ABSOLUTISM

Absolute Monarchs

• Kings and Queens who held all of the power within their states’ boundaries.

• Control every aspect of society.• Believe in divine right; God created the

monarchy and the monarch acted as God’s representative on Earth.

• Monarchs answered only to God – not subjects.

Power Grows Because

• Feudalism ends• Cities grow• National Kingdoms help to centralize authority• Growing middle class & merchants back

monarchs because they support business & trade• Wealth of colonies pours into monarchy• Breakdown of church authority allow monarchs to

gain greater control

Crisis lead to Absolutism in the17th Century• Religious & territorial conflicts between

states led to continuous warfare• Monarchs build huge armies & paid for by

levying heavy taxes• Monarchs create government bureaucracies

to control countries’ economic, religious, & social life – frees them from limitations imposed by nobility/parliament

EFFECTS OF ABSOLUTISM

• Rulers regulate religious worship and social gatherings to control the spread of ideas

• Rulers increase the size of their courts to appear more powerful

• Rulers create bureaucracies to control their countries’ economies

Meet the Tudors

Henry VIII 1491-1547

• Becomes king 1509

at age 17

Athlete

Musician

Speaks Latin, Spanish,

French & Italian

Want male heir!!!

Catherine of Aragon

• Daughter of Ferdinand & Isabella of Spain

• 6 births – only one survives: Mary

• Married 18 yrs.• Divorced

Henry…The Act of Supremacy

• Devout Catholic – Pope titles him “Defender of the Faith”

• Asks Pope to annul (set aside) marriage• Pope refuses – Catherine’s nephew is the

Holy Roman Emperor Charles V

Reformation Parliament 1529

• Henry asks Parliament to pass laws ending the pope’s power in England.

• Parliament votes & approves the Act of Supremacy : Henry become official head of the Church of England

• Church land & riches become Henry’s• Grants own divorce to Catherine

Anne Boleyn 1501-1536

• Married for 3 yrs.• 1 daughter: Elizabeth• Accused of adultry• Beheaded

Jane Seymour 1509-1537

• Gives birth to Prince Edward (Edward VI)

• Dies soon after birth

Anne of Cleves 1515-1537

• Selected by a painting• (From Germany)• Finds her unattractive• Annulled marriage

after 6 mo.• “King’s Sister”

Cathrine Howard 1522-1542

• Married 3 weeks after divorce from Anne

• Much younger with a lusty reputation

• Past & present affairs• Beheaded

Katheryn Parr 1512-1548

• Loves another but cannot refuse King

• King is 52, she 31• Cares for King until

his death in 1547• Marries former suitor

(Thomas Seymore) but dies 15 mos. after

Tudor Reigns

• Edward VI 1547-1553

Takes throne at age 9

Dies at 16 from tuberulosus

Mary I 1553-1558

• “Bloody Mary”

Orders heretics and Protestants put to death

Throws Elizabeth into the Tower of London for Treason

Elizabeth I – 1558-1603

• “The Golden Age”• Never marries – but

said to love Robert Dudley (whose wife dies mysteriously)

• England defeats the Spanish Amada and

• Most powerful navy in the world

LOUIS XIV1638-1715• Becomes King at age 5 – takes control of

government at age 22• The Sun King – • “I am the State!”

ART – Glorifies King

The Palace of Versailles

PROOF OF POWER

• $2.5 billion in 2003• 36,000 laborers & 6,000 horses• 5,000 acres of gardens, lawns, & woods• 1,400 fountains

King’s Bedroom

Queen’s Bedroom

The Hall of Mirrors

Gardens

Fountains