherlands and 17 provinces (today include Belgium, Luxembourg, and Holland). ❖People living in these northern regions spoke a dialect of German; those in the south spoke a dialect of French.

Revolt of the Netherlands❖By 1560s, Calvinism and other Protestant groups were becoming more prominent in these regions. ❖They were important areas for commerce. ❖Spain wanted to integrate these areas into its empire and end their local autonomy.

Revolt of the Netherlands❖Spanish taxation was resented in the Netherlands because the revenue went mainly to Spain. ❖Nobles were worried about losing authority and power. ❖Philip II tried to reorganize the structure of the Dutch Catholic Church and use Spanish methods of dealing with heresy and religious pluralism.

Revolt of the Netherlands❖Resistance grew, led by William of Orange (William the Silent). ❖Compromise was reached, although in 1566, Calvinist riots occurred throughout the Netherlands. ❖Stained-glass windows, images, and other Catholic symbols were smashed.

Revolt of the Netherlands❖Philip II sent the Duke of Alba with an army of 10,000 troops to the Netherlands to restore order. ❖New tribunal, Council of Troubles, nicknamed the Council of Blood by the Netherlanders, was established to rule the land.

Revolt of the Netherlands❖Thousands were sentenced to death and nobles’ estates were confiscated. ❖Opposition and resistance continued to grow.

Pieter Bruegel (c. 1525-1569) painted Massacre of the Innocents (1555-1558), which adapts the biblical tale to contemporary life.

Revolt of the Netherlands❖1576, all 17 provinces, led by William of Orange, joined an agreement to respect various religious beliefs and demanded Spain withdraw from the land. ❖William organized the northern, Dutch-speaking provinces into a Protestant union in opposition to Spanish rule.

Revolt of the Netherlands❖1579, Spain made peace with 10 Flemish-speaking provinces in the south. ❖These Catholic provinces accepted Spanish control.

Revolt of the Netherlands❖Spanish soldiers were finally driven out of the northern provinces in 1593. ❖In 1609, peace was finally made with Spain. ❖The “United Provinces” became the Dutch Republic.

England: Major Power❖Elizabeth I (1558–1603), daughter of Henry VIII. ❖During her long reign, England became formidable power and major Protestant state in Europe. ❖Developed sea power and an empire.

❖Religion was not at the centre of Elizabeth’s life. ❖She worked with parliament and appointed strong administers to help her govern. ❖1559, parliament repealed the anti-Protestant legislation of her Catholic predecessor, Mary Tudor (1553-1558).

England: Major Power

❖Mary married Philip II of Spain.


❖New Act of Supremacy was passed, declaring that Elizabeth was “the only supreme governor of this realm.” ❖Some Catholics and a new group, the Puritans, opposed this.


❖Catholics also led several assassination plots, which Elizabeth treated as treason against the crown. ❖The association of Catholicism with the enemy, Spain, and with Philip’s Armada after 1588 lost the Catholic Church adherents to the Church of England.


❖Puritans were Protestants who wished to “purify” the English Church of its ceremonial connection with Catholic practices and its system of church government. ❖Elizabeth and her advisors did not attack the Puritans, who remained within the Church of England.


❖Elizabeth tried to avoid costly wars. ❖1570, Pope Pius V excommunicated Elizabeth for heresy. ❖He hoped to encourage a European war against England. ❖After the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre, England more openly supported French Huguenots and Dutch rebels (anyone who supported Protestantism).


❖Philip II knew he would not be able to control the Dutch if the English continued to support them. ❖He also felt that defeating the English would restore a Catholic to the English throne and aid in Catholic reformation throughout Europe. ❖He sent over the Spanish Armada (130 ships, 27 000 men, 2431 artillery pieces).


❖Armada encountered 200 English ships in the English Channel under the leadership of Sir Francis Drake. ❖English ships were lighter and faster. ❖Storm also came and blew the Armada north to Scotland.


❖1/3 of the Spanish fleet never returned. ❖England remained Protestant and a powerful force against Catholicism. ❖Spain was weakened.


❖1618–1648. ❖Germany had over 300 political units ranging from small duchies (under the rule of a duke or duchess) and independent bishoprics (under the charge of a bishop) and free towns to large entities - Austria and Brandenburg-Prussia. ❖Divided religiously between Lutheranism and Catholicism. ❖1555 Peace of Augsburg gave each state the freedom to choose their religion.

The Thirty Years’ War

❖1608, Protestant states formed a union against the enemies of Spain (England, France, and Dutch Republic). ❖Catholic League, led by Bavaria, was created in 1609 – supported by Spain. ❖Holy Roman Emperors, from the Hapsburg House in Austria, wanted to centralize authority with help from Spain.


❖France did not want strong unified Germany allied with Spain. ❖Though France was a Catholic state, it pursued a policy that challenged the mission of Catholic Reformation. ❖War broke out in 1618 in Bohemia. ❖Hapsburg Archduke Ferdinand became King in 1617.


❖Bohemia = Protestant ❖Ferdinand = Catholic ❖He tried to turn the state back to Catholicism by denying religious freedom granted earlier in 1575. ❖May 1618, Protestant nobles in Prague protested by throwing two emissaries from the Hapsburgs out a window!


❖They landed in a pile of manure and survived – but still resulted in war! ❖Involved all continental Europe from Portugal to Hungary. ❖Devastating for Germany. ❖Began as religious war but ended up about power and the state.


❖Treaty of Westphalia (1648) ended the Thirty Years’ War. ❖Changed the way countries dealt with one another – national sovereignty was respected for the first time!!! ❖England and France became the two dominant powers of the 17th Century and led the revolutions in science, philosophy and political theory.


Europe during the Age of Absolutism

Scientific Revolution❖Series of breakthroughs in our understanding and interpretation of the heavens and the Earth. ❖Took place mainly in the 17th century and changed the way Europeans viewed themselves, nature, and God. ❖Old view of the cosmos, mainly from Aristotle and ancient Roman astronomer Ptolemy.

❖Geographical centre of the Earth was thought to be Jerusalem – most holy city.

❖Medieval period, people believed there were 10 spheres, each “higher” or more perfect than the previous one; the last was home of God. ❖Cosmology was a hierarchy – heavens were purer than Earth.

Scientific Revolution

❖Motion of spheres was circular (perfect). ❖Human beings were at the centre of the universe and had a special relation to God. ❖All things had a purpose, an end, or goal that caused them to act as they did.

Scientific Revolution

Revolutions in Thought❖Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543), suggested a cosmos that was heliocentric (sun-centred) for one that had previously been geocentric (Earth-centred).

Revolutions in Thought❖Johannes Kepler (1571-1630), arrived at three universal laws: 1) Planets move in elliptical orbits, with the Sun at the focus of the ellipses. 2) As a planet draws closer to the Sun, it moves faster in its orbit. 3) The size of a planet’s orbit is proportional to the time required for one revolution around the Sun.

Revolutions in Thought❖These laws proclaimed that all the heavens were bound by a single mathematical relationship. ❖To Kepler, the universe was a lawful mechanical system, expressed in mathematics.

❖Galileo Galilei (1564-1642), built a telescope in 1609. ❖Discovered 4 moons of Jupiter (now there’s 67 confirmed!) ❖Found that the sun had changing spots and the moon seemed to have mountains.

Revolutions in Thought

❖Supported the heliocentric view of the solar system. ❖Theologians disagreed with his suggestion that the world was different than the one in the Bible.

Revolutions in Thought

Revolutions in Thought❖Galileo defended himself, saying the Bible is open to interpretation: ❖“I think that in discussions of physical problems we ought to begin not from the authority of scriptural passages, but from sense-experiences and necessary demonstrations;

Revolutions in Thought❖“for the holy Bible and the phenomena of nature proceed alike from the divine Word, the former as the dictate of the Holy Ghost and the latter as the observant executrix of God’s commands…But I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with senses, reason, and intellect has intended to forgo their use and by some other means to give us knowledge which we can attain by them.”

Revolutions in Thought❖1633, he was tried before the Inquisition and condemned for heresy. ❖Forced to publicly acknowledge he was wrong and recant his theories. ❖He was sentenced to life imprisonment ☹

Revolutions in Thought❖Galileo’s discoveries helped to develop the modern understanding of the movement of bodies. ❖His new hypothesis suggested that bodies in motion would continue moving unless some form of resistance was introduced. ❖His laws of terrestrial motion for the Earth complemented Kepler’s laws of celestial motion for the heavens.

The Scientific Revolution❖Isaac Newton (1642-1727), developed Three Laws of Motion (law of Gravity): 1) If no force acts on an object, it will remain at rest or maintain its constant motion in a straight line. 2) Every change of motion or acceleration is directly proportional to the force that caused the change and inversely proportional to the object’s mass. 3) For every action force, there is an equal reaction force in the opposite direction.

The Scientific Revolution❖The picture of the world put forth by Newton and his contemporaries was that the universe is a machine. ❖God was still viewed as the creator of this machine, the Prime Mover, who brought lawfulness, regularity, and beauty. ❖God = master builder who created a perfect machine and then let it run. ❖This view is known as Deism: God stands aside form his work and does not directly get involved with humanity (Newton rejected this!)

The Scientific Method and the Birth of Modern Philosophy

❖For centuries it was believed that truths were arrived at by studying the Bible. ❖The 17th century saw a rise in systematic skepticism, experimentalism, and reasoning based on observed facts and mathematical laws. ❖Francis Bacon – direct observation was essential to ascertain truth. ❖Rene Descartes – applied mathematical methods and reasoning to philosophy.

Francis Bacon (1596-1650)❖Claimed the only way to obtain reliable knowledge was through experience and observation (empiricism). ❖Emphasized induction, form of reasoning from the particular to the general.

Rene Descartes (1596-1650)❖Advocated a theory of knowledge based on humanity’s reasoning ability, combined with intuitive powers. ❖This approach emphasized the centrality of the human mind. ❖“Cogito ergo sum” (I think, therefore I am). ❖Defined human beings as thinking beings endowed with reason.

Rene Descartes (1596-1650)❖Developed rules of logic for achieving certainty: 1) to seek clarity - “never accept anything for true which I did not clearly know to be such”; 2) to strive for simplicity in complex matters; 3) to move from the simple to the complex because of a belief that the rules for the simple hold true for the complex as well; 4) to be complete.

Rene Descartes (1596-1650)❖Rationalism: was based on seeking clear self-evident truths, reasoning those axioms, and obtaining solutions through deduction, reasoning from general to particular. ❖Descartes trusted proofs of mathematicians because he believed mathematical reasoning was the path to a secure theory of knowledge.

John Locke (1632 – 1704)❖English philosopher. ❖Challenged Descartes’ reliance on the mind by proposing that we gain knowledge only from experience, rather than innate ideas and reason. ❖The mind at birth is a tabula rasa, blank slate, and we are shaped through education and society.

Absolutism in France❖Absolutism was the claim to rule by divine right. ❖The greatest threat to the monarchy was the nobility. ❖Wanted to get away from feudalism. ❖Monarchs created standing armies for the first time.

❖Bourban monarchy of France, King Louis XIV (1643 – 1715) became archetypal absolutist. ❖Called “Le Roi soleil,” the Sun King. ❖Saw himself as the centre of all affairs. ❖Believed he was God’s vice-regent on Earth!

Absolutism in France

❖Louis created new set of civil servants, intendants who held office at the pleasure of the king. ❖Aim was to curb authority of the old nobility.


❖Usually from upper middle class (not nobility), so they were entirely dependent on the authority of the monarch. ❖Responsible for collecting taxes and administration of regions. ❖Louis collected land tax and introduced head tax.


❖Had a standing army of over 300 000 by 1688! ❖Louis sought religious conformity – Catholic! ❖Huguenots emigrated to England, German states, Holland, and America.


Palace of Versailles

❖Visual symbol and architectural manifestation of Louis XIV’s absolutism. ❖Sun King believed he should be surrounded with glory and ritual. ❖Located outside Paris, begun construction in 1669 and was completed in 1701.


❖Finest architects, designers, landscape gardeners, and artisans were hired. ❖Some years consumed over 10% of yearly budget! ❖Up to 35 000 people worked on it at any one time.


❖Symmetrical rooms, named after classical gods and goddesses (Venus, Diana, Mercury, Mars, and Apollo).

Marie Antoinette’s Bedroom


Versailles Grande Gallerie❖Ceiling painted by Charles Lebrun. ❖73 metres long. ❖Full of Venetian mirrors.

Palace Gardens

Every aspect of life at Versailles was created to be grande beyond compare

❖Louis lived and governed here. ❖Magnificent balls were held in The Grand Hall of Mirrors while conducting affairs of the kingdom. ❖Absolutism resulted in nobility losing political power.


Social System❖Nobility kept social and economic power. ❖In feudal era, loyalty was local and distant to dynasty. ❖Under absolutism, loyalty was directed to a state, symbolized by a dynasty – beginnings of nationalism!

❖Louis transformed territories that make up area of France into the state of France. ❖Finally becomes a republic in 1789. ❖Louis desired an order similar to that of first Roman emperor Augustus (classicism).

Social System

Louis XIV and Europe❖Louis’ foreign policy was designed to extend power, glory, and authority of France. ❖Fought a series of wars. ❖Failed to achieve French domination due to the War of Spanish Succession (1701 – 1713).

❖Issue was whether the crowns of France and Spain should be united. ❖Both Catholic, both colonial empires, both powerful monarchies.

Louis XIV and Europe

❖Peace of Utrecht (1713), agreed that France and Spain were never to be united under a single ruler. ❖Spain forced to give up Gibraltar and Minorca to England and to cede its possessions in Italy and Netherlands to Austria.


❖Spain also ceded the right to slave trading in Spanish America. ❖English received 2 North American colonies – Newfoundland and Acadia – and France recognized English control of Hudson Bay.


❖England gained settlements but France still remained major power. ❖Louis died in 1715 – left France the most powerful state in Europe, but also in great debt!


Absolutism in Eastern Europe❖After Thirty Years War, Frederick William, the Great Elector (1640-1688) ruled German state of Brandenburg-Prussia.

Absolutism in Eastern Europe❖Determined to build modern army. ❖Nobles (Junkers) supported him – he exempted them from taxes and gave them prominent positions in the army. ❖Habsburgs in Austria also wanted to become absolutist – limited by the nature of their empire (Italy, Bohemia, Hungary and other areas).

Absolutism in Eastern Europe❖Austria became powerful state but difficult to rule due to various areas and people it included. ❖Russia set apart by Orthodox Church, growing force during this time under reign of Peter the Great (1689–1725).

Absolutism in Eastern Europe❖Tsar Peter I (Peter the Great) of Russia ❖Modernized Russia through Westernization. ❖Taxed his subjects heavily to pay for his projects. ❖Killed 1000 members of streltsy when they tried to depose him.

Absolutism in Eastern Europe❖Sent men to Europe to learn western ways, went incognito himself. ❖Encouraged people to learn many languages. ❖Had Issac Newton come to Russia.

17th Century England❖England and Netherlands became powerful empires – rejected absolutism. ❖Evolved into constitutional states, set of institutions and laws, that limited royal authority and provided certain rights for subjects.

❖Constitutionalism implies a state where authority is distributed legally among various levels of government. ❖Limitations to the monarchy came after civil war, execution of Charles I (1625-1649), and 2 revolutions.

17th Century England

❖Charles I (1625-1649) attempted to govern by personal rule, avoided parliament. ❖Showed sympathy to Catholicism – Calvinist Puritans hated this! ❖Some left for America. ❖Scotland – Presbyterian Church rebelled when Charles forced them to adopt Anglican form of prayer.


❖Forced to call parliament to session to repel Scottish. ❖Parliament decided to limit authority of king. ❖Abolished taxes and a bill was passed forbidding kings to dissolve parliament. ❖Civil war broke out in 1642 between parliament and king.


❖Parliament won and was reorganized into New Model Army, led by Oliver Cromwell (1599–1658). ❖Small group of parliamentarians (called the Rump Parliament) put the king on trial and decided he was a “public enemy to the good people of this nation.” ❖Charles I was executed in 1649.


❖England remained a republic for 11 years, citizens elected representatives to manage government. ❖Parliament dissolved in 1653 and a “Protectorate” under Cromwell was established with written constitution drafted by army. ❖Cromwell died in 1658 – how to rule England now?


❖New parliament, 1660, restored limited monarchy to Charles’ son (Charles II). ❖Both Charles II and James were Catholic. ❖Parliament passed Test Act 1673 stating only those who supported state religion, Anglicanism, could hold office. ❖England divided: Tories (support king) and Whigs (support parliament).


❖James II (1685–1688) comes to throne, appoints Catholics to prominent positions and desires state religion to be Catholic. ❖Alienated Tories (mainly Anglican). ❖Group of Whigs and Tories cross English Channel to Holland and ask William of Orange (Protestant husband of Mary) for help.


The Glorious Revolution (1688)❖William of Orange, the Dutch monarch was asked by the English. people to depose their king, James II ❖A bloodless coup ensued as James II fled to France from England. ❖William and Mary took the throne as joint monarchs. ❖The Bill of Rights (1689) outlined the powers and rights of Parliament.

Thomas Hobbes (1588–1679)❖English philosopher. ❖Wrote Leviathan during English civil wars – life began in a state of nature. ❖Man is inherently selfish and aggressive. ❖Left on own, chaos and conflict would rule. ❖Citizens need law and to follow a sovereign to avoid chaos.

Religious wars & new order in science

Economy & Finance

Transcript of Religious wars & new order in science