1. The Age of Absolutism in Europe 1600-1715

2. Europe during the Age of Absolutism

3. The Thirty Year’s War • Treaty of Westphalia (1648) • Changed the way countries dealt with one another – national sovereignty was respected for the first time • England and France became the two dominant powers of the 17th Century and led the revolutions in science, philosophy and political theory

4. Absolutism in France • Louis XIV epitomized the absolutist belief that the monarchy personified the state • Absolutism was created under Cardinal Richelieu who secularized France and fostered loyalty to the French state

5. Absolutism in France cont. • Cardinal Richelieu centralized power by alienating the nobility • The greatest threat to the monarchy was the nobility (WHY??) • Monarchs created standing armies for the first time (Sound Familiar?) • Louis XIV built the Palace of Versailles as a testament to his power and used it to gain control of the nobility

6. Palace of Versailles

7. Versailles Grande Gallerie • Daily routines at Versailles were exploited by Louis XIV • The nobility competed against each other to perform menial tasks for the king

8. Palace Gardens

9. Louis XIV and the Arts • Moliere, France’s greatest playwright in the 17th Century • Mocked and alienated the aristrocracy in his plays • Received support and funding from Louis XIV

10. Baroque Art • Stylistically complex • Meant to evoke emotion by appealing to the senses • Bernini’s sculptures captured figures in the state of intense emotion • Rembrandt van Rijn rejected traditional arrangements for portraits by not giving equal prominence to each member of the group

11. Absolutism in Eastern Europe • Tsar Peter I (Peter the Great) of Russia • Modernized Russia through Westernization • Taxed his subjects heavily to pay for his projects • Killed 1000 members for heresy when they tried to depose of him

12. Constitutionalism 17th Century England

13. 17th Century England • Constitutionalism not Absolutism ruled • English monarchs held accountable to Parliament • James I (1603-1625) supported absolute rule • Charles I (1625-1649) fought with Parliament over money for his wars with Spain • Charles II (1660-1685) learned the lessons of his predecessors – don’t mess with Parliament • James II (1685-1688) was an unpopular king because of his open Catholicism and return to absolute rule

14. John Locke (1632 – 1704) • English philosopher • Believed that over time people would join together to benefit from cooperation • Through a Social Contract, sovereignty would remain with the people

15. Thomas Hobbes (1588 –1679) • English philosopher • Wrote Leviathan – life began in a state of nature • Man is inherently selfish and aggressive • Left on own, chaos and conflict would rule • Citizens need law and to follow a sovereign to avoid chaos