Absolutism in Eastern Europe Questions of the Day

1. Absolutism in Eastern EuropeQuestions of the Day Daniel W. Blackmon AP European History Coral Gables Sr High

2. Identifications of the Day • Estate agriculture • Robot • Janissaries • Pragmatic Sanction • The Great Elector

3. Multiple Choice • Poland’s decline as a major political entity during the seventeenth-century can be attributed largely to

4. Multiple Choice • A. The failure of the papacy to recognize the legitimacy of the Polish kings. • B. A population decline resulting from the Thirty Years’ War.

5. Multiple Choice • C. The conquest of the kingdom by the Ottoman Turks. • D. Failure of the universities to create a literate aristocracy. • E. The absence of a powerful central authority

6. Multiple Choice • Which of the following is true about the rulers of both Austria and Prussia during the seventeenth century?

7. Multiple Choice • A. They patterned their society after that of the Ottoman Empire. • B. They succeeded in avoiding war for most of the century. • C. They created centralized, unified nation-states.

8. Multiple Choice • D. They abolished serfdom • E. They maintained permanent standing armies.

9. Multiple Choice • Which of the following is true of Frederick William I, king of Prussia from 1713-1740?

10. Multiple Choice • A. He lived lavishly off of the taxes that his bureaucracy collected. • B. He built a first-rate army and infused Prussian society with military values. • C. He refused to employ commoners in the bureaucracy.

11. Multiple Choice • D. He recruited tall soldiers from all of Europe to fight in his frequent wars. • E. He encouraged the development of local self-government.

12. Multiple Choice • The concept of the European balance of power, as it emerged by the end of the eighteenth and the beginning of the nineteenth centuries, had which of the following as its most fundamental aim?

13. Multiple Choice • A. The elimination of war as an instrument of international relations. • B. The prevention of the preponderance of one power in Europe. • C. An approximate balance between the land and the sea powers.

14. Multiple Choice • D. Isolation of conflict to certain contested land areas. • E. The division of Europe into two groups of states, both approximately equal in potential military power.

15. Multiple Choice • In seventeenth and eighteenth century Prussia, the Junkers supported the monarchy and served in the army in return for

16. Multiple Choice • A. The right to sell their lands • B. Control of an independent national parliament • C. Toleration of their religious diversity

17. Multiple Choice • D. Exemption from all taxesE. Virtually absolute power over their serfs.

18. Essay of the Day • Analyze the military, political, and social factors that account for the rise of Prussia between 1640 and 1786. AP 1991

19. The Monarchs • Frederick William, The Great Elector 1640-1688 • Frederick I 1688-1713 • Frederick William I, The Soldier King 1713-1740 • Frederick II the Great 1740-1786

20. Brandenburg Prussia: The Problem • Hohenzollerns inherited the duchies of • Cleves, • East Prussia and • Pomerania, and • the counties of • Mark and • Ravensburg

21. The Problem • Territories are not contiguous • Population light • Resources not great • No defensible borders • Frequent wars: Poland vs. Sweden 1655-1660

22. Frederick William, the Great Elector • Goals: • Centralize power by breaking the local estates • Create a bureaucracy loyal to the state • Create a strong army

23. The Great Elector: Centralization • Forced the Estates to accept a permanent tax to support the army in 1660 • soldiers acted as policemen and tax collectors • Revenue tripled and army increased ten fold

24. The Great Elector: Centralization • The Junkers • Unlimited control over their serfs • Frederick William co-opted the Junkers to serve his bureaucracy and army • Taxes fall upon serfs and urban classes

25. Frederick I • Loaned his army to the Hapsburgs during the War of Spanish Succession, • Declared “King in Prussia” in 1701 as a reward

26. The Soldier King • Policies • Strict austerity • Consolidation of an obedient burreacracy • Unquestioning obedience to the monarch as a political institution rather than as a person • A large army

27. The Great Elector: Centralization • Kabinett government • All documents submitted to his office • General Directory • Consolidated all departments • Feudal dues become sense of duty to the monarchy as an institution

28. The Soldier King • “A formidable army and a war chest large enough to make this army mobile in times of need can create great respect for you in the world, so that you can speak a word like the other powers.”

29. The Soldier King • “I must be served with life and limb, with house and wealth, with honour and conscience, everything must be committed except eternal salvation–that belongs to God, abut all else is mine.”

30. The Soldier King • The Army • Grew from 39,000 to 80,000 • 13th in population but 4th largest army • Obsessed with tall soldiers • Junker officer class become the highest social class

31. The Soldier King • Prussia became the most highly militarized state in Europe • The Sparta of the North • Avoided actual wars

32. Frederick the Great • Began the War of Austrian Succession 1740-1748 • Violated the Pragmatic Sanction • Maria Theresa Empress of Austria • Seized Silesia (increased size of his domain by 25%)

33. Frederick the Great • War of Austrian Succession widens • France supported Prussia against the traditional enemy, Austria • Therefore helped consolidate a powerful new German state • Britain supported Austria to protect the Austrian Low Countries

34. Frederick the Great • France then supported Spain in their war against Britain (the War of Jenkins’ Ear)

35. Frederick the Great • The Seven Years’ War 1756-1763 • The Diplomatic Revolution: • Austria and France allied against Prussia • Saxony, fearing Prussia, joined as well

36. Frederick the Great • Frederick began war with a pre-emptive strike against Saxony • Found himself bogged down in a war with • Austria, France, Saxony, Russia, and Sweden

37. Frederick the Great • Great Britain, already at war with France in North America, joins to support Prussia • William Pitt the Elder uses the war to seize extensive colonies

38. Frederick the Great • Frederick saves his kingdom • Great Britain provided massive financial aid • Empress Elizabeth of Russia, an implacable opponent of Frederick, died • Her successor, Peter III, admired Frederick and made peace.

39. Identifications of the Day • The Soldier King • Junkers • Ivan the Terrible • Oprichniki • Time of Troubles • Michael Romanov

41. Multiple Choice • The shaded portions on the map above represent the areas

42. Multiple Choice • A. Controlled by Protestant rulers • B. Where the Renaissance first occurred • C. Ruled by the Hapsburg family

43. Multiple Choice • D. Ruled by the Bourbon family • E. Affected most by urbanization and the commercial revolution

44. Multiple Choice • Frederick the Great (1740-1786) contributed most to the rise of Prussia as a major European power by

45. Multiple Choice • A. Maintaining traditional dynastic alliances • B. Annexing the Hapsburg province of Silesia

46. Multiple Choice • C. Promoting religious toleration • D. Encouraging the arts • E. Instituting judicial reforms

47. Multiple Choice • In eighteenth century Europe, the most important imperial rivalries existed among which three of the following?

48. Multiple Choice • A. Russia, France, and Great Britain • B. The German states, the Italian states, and Great Britain • C. The German states the Italian states and France

49. Multiple Choice • D. The German states, the Italian states, and Spain • E. Spain, France, and Great Britain.

50. Multiple Choice • Which of the following characterized European warfare between the Peace of Utrecht (1713) and the outbreak of the French Revolution (1789)?