The Development of Absolutism in France

Growth of European Nation-States

THE DEVELOPMENT OF ABSOLUTISM IN FRANCE * Francis I (Valois): Rival of the HRE and Charles V, unsuccessfully battled to weaken Habsburgs. * Concordat of Bologna: Granted the Pope right to collect the first year’s revenue from the Church offices in return for the ability to nominate high officials in the French Churchnationalized the church and increased the power of the monarchy * Francis I and Henry II (his successor) were opposed to any reform to the Church that could weaken the monarchy’s power over it.
They both persecuted the Huguenots (French Calvinists)
Francis II and Charles IX also persecuted them. Civil War Catherine de Medici (regent for Charles IX) passed the Edict of Toleration * St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre: Catholic mobs killed Huguenot leaders in Paris. * Henry of Navarre: a Huguenot, was the heir to the French throne. He was quickly converted to Catholicism and became Henry IV * Henry IV * issued the Edict of Nantes: granted civil and religious freedom to the Huguenots. * Reformed the tax collection system to make is more efficient * Improved transportation * Trade, industry INCREASE IN THE PRESTIGE OF THE MONARCHY

THE DEVELOPMENT OF CONSTITUTIONALISM IN ENGLAND * Henry VII: 1st Tudor monarch * Est. a strong central government * Regulated trade and internal commerce * Raised revenues from the prosperous middle class * Permanent standing army * Checked the nobles * Court of the Star Chamber: administered central justice and checked the nobles further * Edward VI: assumed the throne upon the death of his dad * He was young and sickly, so England was ruled by a regent, the Duke of Somerset * The Duke of Somerset was a devout Calvinist and he imposed his religion on the people. he was ousted in 1550 * Under another regent, the basic tenets of the Anglican reformation were restated, and the Anglican Book of Common Prayer was made the basis for all church services.

* Mary Tudor: Henry VIII’s 1st wife’s daughter * Her mom was the very Catholic Queen Catherine of Aragon, so naturally she was very Catholic too. * She became queen when Edward died at 16. * She was unpopular because she was Roman Catholic and had married King Philip II of Spain * “BLOODY MARY”—she burned hundreds of Protestants at the stake for dissenting against her attempt to reinstitute Catholicism in England. * Elizabeth I: daughter of Anne Boleyn * Religion * Repealed Mary’s pro-Catholic legislation * Reinstated the Acts of Supremacy and Uniformity that Henry VIII used to establish the English Reformation. * The Thirty-Nine Articles (1563) followed Protestant doctrine and was vague enough to accommodate most of the English except the Puritans (English Calvinists) * Diplomacy * When the Netherlands, a Protestant Hapsburg possession, revolted against Spanish rule, Elizabeth entered into an alliance with the Dutch (1577) for fear that Holland would provide a vase from which Spain could invade England. * England and Holland sent privateers (pirates commissioned by the state) to prey on the treasure ships from the Spanish colonies in the new world. * Philip II (King of Spain and HREmperor) was outraged. He conspired with English Catholics to overthrow Elizabeth and put her cousin, the Catholic Mary Queen of Scots (a Stuart) on the English throne. * 1587: Elizabeth ordered the execution of Mary for treason, and Philip declared war on England * The Spanish Armada: a fleet of 132 warships was sent to attack England. It was defeated in 1588 by the superior naval tactics of the smaller, more maneuverable English fleet led by Sir Francis Drake. * Culture * Golden age of English lit. * Shakespeare, Spenser, Donne, Francis Bacon

THE STUART KINGS AND PARLIAMENT (1603-1688) * James I: King of Scotland and son of Mary Queen of Scots * Believed in divine right. Did not understand the importance of Parliament. * 1604: Conference at Hampton Court failed to recognize the Puritans. * 1605: The Gunpowder Plot was a plan by some Catholics to blow up the King and Parliament because James required participation in Anglican services. Luckily for James, it was uncovered. * 1614: The “Addled” Parliament met. James called it Addled because it spent its entire session arguing that taxes could only be levied with its consent and that rile was by king and Parliament in conjunction. Dissolving Parliament, James tried to rule without it until England’s involvement in the Thirty Years War. * 1621: Parliament passed the Great Protestation, claiming free speech and authority in conducting government affairs. James dissolved the body and arrested its leaders. * Charles I * Also believed in divine right. * Wars on the continent called for Parliament to vote funds, which it refused to do until he signed the Petition of Right (1628): * Parliament alone can levy taxes, martial law cannot be declared in peacetime, soldiers cannot be quartered in private homes, imprisonment requites a specific charge. * Charles lost the Bishops’ Warconvened The Long Parliament. * In return for paying for Charles’ defeat, they demanded that he impeach his top advisors, allow Parliament to meet every three years without his summons, and promise not to dissolve Parliament without their consent. * 1642: Charles tried to arrest opposition members. Parliament seized control of the army. Charles gathered his forces ENGLISH CIVIL WAR.

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THE ENGLISH CIVIL WAR

1643: The Roundheads allied with Presbyterian Scotland, promising to impose Presbyterianism on England in exchange fir military assistance. Charles called on the Irish Catholics for help.
1644: Oliver Cromwell, a Puritan leader of Parliament, led his New Model Army of Puritans against the Cavaliers at Marston Moor and defeated them.
1645: Charles surrendered to the Scots.
1647: The Scots turned Charles over to Parliament, which was led by Cromwell’s Independents, who favored religious toleration. The Scots turned about and allied with Charles who promised that he would impose Presbyterianism on the English.
1648: Cromwell defeated the Scots at the Battle of Preston and helped purge the Presbyterians from Parliament, thereby creating the Rump Parliament, which voted to behead Charles for treason.
1649: With the death of Charles, England became a republic, the Commonwealth, and Cromwell and his army wielded the power. In suppressing Irish supporters of the crown, the Puritans, committed terrible atrocities and imposed injustices that would acerbate the ‘Irish Question’ for centuries.
1653-1660: Cromwell was designated Lord Protector by a puppet Parliament and riled with the support of Parliament until his death in 1658. His son Richard, a far less capable ruler, was deposed in 1660, and Charles II was proclaimed king.

THE STUART RESTORATION * The Cavalier Parliament marked the development of the Tory and Whig parties. * Tories: Nobles, gentry, and Anglicans * Conservatives who supported the monarchy over Parliament and who wanted Anglicanism to be the state religion. * Whigs: middle class and Puritans * Favored Parliament and religious toleration * Tories where the majority in the Cavalier Parliament. * Anglicanism was restored by a series of laws that forbade dissenters to worship publically, required government officials and military to be Anglican, and discriminated against other sects. * The Whig Parliament (1679) was suspicious of Charles II’s pro-Catholic and absolutist tendencies. * Enacted the Habeas Corpus Act which limited royal power by… * Enabling judges to demand that prisoners be in court. * Requiring just cause for continued imprisonment. * Providing for speedy trials. * Forbidding double jeopardy (being charged for a crime that one had already been acquitted of)
THE GLORIOUS REVOLUTION * James II was unpopular because he was a devout Roman Catholic and imposed it upon the English. * 1688: important nobles invited William of Orange and his wife Mary, to take the English throne. * William and Mary arrived in England James II fled to France. * As a condition of their reign, William and Mary accepted the Declaration of Rights, which said… 1) Only Parliament can impose taxes 2) Laws can only be made with the consent of Parliament 3) The people have the right of petition 4) Parliament has the right of free speech 5) The people have the right to bear arms 6) People have the right to due process, trial by peers, and reasonable bail. 7) Parliament is to be freely elected and dissolved only be its own consent.

A GUIDE TO ABSOLUTISM IN FRANCE AND ENGLAND | France | England | | | | Important Rulers | Louis XIV—The Sun King. Loved being a king. L’etat c’est moi. | James I, Charles I, Oliver Cromwell, Mary II and William III | | | | Advisors | Cardinal Richelieu(1628) 1st minister of the French crown. Monarch is the embodiment of the state. Policy= total subordination everyone to the monarchy. Mazarin- Richelieu’ssuccessor. He cont. Richelieu’s centralizing policies. | Cabal—King’s advisors/council in Parliament after the monarchy restoration. | | | | Religion | Louis XIV was very Cath. Divine King.Revoked Edict of Nantes and destroyed Prot. Churches. Many Prot. fled. | James I-rule by divine right.Puritans had good working spirit. They saw James I as an enemy. Charles I-ProCath | | | | Wars/Protests/Revolts | Louis XIII, Richelieu, & Louis XIV-Urban protests over unemployment, food prices, grain shortages, new taxes (they were really violent). Authority: let them burn themselves out, very little action took.Mazarin tried to increase revenue civil wars. Fronde-people who opposed gov. Nobles who resented their decreased power. Mazarin couldn’t control them. Entire regions of France didn’t pay taxes. | English Civil War-Parliament thought that taxation w/o consent was despotism, so they tried to limit royal power. Parliament gets and army. Charles initiated military action against Parliament. Charles beheaded.James II (Cath) violated test act by giving gov jobs to Cath Glorious RevoluitionExpelled James II, installed William and Mary. Bill of Rights written. | | | | Expansion | Wanted to destroy Habsburgs surrounding France so they could expand. | | | | | Economy | New policies (esp. war) cost $. Also, the Fronde no one paid taxes. REALLY bad econ.Colbert- France should be self-sufficient. Mercantilism-int’l pwr of a country based on Au. Merchant marine trade. Abolished domestic tariffs. | | | | | Control over nobles | Richelieu- reshuffle noble council (eliminates potential power brokers). He leveled castles and beheaded conspiring nobles. Intendants (see gov).Louis XIV assigned the nobles menial tasks. They had to come to Versailles occasionally. | | | | | Gov. | Richelieu-divided France into 32 districts. Increased power of intendants (commissioners). Intendants took info from local communities Paris, and took laws from Paris communities. Intendants recruited men for army, collected taxes, presided over admin of local law, checked up on local nobility, & regulated econ activities. | Stuart kings lacked the awesomeness of Elizabeth. James I was absolutist, but ppl didn’t like it.Fights b/w King and Commons. Commons wanted political power =econ strength.Charles I ruled w/o Parliament.English Civil War King MUST summon Parliament every 3 years, abolished House of Lords.Cromwell- dictatorCommonwealth est. Constitution written-gave pwr to Cromwell. Protectorate- absolutist, dictatorship. It was not fun. There was a curfew, no partying, religious freedom except Cath, closed theater, mercantilist..Stuart Kings restored. Test act- only members of church can vote, go to university, etc. Cabal-cabinate. | | | | Foreign Policy | Richelieu’s main goal was to destroy the fence of Habsburg territories that surrounded France. Supported Habsburg’s enemies, so he allied with Gustavus Adolphus (Swedish Phase 30 yrs. War). To justify the Habsburg hate (it went against Christian teachings) he developed raison d’etat (reason of the state). | Charles-ProFrench Cath scare | | | | Grandeur | Versailles. Tights. Wigs. | Just the opposite-simple clothing (Puritans) | | | | Social | Middle class^. Royal service-social mobility. | New class of ambitious and rich country gentry and businessmen emerged in the Commons. | | | | Other stuff | Louis had no first minister.French classicism-like renaissance art. | Constitutionalism- limitation of the state by law. So… the opposite of constitutionalism. | | | | Successful? | Yes. | No, not really (except Cromwell…but he was not fun guy). They succeeded in constitutionalism. | | | |