Absolutism and Constitutionalism

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Absolutism and Constitutionalism
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Review

• Martin Luther provided Europeans an alternative
  model of religious expression.
• Since religion, politics, and society were so
  closely linked, the divide between Protestants
  and Catholics plunged Europe into a century of
  bloodshed
• European voyages of discovery and trade brought
  vast wealth to Europe as well as new crops and a
  better diet. Thus two things were going up in
  Europe during the 16th and 17th century prices
  and population

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Questions

• What was absolutism, how did absolutist monarchs
  take power in France and Russia, and what limits
  on power did absolutist monarchs face?
• What was constitutionalism, why did a
  constitutional system emerge in England, and what
  groups were excluded from representation in
  Englands constitution?

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Absolutism

• The shift in the balance of power toward the king
  and away from all other groups and interests
• Absolute monarchs in Europe still labored under
  many of the limitations of a pre-industrial
  society
• The shift in balance of power was the result of a
  changes in European society and economy
• Bourgeoisie
• Why France?

Louis XIV (r. 1643-1715) of France
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The Rocky Road to Absolutism in France

• Obstacles in path of absolute monarchy
• Huguenot
• Aristocracy
• Bourgeoisie
• Peasantry
• Representative Assemblies
• Estates General
• The Path to Absolutism
• Henry IV (r. 1589-1610)
• Cardinal Richelieu (1585-1642)
• Cardinal Mazarin (1602-1661)
• The Fronde

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The Age of Louis XIV (r. 1643-1715)

• Consolidation of Royal Authority
• The tools of absolutism
• Money
• Bureaucracy
• Army
• Louis and Economics
• Colbert
• Louis and the Aristocracy
• The pageantry of Versailles
• Louis and the Bourgeoisie
• Louis and the Peasants
• Louis and the Huguenots
• The Limits of Absolutism

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European Populations and Armies
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Absolutism Moves East

• Russia
• Peter I the Great (r. 1682-1725)
• Peter and the Nobles
• Peter and the West
• The Limits of Absolutism in Russia

Peter I the Great of Russia (r. 1682-1725)
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Culture and Power Peter Imposes Western
Fashion On Russian Nobles
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Constitutionalism

• Forcing monarchs to agree to limit their power
  and share it with others
• Constitutionalism emerged in England as a result
  of changes in society and economy similar to
  those that brought absolutism to France
• Why England?
• Parliament

Parliament and Elizabeth I
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The Rocky Road to Constitutionalism in England

• The powers of the king
• Dissention among religions and classes
• Nobles vs. landed gentry vs. urban middle-class
  vs. peasants
• Anglicans vs. Puritans vs. Catholics vs.
  Presbyterians vs. Dissenters
• English vs. Scots
• The Stuart Dynasty
• (r. 1603-1688)

Cartoon depicting religious dissenters
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From Civil War to Glorious Revolution

• Charles I (r. 1625-1649)
• Petition of Right (1628)
• Ship money and monopolies
• High-Church Anglicanism
• The Civil War (1642-1645)
• Oliver Cromwell (1599-1658) and the Protectorate
  (1653-1660)
• The Restoration
• Charles II (1660-1685)
• James II (1685-1688)
• The Glorious Revolution (1688-89)
• The English Bill of Rights (1689)
• The Limits of Constitutionalism

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Conclusions

• In France and Russia, the balance of power
  shifted toward the king as a result of his
  ability to collect more money, create a more
  sophisticated bureaucracy and a larger army
• Both nations still faced the limits of a
  pre-industrial economy
• The same economic and social changes that
  increased the power of the king in France
  undermined the power of the king in England,
  since Parliament could serve as a voice of the
  new middle-class as well as an effective check on
  royal power