SOCIAL CRISES, WAR, AND REVOLUTION

ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL CRISES• Inflation (rising prices) contributed to severe economic and social crises.•A great influx of gold and silver from the Americas was a major factor.•Growing population increased the demand for land and food and drove up prices for both.

THE THIRTY YEARS’ WAR• Religious disputes continued in Germany and other parts

of Europe.• Religion played a major role in the outbreak of the Thirty

Years’ War.• The war was primarily between Catholic forces from

Hapsburg and Calvinist nobles in Bohemia.• Although most of the battles of the war were fought on

German soil, all major European powers except England became involved.• The Treaty of Westphalia ended the war in 1648.

THE STUARTS AND DIVINE RIGHT• The Tudor dynasty came to an end with the death of

Elizabeth I in 1603.• The Stuart line of rule began with Elizabeth’s cousin, the

king of Scotland, who became James I of England.• James believed in the divine right of kings (kings receive

their power from God and are responsible only to God).• His son Charles I succeeded James as king.• Parliament was not happy with the belief in divine right

and passed a petition to prevent it in 1628.

CIVIL WAR AND THE COMMONWEALTH

• England fell into civil war in 1642.• Cavaliers (supporters of the king)

against the Roundheads (supporters of the Parliament)• The parliament won with the leadership

of Oliver Cromwell.• Cromwell seized power and purged the

parliament of those who did not support him.• England was declared a commonwealth

(republic) and Cromwell set up a dictatorship.• After Cromwell’s death in 1658

parliament restored the monarchy.

CHARLES II AND JAMES II• Charles II was sympathetic to Catholicism which made

parliament suspicious.• James II took over (who was openly catholic) and the

religious turmoil began again.• William of Orange (Dutch leader) was asked to come in.

He was married to his cousin Mary (James’ daughter). They took over in 1688.• Divine right had be destroyed. Parliament had established

its right to be part of the government.

RESPONSE TO CRISIS: ABSOLUTISM

FRANCE UNDER LOUIS XIV•Absolutism (ruler holds total power)•The reign of Louis XIV has long been regarded the best example of the practice of absolutism.•Absolute monarchs had the ability to make laws, levy taxes, administer justice, control the state’s officials, and determine foreign policy.

RICHELIEU AND MAZARIN• 50 years before Louis was a period of struggle as governments fought to avoid the breakdown of the state.• Louis XIII and Louis XIV were only boys when they came to the throne so the government was left in the hands of the royal ministers.• Cardinal Richelieu was Louis XIII’s chief minister while Cardinal Mazarin was Louis XIV’s chief minister.

LOUIS XIV•Louis XIV ruled for 72 years before he died in 1715.•He built up a great debt with the cost of building palaces, maintaining his court, and pursuing war with other nations.•He left France surrounded by enemies.

ABSOLUTISM IN CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE

• Prussia- Frederick William the Great Elector followed by his son Frederick I.• Russia- Ivan IV was the first czar, followed by Michael

Romanov in 1613.• Romanov dynasty lasted until 1917. Peter the Great

was a prominent member of the Romanov dynasty and became czar in 1689.• Peter turned Russia into an important European state.

THOMAS HOBBES AND JOHN LOCKE

THOMAS HOBBES• Was very alarmed by the revolutionary upheavals in

England.• Wrote a book (Leviathan) in 1651 that dealt with how to deal

with the problem of disorder.• Claimed that society was “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish,

short.” • Believed that humans were guided not by reason and moral

ideals but by a ruthless struggle for self preservation.• To save themselves from destroying one another, people

made a social contract and agreed to form a state.

THOMAS HOBBES• People in the state

agreed to be governed by an absolute ruler who possessed unlimited power. Rebellion must be suppressed.

• Absolute power was needed to preserve order in society.

JOHN LOCKE• Wrote Two Treatises of Government in1690.• He argued against the absolute rule of one person.• Believed that before society was organized, humans lived

in a state of equality and freedom rather than a state of war.• Humans had certain natural rights (life, liberty, and

property).• It was difficult to protect these natural rights so a

government was necessary to ensure protection citizens rights.

JOHN LOCKE• A mutual contract was shared between

government and the people. If the government broke the contract and did not protect the peoples natural rights then the people could form a new government.

• To Locke, people meant the landholding aristocracy, not the landless masses. He was not an advocate of democracy.

• His ideas were very influential to both the French and the Americans during the 18th century.