Absolutism in France and Spain

ABSOLUTISM IN FRANCE AND SPAIN

AP European HistoryMs. Tully

CRISES OF THE 17TH CENTURY

“Little Ice Age” – bad harvests, starvation for lower classes

Economic crises – high food prices, inequitable wealth, recession

Population decline – war, famine, plague

Chaos of religious wars – yearning for order

Social uprisings

STATEBUILDING IN THE 17TH CENTURY

Rise of absolutism & constitutionalism (limited monarchy)

Shared goals Protecting and expanding frontiers Raising new taxes Consolidating state control

Shared obstacles Slow communication/lack of information Cultural and linguistic differences Power of nobility & other autonomous groups

(church, town councils, guilds)

Achievements Greater taxation Growth in armed forces More efficient bureaucracies Increased obedience from subjects

Sovereignty: When a state possesses monopoly over the instruments of justice and the use of force within clearly defined boundaries.

NEW MILITARIES FOR NEW STATES IN 17THC

Monarchs (not nobles) controlled armies Officers loyal to

monarchs Explosive growth in

size (esp. in France) New professional

standards – uniforms, training, discipline

ABSOLUTISM IN WESTERN EUROPE

Sovereign power or ultimate authority in the state rested in the hands of a king who claimed to rule by divine right Make laws, tax, administer justice, control bureaucracy,

determine foreign policy Divine-right monarchy – government was divinely

ordained so that humans could live in an organized society Bishop Jacques Bossuet (1627-1704), Politics Drawn

from the Very Words of Holy Scripture Kings authority was absolute – no other institution could

put checks on their power Louis XIV of France best example of Absolute

Monarchy

FOUNDATIONS OF ABSOLUTISM

Success of Henry IV (r. 1589-1610) Lowered taxes on peasants Religious toleration Improved commerce and infrastructure Laid foundations for growth of state power

Regency of Marie de’Medici Louis XIII a child Appointed Armand Jean du Plessis (1585-

1642) – Cardinal Richelieu

Cardinal Richilieu Chief minister from

1624-1642 Created policies

that strengthened power of monarchy

“Where the interests of the state are concerned, God absolves actions which, if privately committed, would be a crime.”

Intendants Royal commissioners Nobles of the Robe – appointed directly by

monarchy Oversaw financial, political, and judicial business in

generalities (32) Enforce royal orders Inform central gov’t about generalites Undermine influence of regional nobility

One People, One Faith 1627 – Huguenots stripped of military and political

independence Siege of La Rochelle – major commercial port with

connections to Holland & England Foreign Policy – Weaken Habsburgs

French engagement in Thirty Years’ War

Cardinal Jules Mazarin (1602-1661) Richilieu’s successor Ruled during regency of

Anne of Austria Continued Richilieu’s

centralizing policies The Fronde

Revolt led by nobility – outraged by taxation & threatened by absolutism

Factionalism and popular riots left French wishing for peace and strong monarchy

Necessary compromise between monarch & nobility

LOUIS XIV AND ABSOLUTISM (R. 1643-1715)

Devout Catholic, divine right of kings – fostered myth of “Sun King”

Bureaucracy New councils of state

from bourgeoisie – “No intention of sharing power with them”

Never called meeting of Estates General

No chief minister Administration centered

at Versailles

Religion a tool for national unity 1685 – Revoked Edict of Nantes 1685- Edict of Fontainebleau

Destruction of Huguenot churches and schools

Convert to Catholicism or leave “One king, one law, one faith”

Absolute in theory, collaboration/manipulation of nobles in practice

Desire to enhance glory of dynasty

LIFE AT VERSAILLES

Set a standard for the rest of Europe – influential in etiquette, style, politics, etc…

Former hunting lodge, built 1660-1688

Many functions Residence for king and royal family Reception hall for state affairs Office for king’s government Home for thousands of royal officials

and aristocratic courtiers

Symbol for French absolutism and state power

Louis engaged nobles in daily court life at Versailles – excluded/distracted them from real power Court ceremony with

Louis at center Active involvement in

activities a prerequisite for obtaining offices, titles, and pensions

Elaborate order, ceremony, etiquette

ECONOMIC ISSUES AND COLBERT

Jean-Baptiste Colbert (1619-1683) – controller of general finances under Louis XIV

Mercantilism – government regulation of economic activities to benefit the state (dominant economic theory of 17th & 18th centuries) Nation’s international power

thought to be based on wealth, specifically gold/silver supply (bullion)

B/c resources limited, state intervention needed to secure largest part of limited resource

To accumulate gold – sell more than buy

Colbert wanted France to be self-sufficient Supported old industries and created new ones –

esp. textiles Reinforced system of state inspection &

regulation Formed guilds Tax incentives to craftsmen

No domestic tariffs, high foreign tariffs Improved infrastructure – built roads and canals Creation of merchant marine Results

Initial success, but ultimately self-defeating Louis XIV spent all the $ on wars Heavy taxation continued to weigh on peasants

LOUIS XIV’S WARS

France at war for 33 of 54 years of Louis’ reign

Desire to increase royal power and glory

Francois le Tellier – Secretary of War New large and

professional army Overall goal – expand

France to its “natural” borders & protect from invasion – Four Major Wars

1667 – Invasion of Spanish Netherlands and Franche-Comte Triple Alliance of Dutch, English, and Swedes

forced Louis to sue for peace Only acquired a few towns in Spanish

Netherlands Resented Dutch for forming alliance

1672 – 2nd Phase of Dutch War France invaded United Provinces Dutch opened dikes to flood cities against French Alliance of Brandenburg, Spain, and HRE forced

Louis to end war Treaty Nijmegen, 1678

France received Franche-Comte

War of the League of Augsburg (1689-1697) France annexed Alsace and Lorraine,

occupation of city of Strasbourg New coalition against France – League of

Augsburg: Spain, HRE, United Provinces, Sweden, England

Caused economic depression and famine in France

Treaty of Ryswick ended war France had to give up most of previous

conquests

War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1713) Charles II of Spain died childless, named

grandson of Louis XIV as successor Potential to upset balance of power – Spanish

and French thrones united? Grand Alliance – English, Dutch, Austrians,

Prussians Fighting in Europe and North America Peace of Utrecht, 1713

French and Spanish crowns could never be united France surrendered N.A. territories Represented balance of power principle Completed decline of Spain as great power

THE DECLINE OF SPAIN IN THE 17TH CENTURY

Spain developed standard features of absolutist monarchy in 16thC Permanent bureaucracy, standing army,

national taxes Developed an international absolutism

based on silver bullion from Peru Inquisition continued dogmatic

orthodoxy 1609 Philip II expelled all the Moriscos –

destructive to Spanish society

Reasons for decline Agricultural crisis Population decline Loss of artisans and merchants Failure to invest in productive

enterprises Intellectual isolation Trade competition with England and the

Dutch

Economic mismanagement Expenditures exceeded income – esp. with

wars Habsburg dynasty extravangant Lengthy conflicts with French during 17thC

Spanish aristocrats didn’t want to give up lifestyle

Ignored new technological/scientific/intellectual trends

Don Quixote, Miguel Cervantes – symbol for Spanish decline