Absolutism and Enlightenment

Transcription

1 Absolutism and Enlightenment

2 The Commercial Revolution Most of Europe remained agricultural between The Commercial Revolution marked an important step in the transition from the local economies of the Middle Ages to the formation of a global economy The Commercial Revolution consisted of: Global trade Mercantilism Free Enterprise

3 Global Trade People began producing goods for sale rather than for personal use Trade increased as sugar, rice, tobacco, and precious metals were shipped from the Americas to Europe China exported silks and porcelain India exported tea East indies produced spices Africa provided slave workers Europe exported woolen cloth, lumber, and finished goods

4 Mercantilism European kings hoped to increase their power through the system of Mercantilism Mercantilists acted to remove trade barriers within their countries The taught that wealth and power were based on amassing gold and silver which paid for soldiers to protect the state Mercantilists believed the wealth of the world was limited so it had to be gained through war or trade As a result, England, France, and Holland established overseas colonies. In the 1700s, England and France fought a series of wars for control of North America and India Colonies Gold, Silver, Fur, Limber, food Manufactured Goods Mother Country

5 Free Enterprise Merchants and bankers laid the foundations for the free enterprise system (aka Capitalism) Under this system, business owners risked their capital(money) in a business in order to make profits Growth of new businesses led to a demand for huge sums of money Money was needed to pay for the facilities and materials used in manufacturing or international trade Ships had to be insured because there was a high risk of loss from accident, weather and war Joint-stock companies were formed, privately-owned companies that sold stock to investors, investors bought stock for a share of the profit

6 Financial Revolution Banks developed new ways of raising and lending money Some governments issued funds that were sold to the public, the government then paid interest to the purchasers of theses funds Bankers and merchants became more influential in government In Holland, rich merchants were able to establish an oligarchy rule by a few. As a result of the Commercial Revolution, Europeans had many more products from which to choose. This led to more choices in occupations as well as consumption. These advantages led to rising standards of living for many Europeans.

7 The Age of Kings ( ) In the Middle Ages the power of kings had been limited by nobles, parliaments, and the Catholic Church, but during the 16 th and 17 th centuries things changed. Kings were now able to increase their power. Henry the VIII made himself the head of the national church, the religious wars that followed allowed kings to develop standing armies, create new government officials (bureaucrats) and increase taxes. In the Middle Ages nobility were an independent source of power. In the 1600s, rulers like Louis XIV took control of the nobility. He forced nobles to live in the palace to keep an eye on them.

8 Justifications of Royal Power New theories arose to justify royal authority Many rulers adopted the Renaissance view justifying their actions on the basis of reasons of state An Englishman, Thomas Hobbes, wrote a book Leviathan, he argues for a social contract and rule by an absolute monarch. He believed that man was not naturally good without strong central authority to keep order, life would be nasty, brutish, and short society would break down into a war of every man against every man. Hobbes said kings were justified in seizing absolute power because they could act impartially to maintain order in society. Monarchs such as James I in England and Louis XIV in France justified their power on the basis of divine right According to this theory, a king was God s deputy on Earth, and royal commands expressed God s wishes.

9 Absolutism in France Louis XIV the Sun King provided a model for other absolute monarchs to follow His will was law, he interfered in the economic and religious lives of his subjects He demanded all Protestants convert to Catholicism or leave France His aggressive behavior caused all of Europe to unite against France, he left his country bankrupt at his death The Palace at Versailles

10 Absolutism in Russia By the end of the 15 th century Moscow declared its independence from the Mongols, next they increased the size of Muscovy by conquering neighboring lands The bulk of Russia s population were serfs, peasants who by law were required to stay on the land and work for the landowner Russian lord pledged absolute loyalty to the Tsar, Russian Rulers adopted the system of royal absolutism on a large scale

11 Peter the Great & Catherine the Great Peter the Great ( ) Peter turned Russia from a backward nation into a modern power Under Peter Russia experienced an Enlightenment, he has nobles shave their beards and dress in a Western fashion He took control of the Church, opened schools, imported foreign workers, moved the capital to St. Petersburg, a newly built modern city Catherine the Great ( ) 40 years later Catherine continued Peter s policies of expansion and Westernization, granted nobles their own charter of rights During her reign the conditions for the serfs became worse She defeated the Ottoman Empire, expanded Russia s border to the Black Sea

12 The Road to Limited Monarchy Magna Carta the nobles forced King John to sign this agreement limiting the king s powers. Parliament establishment of a legislative body made up of nobles and commoners Tudor Monarchs Henry VIII and Elizabeth I created a strong centralized monarchy based on a sense of national unity, Church of England, and sharing power with parliament Stuart Monarchy James I believed in the divine right of kings and often conflicted with Parliament, his son Charles I tried to establish absolutism, dissolved parliament, had to recall them to pursue his policies in Scotland

13 English Civil War ( ) the conflict between James I and parliament soon led to a civil war, which parliament won, next in 1649 his son Charles I was tried, convicted and executed Glorious Revolution ( ) a second English revolution occurred when James II converted to Catholicism failed to respect his subjects rights. He was deposed and his daughter Mary and her husband William were invited to rule. They agreed they would neither collect new taxes or raise an army without obtaining parliament s consent

14 Influential Writers John Locke challenged the divine right theory and the views of Hobbes. He believed that governments obtained their power from the people they govern, not from God. He defined the people s right to revolt when the government abused its power. Sir William Blackstone ( ) An English judge, summarized English law in his Commentaries on the Laws of England, this book explained English common law. He defined the rights of individuals in English law, as well as property rights that could not be violated, even by the king

15 Scientific Revolution The roots of the Scientific Revolution can be found in the - Renaissance with the work of Copernicus, Galileo, Harvey, and other scientists The revolution in science was based on the new scientific method, in which people observed nature, made hypotheses through experiments Galileo conducted tests on the motion of objects to find general principals of physics Robert Boyle known as the father of Chemistry conducted tests on gases at different temperatures and pressures, he was the first to perform controlled experiments Sir Isaac Newton the most influential thinker of the Scientific Revolution, his book Principia Mathematica connected the speed of falling objects on Earth to the movements of planets, he reduced all these patterns into a single formula the law of gravity

16 The Enlightenment An important movement in the 18 th century European thought The spark for the Enlightenment came from the Scientific Revolution Enlightenment thinkers believed that by applying reason and scientific laws, people would be better able to understand both nature and one another Many of the Enlightenment thinkers were French, influenced by French Protestants followers of John Calvin who argued that people could challenge the actions of an ungodly king Enlightenment ideas were applied by Thomas Jefferson in the writing of the American Declaration of Independence, the purpose of government was to protect the natural rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

17 Key Thinkers of the Enlightenment Voltaire( ) poked fun at traditional authority in society, government, and the church, His views on religious toleration and intellectual freedom influenced the leaders of the American and French Revolution Jean-Jacques Rousseau ( ) believed a government should express the general will of the people. His book, The Social Contract helped to inspire the democratic ideas of the French Revolution Baron de Montesquieu ( ) argued for a separation of powers in government as a check against tyranny. His book, The Spirit of Laws, encouraged the development of a system of checks and balances Adam Smith ( ) described capitalism in his book, The Wealth of Nations, he explained how competition and the division of labor help to guide a free-market economic system and government should follow a laissezfaire or hands-off approach policy towards the economy

18 Enlightenment Despotism Enlightened Despots were absolute monarchs who tried to use Enlightenment ideas to reform their societies from above. They often came from countries without a strong middle class. Catherine the Great of Russia, Frederick the Great of Prussia, and Joseph II of Austria were examples of enlightened despot rulers