Eastern Absolutism

1. Eastern Absolutism

2. PRUSSIA

3. Frederick William "The Great Elector" Controlled Nobility • 1653 – Convinced Junkers to grant him the money to build an army • In exchange Junkers maintained privileges – allowed to keep control of the peasantry

4. Frederick William "The Great Elector" Established Military • Created a permanent standing army • Junkers = Officers • Peasants = Soldiers • This was the 1st modern civil service

5. Frederick William "The Great Elector" Other Policies • Increased taxes to the equivalent of France (had to pay for military) • Religious Toleration – welcomed 20,000 Huguenots, Polish Jews and other refugees

6. Frederick I • Took the title of King of Prussia • Establishing the power of the Hohenzollern family in Europe • Modeled himself after Louis XIV

7. Frederick William I "Sergeant King" • Continued policies of his Grandfather – centralization • Turned Royal Gardens into a military training ground • Increased army from 39,000 – 80,000 • All young men HAD TO register for military service • Created the 1st Military reserves

8. Frederick William I "Sergeant King" Eccentricities of the “Sergeant King” He had a strange preference for Tall men, and would send recruiting agents out throughout Europe to find them. He even gave bonuses to parents who surrendered their tallest sons to him. At one point he instituted a breeding program that ultimately turned out to be too slow a process. Many of the giants resorted to desertion or suicide, despite the great pay. He doted on his Giants and didn’t waste them in battle, rather he liked to paint portraits of them. When he was depressed he would have a few 100 of them march through his bedroom to cheer him up.

9. “What distinguishes the Prussians from other people is that theirs is not a country with an army. They have an army and a country that serves it.”

10. RUSSIA

11. PETER the GREAT r. 1682 - 1725 ROAD TO POWER • Youngest son of Tsar Alexis –he was a child from Alexis’ second wife • Alexis had 3 children with his 1st wife • Feodor – an invalid • Sophia • Ivan –a semiimbecile

12. PETER the GREAT r. 1682 - 1725 • 1676 – Alexis died and Feodor became Tsar • 1682 – sickly Feodor died and Peter’s mother campaigns to have him made Tsar over Ivan

13. PETER the GREAT r. 1682 - 1725 • Peter is made Tsar at 10 years old • Ivan’s Family instigates a coup d’etat • Peter watched as his supporters and family were thrown form the Red Stairs of the Faceted Palace in Moscow onto raised pikes • Coup is successful and Peter is forced to share Tsarship with Ivan • Sophia acts as the regent

14. PETER the GREAT r. 1682 - 1725 EARLY TROUBLES • Miserable Peter leaves Moscow and becomes interested in war games • He becomes acquainted with Western strategies and tactics • He establishes a military support base

15. PETER the GREAT r. 1682 - 1725 • Sophia tries another coup, this time loosing to Peter • Peter exiles Sophia to a convent • 6 years later Ivan dies and Peter is left to rule alone

16. PETER the GREAT r. 1682 - 1725 • 1st Tsar in 100 years to make contact with the West in peacetime • Met with Western Monarchs such as William III of England to establish a mutually beneficial trading relationship • Conducted diplomacy

17. In England he stayed at a house in Deptford belonging to writer John Evelyn. During his stay he and his companions caused a great deal of damage. He had a party full of “nasty people” wrecked the house and garden, carpets were left filthy with grease and ink. Paintings looked like they were used as shooting targets. Locks and windows were broken. Every one of the 50 chairs in the house vanished – probably burned in fires.

18. PETER the GREAT r. 1682 - 1725 • Traveled incognito (in Holland he worked as a ship’s carpenter) • His trip created a desire to Modernize Russian state and to Westernize its society

19. PETER the GREAT r. 1682 - 1725 Another Coup • 1698 – Forced to return home when he hears of another rebellion by Sophia • Responds with force – ordering a mass execution of the surviving rebels • Next day he stared his program to recreate Russia in the image of the West

20. Peter hung the bodies of the rebels outside of Sophia’s convent window, and Sophia apparently went mad.

21. Peter's Westernization Translation: Right Corner: “The barber went to cut off an Old Believer’s beard” Left Corner: “The Old Believer says:” “Listen, barber, I neither want to cut my beard nor shave watch out, or I will call the guards to teach you to behave.”

22. PETER the GREAT r. 1682 - 1725 WESTERNIZATION • Military Conscription • Technical schools • Replaced church patriarchy with himself • Simplified the alphabet

23. PETER the GREAT r. 1682 - 1725 WESTERNIZATION • Changed Calendar to fit the West • Changed his title from Tsar to Emperor • Moved capital from Moscow to St. Petersburg (a new “modernized” city)

24. The Original Downtown of St. Petersburg

25. Peter the Great's 1st Cabin in St. Petersburg

26. Peter the Great's Winter Palace Peter used forced peasant labor to build his palace.

27. PETER the GREAT r. 1682 - 1725 • Conservative Clergy • Nobility • His son Alexis • Sentenced to death by Peter • Died while being tortured

28. Alexis renounced his right to succession and fled to Austria. Peter thought he fled to get foreign backing and had him arrested and tried for treason. He was sentenced to death. Died from the torture wich occurred before the execution could ever take place.

29. PETER the GREAT r. 1682 - 1725 • Peter died in 1725 • In November 1724 – he leapt into freezing water and worked throughout the night to assist in the rescue of 20 sailors whose ship had been grounded. The resulting fever helped lead to his death in early 1925

30. AUSTRIA

31. The Hapsburgs • The Holy Roman Empire • 300+ German States • Austria • Bohemia • Hungary

32. The Hapsburgs • Major Obstacles in the way of an Absolute Monarchy • Not a nation-state – included too many languages, traditions and nationalities. • Germans • Czechs • Magyars • Slovaks • Croatians • Slovenes • Rumanians • Italians • Poles

33. Leopold I r. 1657 - 1705 • Successfully resisted both Ottoman Empire and King XIV of France • Acquired virtually all of Hungary and imposed his authority over the Magyar aristocracy • Most Magyar nobles had become Protestant during the Reformation. Hapsburg persecution of Hungarian Protestants sparked an insurrection in 1679

34. Leopold I r. 1657 - 1705 • 1684 – Leopold led a “Holy League” against the Turks • Victory forced the Hungarian Estates to declare that the Hungarian throne would be a hereditary possession of the Hapsburgs – recognizing the sovereignty of the Hapsburg dynasty • Magyar Nobles would continue to be tax exempt

35. Leopold I r. 1657 - 1705 • War of Spanish Succession • Won Battle of Blenheim over the French • Confirmed Austria’s position as one of the great powers of Europe

36. Charles VI r. 1711 - 1740 • Took throne after Joseph I 1705 – 1711 • War of Spanish Succession – awarded the Spanish Netherlands and Spain’s holdings in Italy • The Pragmatic Sanction – allowed the throne to be passed down to his daughter Maria Theresa

37. Maria Theresa r. 1740 - 1780 • War of Austrian Succession 1740-1748 – she successfully defended her right to inherit the Austrian Hapsburg domains • Created a centralized bureaucracy to control local affairs • Established the state’s control over the administration of the Roman Catholic Church • Husband had the title Holy Roman Emperor

38. Schoenbrunn Palace • Versailles

39. Versailles • Schoenbrunn

40. Schoenbrunn • Versailles