LOS AMIGOS HIGH SCHOOL
AP EUROPEAN HISTORY
Unit XIII: THE AGE OF ABSOLUTISM (1603-1789)
The Rise of Absolute Monarchy in France (428-438)
corve, the Fronde, Versailles, War of Devolution,
Triple Alliance
of 1668,
Treaty of
Aix-la-Chapelle of 1668, the Dutch War, Peace of Nijmwegen,
League of Augsburg,
Nine
Years' War (aka King Williams' War),
Peace
of Ryswick,
War of the
Spanish Succession, the Treaties of Utrecht
and Rastadt
LITERATURE: *not in
flash-cards
*Politics
Drawn from the Very Words of Holy Scripture by Bishop Jacques-Bnigne Bossuet
*Augustinus by Cornelius Jansen
*The
Provincial Letters by Blaise Pascal
GUIDED
READING QUESTIONS:
-
As a result of his experience as a young boy during the Fronde, what strategies
did Louis XIV
pursue to assure he would never become
a "king of straw"?
- How did France's King Louis XIV ensure that he
would have noble support for his absolute
monarchy?
-
In what ways was court life at Versailles organized to support the absolutism
of Louis XIV?
-
Louis XIV's concept of royal authority was largely based on the political
theories of his
tutor, the Bishop Bossuet. Describe the logic behind Bossuet's
defense of the "divine right
of kings"? How does Louis XIV's quote,
"L'tat, c'est moi," reflect the influence of Bossuet?
- What was Louis XIV's chief military and foreign
policy goal?
-
Who were the Jansenists? How and
why was Jansenism
suppressed by Louis XIV, and why
did its suppression eliminate the best
hope for bringing peaceful religious unity to France?
-
Describe Louis' campaign against the French Huguenots. Why was it done, what resulted
from his revocation of the Edict of
Nantes, and why did this prove to be a major blunder?
PEOPLE:
King Louis XIII Cardinal Richelieu
King Louis XIV Cardinal Mazarin Bishop Jacques-Bnigne Bossuet
Cornelius Jansen Jean-Baptiste Colbert Franois-Michel
le Tellier,
the
Marquis de Louvois
King Charles II of
Spain Philip of Anjou de
Bourbon
(King
Philip V of Spain)
The Emergence of Russia (443-447)
Table of Ranks, Peace of Nystad
GUIDED
READING QUESTIONS:
-
Why, prior to the ascension of the Romanov dynasty, was Russia not
considered to be an
active European power? What
were Russia's weaknesses and strengths?
- What was the "Time of Troubles,"
and how did it help to bring the Romanov dynasty to
power
in Russia?
- Who were the boyars? the Cossacks? the Streltsy? all challenge Romanov rule?
- How did the turmoil experienced by Peter I during
his youth resemble that of Louis XIV of
France? How did this turmoil help to shape the way Peter would rule
Russia?
-
What did Peter hope to achieve by building his new Russian capital, St. Petersburg?
-
What did Peter hope to achieve by replacing Russia's old domestic
administration system with
a system of "colleges" -
modeled on those used in Sweden?
How did the colleges function?
PEOPLE:
Czar
Ivan V Czar Peter I "the
Great" Sophia Alekseyevna
Romanov
Stuart England and the English Civil War (419-424)
the Hampton Court
Conference, the Petition of Right,
the
Arminians,
the Grand Remonstrance, Pride's
Purge, the Rump Parliament,
the English Restoration,
the Clarendon Code, the
Navigation Acts, the Treaty of Dover,
the
Declaration of Indulgence of 1672, the Test Acts of
1673, the Popish Plot,
the English Bill of
Rights of 1689, the Act of Toleration of
1689,
the Act of Settlement of
1701, the Acts of Union of 1707
LITERATURE: *not in
flash-cards
*A
Trew Law of Free Monarchies by King
James I of England
Second
Treatise of Civil Government by John
Locke
GUIDED
READING QUESTIONS:
- Create a T-diagram to list reasons why the French
monarchy succeeded in establishing
absolutism in France while, at the same time, the
English monarchy failed in its attempt to do
the same - leading instead to the establishment of
an English parliamentary monarchy.
- How did the financial policies of James I create
resentment among members of Parliament?
- What did Puritans within the Church of England
hope for from James, and how, ultimately,
did the king's religious and social
policies alienate them from the crown?
-
During the reign of James I, who were the religious dissenters who chose to
leave England?
Why did they leave, and to where did
they go?
-
In what ways did the foreign policy of James I rouse suspicion that the king
maintained pro-
Catholic sentiments?
-
What actions by Parliament led to the decision of Charles I to dissolve
Parliament in 1629,
and how did its dissolution impact the
way Charles governed England?
-
How did the religious policies of Charles I force him to recall Parliament in
April, 1640; yet,
why was this Parliament - known as the Short Parliament -
dissolved the next month?
- How
did the Long Parliament
react against the policies of Charles I when it convened in
November, 1640; and, how did division
over religious reform disrupt the cohesion of
Parliament?
PEOPLE:
King James I of England King Charles I William Laud
(King James VI of Scotland)
Oliver Cromwell and the Puritan Republic (424)
GUIDED
READING QUESTIONS:
- What
were the two main issues over which the English Civil War
(1642-1646) was fought?
- Who
were the Cavaliers and the
Roundheads; how were they
alike and how could they be
distinguished from one another?
- What
factors ultimately led to Parliament's victory in the English Civil War? What was the
- What
factors led Cromwell to disband Parliament and establish a military
dictatorship over
England? How successful was Cromwell in bringing peace, law, and
order to England?
PEOPLE:
John
Pym Oliver Cromwell Thomas Pride
The Restoration of the English Monarchy & the Glorious
Revolution
(425-428)
GUIDED READING QUESTIONS:
- How did James II reassert Catholic influence in
England, and what was his ultimate objective
in doing so?
-
Under what pretense was William III of Orange invited by Whig and Tory members of
Parliament to invade England –
and thus carry out the Glorious Revolution?
-
How did Locke defend the Glorious Revolution in his 1690 Second Treatise of
Civil
Government?
PEOPLE:
King Charles II King James II William of Orange
(King
William III)
Queen Mary II Queen Anne George, Elector
of Hanover
(King
George I)
Great Powers on the Rise:
England and France
(427-428) & (437-438)
GUIDED READING QUESTIONS:
-
During the years of Robert Walpole's administration as Prime Minister, what
factors allowed
Great Britain to become not only a
European power, but eventually a world power?
-
Robert Walpole's favorite saying was, Let sleeping dogs lie? What do you think he meant
by this?
-
In what ways did real limits exist on the power of British monarchs and their
ministers?
-
How was British political life genuinely different from that on the
Continent? Why did the
British government become a model for
all progressive Europeans?
-
How did John Laws Mississippi
Company trigger a financial panic throughout France –
known as the Mississippi Bubble? Why did the bubble burst, and what
impact would the
scandal have on the French economy?
-
Why did the Duke of Orleans, Louis XVs regent, reverse the policy of Louis XIV
and restore the
authority of the parlements? What was the function of the
parlements?
-
What actions were undertaken by Louis XVs chief advisor, Cardinal Fleury, in
his attempt to
block the influence of the French
nobility and reassert royal absolute authority?
PEOPLE:
King Louis XV of France John Law Cardinal Fleury
James Francis
Edward Stuart Robert Walpole
(the Old Pretender)
Great Powers on the Rise:
Austria vs Prussia
(439-443) & (532-535)
War of Jenkinss Ear, War of the Austrian
Succession, Treaty of
Aix-la-Chapelle of 1748,
Convention of Westminster of 1756, Treaty of
Hubertusburg, Treaty of Paris
of 1763
GUIDED READING QUESTIONS:
The
Habsburg Empire (Austria):
-
Describe the state of the Habsburg
controlled Holy Roman Empire following the 1648
Peace
of Westphalia.
-
Habsburg hereditary holdings included the crowns of St. Wenceslas and St. Stephen
– which
regions of Europe made up the traditional territories associated with
each of these crowns?
Why
was Habsburg rule of these territories often difficult?
- How was the southeastward extension of Austrias
territorial holding into the Balkan Peninsula
beneficial to the empire?
- How did Charles VI secure acceptance of the Pragmatic
Sanction by the nobles of the various
Habsburg domains?
Prussia:
-
Describe the rise of Prussia between 1648 and 1680. Why, despite its size by 1680, was the
Hohenzollern conglomerate
of territories considered to be weak?
-
Why was the Great Elector,
Frederick William, forced to organize an army? How did he use
this
army, and how did it increase the international prestige of Prussia.
- What political and social trade-off was made
between the Great Elector and his various
German noble landlords – the Junkers?
-
How did Frederick von Hohenzollern, son of the Great Elector, persuade the Holy
Roman
Emperor to allow him to assume a crown for the House of Hohenzollern and
the title, King
Frederick I of Prussia, for himself?
- Describe King Frederick William Is system of
organization for the Prussian government (the
Kabinett), the Prussian bureaucracy, and the Prussian army.
-
What is meant by the phrase, Prussia is not a state that possesses an army,
but rather an
army
that possesses a state?
Trade
Wars:
-
Describe mid-18th century views on war and peace. Where were the two fundamental areas
of great
power rivalry during the 18th century?
- What was the great achievement of Maria
Theresa? How, specifically, was
she able to
achieve this? Describe the
relationship between Hungary and the Habsburg crown?
- Why did France join the War of the Austrian
Succession? How did France's entry
into the
war
draw in Great Britain?
- Why was the Convention of Westminster referred to
as a "diplomatic revolution"?
- Why did Frederick II of Prussia initiate the Seven Years' War in
1756? What saved Prussia
from destruction, and allowed Prussia
to emerge from the war as a clear great power?
-
What did William Pitt the Elder hope to achieve for Britain by supporting
Frederick the
Great with huge financial subsidies
during the Seven Years' War? What
did his actions
accomplish worldwide?
- What impact would the Seven Years' War have on
the status of Austria and the Holy Roman
Empire as a great power?
-
For all nation-states involved, what was the financial impact of the Seven
Years' War?
PEOPLE:
Emperor
Leopold I of Austria Emperor
Charles VI of Austria King Frederick I of
Prussia
Frederick William, Great
Elector of Brandenburg William
Pitt the Elder
King
Frederick William I of Prussia King Frederick II
of Prussia
("Frederick
the Great")
Maria Theresa of
Austria Wenzel Anton von
Kaunitz
Great Powers in Decline
(418-419), (438-439) & (447-450)
Asiento, the Dutch East
India Company
GUIDED READING QUESTIONS:
The Dutch Republic:
- Which of the seven northern provinces of the
Netherlands came to dominate the
United Provinces and
its States General - and why?
- How was the government of the United Provinces
unique among European nation-states of
the
seventeenth century? Why did the
Dutch choose this form of government over monarchy?
- Why did the Netherlands choose to follow a path
of religious toleration?
-
Which industries and businesses dominated the Dutch economy?
-
Describe why the Netherlands of the seventeenth-century might be described as
"an island of
plenty in a sea of want?"
-
Why the United Provinces ulimately fall into decline as a major European
power? Even after its
decline, which industry continued to
make the United Provinces, in particular the city of Amsterdam,
important in European affairs?
Poland:
-
In what ways did Poland become an example of the dangers of aristocratic
independence?
- Why were neither the monarchy nor the Sejm effective instruments of
government in Poland?
- How did the liberum veto make effective government in Poland impossible to
achieve?
The Ottoman Empire:
-
What was the furthest westward extent of Ottoman encroachment into Europe, and
why were
the
Ottomans actually welcome as political liberators by many Christians of
southeastern
Europe?
- Why, by the second-half of the seventeenth
century, had the Ottoman empire begun to decline,
and what impact would its decline have
on Eastern Europe and the Balkans?
PEOPLE:
King Charles III of
Spain King Charles XII of
Sweden King John III Sobieski of
Poland