1 / 11

AGE OF ABSOLUTE MONARCHS 1500-1800

AGE OF ABSOLUTE MONARCHS 1500-1800. Characteristics of Absolutism. Empire expansion Centralization of power Establishment of elaborate administrative institutions Control of church/religion Monument construction Claim of Divine Right. Long-Term Causes of Absolutism.

zeph-hill
Download Presentation

AGE OF ABSOLUTE MONARCHS 1500-1800

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. AGE OF ABSOLUTE MONARCHS 1500-1800

  2. Characteristics of Absolutism • Empire expansion • Centralization of power • Establishment of elaborate administrative institutions • Control of church/religion • Monument construction • Claim of Divine Right

  3. Long-Term Causes of Absolutism • Decline of feudalism • Rise of cities and growth of middle class • Growth of national kingdoms • Loss of Church authority

  4. Immediate Causes of Absolutism • Religious and territorial conflicts • Buildup of armies • Need for increased taxes • Revolts by peasants or nobles

  5. Western Europe • Absolutism easier here – why? • Divine right easier here – why? • Crises in Europe fuel the growth of absolute rule – why? • Examples: Spain, France

  6. Central and Eastern Europe • More slowly than in western Europe – why? • Nobles hold down serfs and block the development of strong kings • Holy Roman Empire loses strength, but Austria remains powerful • Enlightened despots

  7. Russia • Czars try to strengthen the state and reduce the power of the boyars (nobles) • Russia is still a land of nobles and serfs, isolated and backward. • Some czars want to westernize Russia so it can compete with western Europe.

  8. England • English kings clash with Parliament over money and power. • English Civil War • Cromwell’s Commonwealth & Dictatorship • Restoration of the Monarchy • Glorious Revolution brings political changes to England

  9. Immediate Effects of Absolutism • Regulation of religion and society • Larger courts • Huge building projects • New government bureaucracies • Loss of power by nobility and legislatures

  10. Long-Term Effects of Absolutism • Revolution in France • Western European influence on Russia • English political reforms that influence U.S. democracy

  11. Something to think about… • "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men.“ • This is a quotation from Lord Acton, in a letter to Bishop Mandell Creighton, 1887:

More Related