The Age of Absolutism

1. The Age of Absolutism Spain and France Sections 1 and 2

2. TRIVIA • In 1900 there were still quite a few absolute monarchies in the world.

3. TRIVIA • In 2008 There are only a few absolute monarchies left: • The Vatican • Brunei • Swaziland • Saudi Arabia • Liechtenstein

4. The Vatican • Pope Benedict XVI • Elected pope in 2005 and will rule until he dies or he chooses to resign. • Absolute authority over the Catholic faith and Vatican City in Rome.

5. Brunei • Sultan of Brunei. • Picture of his 60th birthday with his first two wives as they went to his birthday party for 4000 of his dearest friends in 2008.

6. Swaziland • King Mswati III • Has not kept promises to bring democracy to his people. • Collects wives and bankrupts the country. • 14 by September. • Uses the Virgin Dances to choose his next wife.

7. Saudi Arabia • 84 year old King Adullah. • Collects all the oil revenue that comes to Saudi Arabia and decides how it will be spent. • Estimated worth $21 billion.

8. Liechtenstein – a step backward? • In 2008 the people of Liechtenstein voted to make Prince Hans-Adam absolute, abolishing the Constitutional powers over him.

9. The rest of monarchies • CONSTITUTIONAL. • There are limits on their power. • Only 13 left in the world.

10. One family in particular keeps popping up in the history of absolutism … • THE HAPSBURGS • (Sometimes history books say Habsburg) • Ruled in different areas of Europe from 1519 – 1918. • Mostly Spain and Austria.

11. The Hapsburg Empire in the 1500s – 1600s • This family didn’t get their lands by war. • They never were very good generals. • The Hapsburgs married to get more land and power.

12. The Hapsburgs had “distinctive” features • That became more noticeable as cousins (and more) tended to marry more than a few generations.

13. How did the Hapsburgs end up ruling in Spain? • Remember Ferdinand and Isabella? • They united Spain in 1492. • Helped Columbus find a new world.

14. Ferdinand and Isabella had a problem: • They had had six children. • They all died as young adults – with the exception of one daughter – Joanna. • Joanna had an “interesting” nickname in history.

15. Joanna the Mad • Joanna had been married off to an Austrian prince – Phillip the Handsome (Hapsburg). • Joanna was really, really, REALLY attached to her husband. • Obsessed might be a better word.

16. Joanna and Phillip had a son • Charles • Poor Charles witnessed his mother’s bizarre behavior with his father and eventually she was locked up with his corpse. • Charles was raised by Grandfather Ferdinand who didn’t like a less than full-blooded Spaniard becoming the king. • Remember the blue blood?

17. Charles V took over in 1519 • Ruled the riches of Spain and most of what was to become Germany, the Netherlands, parts of Italy too! • Took the title Holy Roman Emperor.

18. Charles V –BIG mistakes in ruling. • Tried to force all his subjects to be Roman Catholics. • He lost. Lutheranism spread and the German princes got to choose the religion of their people. • TREATY of TRENT ring a bell?? • Fought against the Muslim Ottoman Empire in Turkey for control of the Mediterranean. • Kind of lost.

19. Charles V - ABDICATES • Found being king to CUMBERSOME. • Maybe a bit of depression from his mother’s side?

20. Philip II (ruled 1556 – 1598) • 29 years old when he took over for his father. • Ruled 42 years. • With the help of all the silver and gold his country was taking from Mexico / South America he made himself ABSOLUTE in power in Spain. • “I am the state.”

21. Philip II: The Good Qualities of a King He spent most of his time managing his government. He seldom hunted, jousted and did the “kingly” things. He concentrated on making sure his control was complete. Lived almost like a monk.

22. Philip II • His palace THE ESCORIAL was like a church, a residence and a tomb for the royal family.

23. Philip II: The so-so qualities • Had a number of marriages. • Marriage was not for love or a partnership, it was to get land, power and sons to inherit. • Married Maria of Portugal (his double cousin) • One child, deformed. Died in childbirth’ • Married Mary Tudor • No children.

24. Philip II: So-So Qualities • Wife #3: Elisabeth of France. She was 14 and he was 59 when they married. • Between 19 until she died at 23 she had 5 pregnancies, only two daughters lived. • It appears Philip actually kind of liked her.

25. Philip’s last marriage • Married his niece Anna of Austria. • They popped out 5 children, four being sons before dying at 31 of a “contagion.”

26. Philip’s “my bads” • No one could tell a king “this isn’t a good idea, dude.” • Philip didn’t learn from his father about going to war to force people to believe a certain way.

27. Philip tried to force Protestants to switch religions. • The Netherlands, Luxembourg, Belgium didn’t like Spain’s absolute ruling, high taxes. • When the Inquisition arrived in the 1560s – the Dutch attacked and war lasted for twenty years. • Drained Spanish resources.

28. Philip’s DISASTER: The Spanish Armada Philip had had troubles with his former sister-in-law Elizabeth Tudor since she became Queen of England. • She was Protestant • She encouraged English pirates to attack Spanish ships. • She had dared to execute Mary, Queen of Scots in 1586. • ELIZABETH HAD TO GO!

29. Philip sets out to take out Queen Elizabeth • Sent an incredible ARMADA (fleet) of ships to invade England. • 130 ships • 20,000 men • 2,400 pieces of artillery. • England only had 34 serviceable ships.

30. The Spanish Armada • Many ships got separated due to the winds and the waves of the English Channel area. • They weren’t ready for Elizabeth’s more maneuverable ships and the new technique of battle - the BROADSIDE attack.

31. Armada losses: • Less than a thousand men returned home. • It was a CATASTROPHIC loss. • Spain would never be the same again.

32. King Philip’s Response? It wasn’t his fault! • "I sent the Armada against men, not God's winds and waves."

33. Decline of Spanish Power • After Philip II, his successors weren’t as smart or as willing to work at ruling. • But they wouldn’t share the power.

34. Decline of Spanish Power • Costly wars were draining Spain of needed money. • Treasure from the Americas made most Spaniards abandon farming and manufacturing. • The king taxed the middle class – not the nobles. • Expulsion of the Jews and Muslims took away a skilled artisan class. • Spanish ships were easy prey for English, Dutch, French, etc. pirates.

35. The last Spanish Hapsburg • Too much inbreeding had left the Hapsburgs having stillbirths, mental issues, and physical disabilities. • Charles II (the last Hapsburg) descended from Joanna the Mad 14 times. • The family ceased to exist by 1700.

36. The Hapsburgs in Spain • What lessons about what a leader should do can we learn from Philip II? • What should a king NOT do?

37. There can be some good things that come from an absolute monarch. • Sponsors of the arts. • No one can tell them to put a cap on spending! • The earrings date back to the 1600s and are still worn by the Spanish queen today.

38. Spanish Art in the Golden Age • El Greco (1541 – 1618) • The Greek • Art that inspired artists in the 20th century.

39. El Greco – The Disrobing of Christ and View from Toledo

40. Views from the Escorial (Es-kohr-yal)

41. Spain’s Golden Age: Literature • Miguel de Cervantes • Tried to be a soldier. • Captured by Muslim pirates and held for 5 years. • Got a job to get supplies for the Spanish Armada – got arrested and jailed for EMBEZZLMENT. • Had written 30 plays that had never sold. • A life of hardship and adventure – and poverty.

42. Wrote Don Quixote • Don Quixote has read too many tales of chivalry, and imagining himself a Medieval knight in the 1600s takes off across the Spanish countryside with his practical servant Sancho Panza to prove himself a brave knight.

43. Don Quixote • First modern novel. • Considered the equal of Shakespeare. • The musical Man from La Mancha is based on the book.

44. Sometimes we say someone has a quixotic personality. • Someone that pursues foolish or unrealistic romantic ideals.

45. France in the Age of Absolutism

46. Remember: • Often the worst type of wars are CIVIL WARS. • Shatter lands and families. • People are desperate for peace and order. • They tend to turn to whoever offers them that hope. • They might surrender their rights to feel safe. • Afghanistan?

47. Remember: • Why else did the English agree to let a king return to their country and let him have absolute power again in 1660?

48. France had the same problem in the 1500s. • Specifically religious wars between Catholics and Huguenots (French Protestants) tore the country apart 1560s – 1590s. • 1572: St. Bartholomew’s Massacre. • 3,000 killed. • Huguenots and Catholics had gathered for a wedding to stop the violence. • The Catholics attacked.

49. Henry of Navarre • A Huguenot prince – he inherited the throne. • The majority of the nobility refused to allow a Protestant to rule them. • “Paris is worth a mass.” • He became Catholic. • Issued the Edict of Nantes, granting religious toleration and other freedoms.

50. Henry IV of France • Set out to repair France. • Used his absolute powers to make his rules felt throughout the land. • Repaired roads, built bridges, revived agriculture so people could live, brought justice. • GOAL: “A chicken in every pot.”