Absolutism, Constitutionalism, and The Scientific Revolution

1. Absolutism, Constitutionalism, and The Scientific Revolution Greg Larrick Tyler Robb Florian Dudde Alex Ramirze

2. Parliamentary Monarchy in England => ruled by House of Stuarts; Elizabeth I. died childless => Jacob VI. As Jacob I. became King of England & Ireland (ruled from 1603 - 1625) King Charles I. ruled England (1625 – 1949) but abused his power => Petition of Rights (1628) to limit King’s power Short Parliament for 3 weeks in 1640 Long Parliament for 8 years 1640-1648 English Civil War with: England Roundheads (pro. Engl. Parliament) Cavaliers (pro Charles I.) Vs.

3. English Civil War & Cromwell • 1642-1651= series of armed conflicts between the Cavaliers and the Roundheads; ended with parliamentary victory • It was a response to the Reformation and a growing middle class! • Roundheads won because of an alliance with Scotland => Solemn league & Covenant; • Reorganization of Parl. Army under Cromwell through iron discipline and strong independent rel. sentiment • Cromwell favored neither episcopal system of the king nor the pure Presbyterian system of the Solemn League & Covenant; he tolerated an established majority church with Protestant’s freedom • Charles I. tried to restore England => was failed by Cromwell and led to his execution • The Restoration = time of transition from a military dictatorship to a republic by Oliver Cromwell and his followers

4. Charles II.’s reign and the Glorious Revolution • Glorious Revolution = Overthrow of King James II. of England by English Parliament and William III. Of Orange (Dutch) • It was a great rejoining which led to a hereditary monarchy without a legal requirement; Charles II. Favored the Cath. Church • Glorious Revolution of 1688/1689 in which enemies of the English royalty and the Stuarts finally won the fight about the power of England • Parliament = agency of the government! Impact on today • Afterwards William III. & Mary II. (Protestants) married and ruled England (1689 – 1702) • Bill of Rights was passed on 16 December 1689 => established new rights for the British Parliament and gave the right to petition the monarch

5. TheAge of Walpole • Walpole was the First Prime Minister of G.B. & fought for the people’s, especially the middle classes’ rights • He was a Whig and had big influence on the Cabinet under his Premiership • Fought against the British royalty and wanted to give more rights to the middle class

6. Population Trends • Huge and rapid population growth after the Glorious Revolution • Age of Walpole set England on a path against absolutist rule => more rights for the middle class • Mary II. As Queen of England with William III. Helped women to gain more rights, even though they just had to take care of the families

7. Absolutism • During the seventeenth century, Europe split between two forms of government: Absolutism and Constitutionalism. • Under Absolutist rule, a king exercises ultimate governing authority as head of state and head of government. • France best exemplified this political system.

8. Louis XIV and French Absolutism • Preceding Louis XIV, Cardinal Richelieu and Mazarin centralized authority in France by forcing nobles to adhere to the king, and revoking protestant rights. • When Louis XIV took to the throne in 1643 , he pushed towards absolutism by making himself the head of propaganda. • Influenced by Bishop Bossuet, Louis believed he possessed the divine right of kings, and, therefore, should rule without limitations. • To cement his absolutist rule, Louis XIV had to ensure the support of his nobles.

9. Versailles • To ensure the happiness of his nobles Louis XIV renovated the palace of Versailles in 1661. • Here, he could keep a close eye over the nobles, so as to suppress notions of revolution. • The king’s plan succeeded, and, preoccupied with leisurely court life, the nobles remained loyal to him.

10. Religious Unification • With his nobles in line, Louis XIV proceeded to unify religion within France. • To ensure an entirely Catholic nation, Louis revoked the Edict of Nantes in 1865, effectively making Protestantism illegal. • Remaining protestants were offered subsidies to convert, forced to quarter troops, harassed, and eventually imprisoned. • Ironically, despite his intentions to strengthen his rule with the revocation, Louis XIV only weakened it.

11. The Absolutist Economy • Through the administration of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, the financial advisor to Louis XIV from 1665 to 1683, France developed an economic base capable of funding future wars. • Colbert increased the Taille, a tax on the peasantry the provided a major source of royal income. • France grew into a Mercantilist nation, in which the government controlled the economy, aiming to maximize foreign exports and internal reserves of bullion.

12. The Wars of Louis XIV • Louis had a penchant for war, believing it would increase the strength of his nation. • Due to conflicting dynastic claims in Spain between Austria and France, Louis entered the War of Spanish Succession from 1701 to 1714. • Louis wished to seat Philip V in the Spanish throne, for he promised French allegiance. • Under the peace of Utrecht, Philip V took the throne, but had to sever his ties to France. • Ultimately, the war further weakened the absolutist rule of Louis XIV.

13. Louis XIV’s Legacy • Louis XIV weakened the French economy through his various wars and religious policies. • The predominance of absolutism made it difficult fro France to develop effective institutions of representation and self-government. • Despite his flaws, Louis XIV laid the foundation for a new French empire by extending trade into Asia and colonizing North America.

14. The Scientific Revolution • During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, Europe moved away from medieval and ancient views of nature, refining the studies of chemistry, physics, biology, and astronomy. • For the first time, Europeans viewed the world in rational, mechanistic terms.

15. Key Scientists • Nicolaus Copernicus • Tycho Brahe • Johannes Kepler • Galileo Galilei • René Descartes • Francis Bacon • Isaac Newton

16. Nicolaus Copernicus • Copernicus sparked the scientific revolution with the publication of On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres. • In this work, he envisioned the earth as heliocentric rather than geocentric. • The sun sat as the center of the universe in his theory.

17. Tycho Brahe and Johannes Kepler • Tycho Brahe combined the Copernican and Ptolemaic systems to create the most accurate astronomical system of its time. • Under his Tychonic system, the sun and moon revolved around the Earth, while the other planets revolved around the sun. • Johannes Kepler, the assistant of Brahe, used empirical data to derive the laws of planetary motion.

18. Galileo Galilei • Galileo championed the theories of Copernicus, supporting them with empirical data. • To collect his data, Galileo refined the telescope. • Despite the validity of his theories, Galileo met persecution from the Catholic church, and spent his last days under house arrest.

19. René Descartes and Francis Bacon • In his Discourse on the Method, Descartes proposed the use of rationality and deductive reasoning, drawing specific conclusions from generalized evidence. • Contrary to Descartes, Francis Bacon advocated empiricism and inductive reasoning, drawing broad conclusions from specific evidence. • For his contributions to empiricism, Bacon is often considered the father of the scientific method.

20. Isaac Newton • Isaac Newton revolutionized physics and mathematics in his Principia Mathemitaca. • In his work, he described universal gravitation and the three laws of motion. • Through his theories, Newton defined the world as mechanical, encouraging future scientists to approach it in a rational manner.