Absolute Monarchies - Spain & France

Aim: Where else were there Absolute Monarchies?

Do Now: Complete the sentence. Absolute Monarchs claimed their power from _______.

Absolute Monarchy Spain

Spain: Ruled by absolute monarchy; most powerful and richest state of the 1400-1500's

Ferdinand/Isabel

Marriage united Spain
Completed the Reconquest (kicking the Moors (Muslims) out of Spain
Sent Columbus to the New World.

Charles V

King of Spain & Holy Roman Emperor
Made Spain a superpower by taking gold/silver from New World, but used much of the wealth to fight religious wars defending the Roman Catholic Church.

Philip II

Fought religious wars against Protestant England and Netherlands for supporting the Protestant Reformation and Elizabeth's use of "privateers" to steal Spain's gold

The Spanish Armada

Philip sent a fleet of 130 massive Spanish warships armed with 3,000 cannons to crush England, but poor weather and Sir Francis Drake's smaller faster ships destroyed the Spanish Armada-1588

Decline of the Spanish Empire

Reconquest had driven brilliant Muslims and Jews to Spain's rival countries
Gold and Silver stolen by pirates and privateers across the Atlantic
Gold and Silver mines eventually dried up
Wars of Charles and Philip consumed gold
Age of Exploration required a modern, powerful navy to police overseas empires,
Spain's navy was declining as England's was growing
Spanish colonies after American Revolution began fighting for independence (all were free or conquered by 1900)

Absolute Monarchy France

France developed into a wealthy and powerful absolute monarchy from New World trade.

Henry IV

Ruled during the shock of the Protestant Reformation and used Edict of Nantes to declare religious toleration in France, but was murdered by a religious fanatic

Louis XIII

Nine year old inherited a divided and violent France
Cardinal Richelieu crushed power of the nobles and Protestants to make Louis XIII an absolute monarch of a unified and peaceful France.
30 Years War: religious war between Catholic Spain and Austria versus Protestant North German kingdoms and Netherlands; France helped Protestants to weaken Spain, but was very costly to France

Louis XIV

5 year old inherited a powerful/unified France and made it a superpower
Cardinal Jules Mazarin appointed by Richelieu to be chief minister
Sun King: Louis XIV made France the wealthy, powerful, cultural, intellectual center of Europe as important as the sun is to the galaxy
Palace of Versailles: most extravagant palace in Europe housed 10,000 people so Louis could directly control the lives of the feudal nobility
War of the Spanish Succession: Philip V, a grandson of Louis XIV, inherits the throne of Spain, so Louis XIV declares France and Spain united, but England goes to war to keep them separated to maintain a "balance of power"
Louis XIV's luxury and wars put France in debt so taxes and to rise
Never consulted Estates General about spending of tax money

Louis XV

Inherited high taxes and debt,but continued France's luxury, then lost 7 Years War which gave England Canada and split Louisiana between England and Spain, so France lost all New World money

Louis XVI

Inherited higher taxes and higher debt, but continued France's luxury, supported the US in the American Revolution, which drove France further into debt and gained France nothing

French Absolute Monarchy was the most powerful in Europe, but was going bankrupt.

Classwork & Homework

Lesson PowerPoint: Absolute Monarchy in Spain & France

Lesson Activity: Absolute Monarchy in Spain & France DBQ's

Homework: Complete Lesson Activity - Due Friday 3/25/11