A10_Ch.

21: Absolute Monarchs in Europe

Purpose: Purpose: This assignment with its accompanying documents and lesson notes will
provide content on the absolute monarchs that assume power in many of Europe's nations.
This assignment will center on these themes:
1.As feudalism declined, stronger national kingdoms in Spain, France, Austria, Prussia, and
Russia emerged under the control of absolute rulers.
2.Absolute rulers wanted to control their countries economies so that they could free
themselves from limitations imposed by the nobility. In France, Louis XIVs unrestrained
spending left his country with huge debts.
3.In Great Britain, Parliament and the British people challenged the monarchs authority. The
overthrow of the king led to important political changes.
Task:
Use the World History: Patterns of Interaction (POI) textbook to complete the assignment
below.
Each numbered part (A, B, C,...) should be completed as a single/ separate assignment. Each
requires a separate heading on separate sheets of paper. Follow the suggested completion date
for each part, listed in the course calendar.
Be sure to write complete sentences when sentences are called for.

Part A. Spains Empire and European Absolutism
Read from page 589 to 595.
Terms & Names
*Philip II *Absolute monarch *Divine right
MAIN IDEAS
3. What is the signicance of Englands defeat of the Spanish Armada?
4. Why did the Dutch revolt against Spain?
5. Why did absolute monarchs believe that they were justied in exercising absolute power?

CRITICAL THINKING & WRITING
ANALYZING CAUSES What role did religion play in the struggle between the Spanish and the
Dutch?
MAKING INFERENCES How did the lack of a middle class contribute to the decline of Spains
economy?

Part B. The Reign of Louis XIV
Read pages 596 - 602.
Terms & Names
*Edict of Nantes *Cardinal Richelieu *Louis XIV
MAIN IDEAS
3. What impact did the French religious wars have on French thinkers?
4. How did Jean Baptiste Colbert intend to stimulate economic growth in France?
5. What was the result of the War of the Spanish Succession?

CRITICAL THINKING & WRITING
SUPPORTING OPINIONS Many historians think of Louis XIV as the perfect example of an
absolute monarch. Do you agree? Explain why or why not.

Part C. Central European Monarchs Clash
Read pages 603 - 607.
Terms & Names
*Thirty Years War *Frederick the Great *Seven Years War *Maria Theresa
MAIN IDEAS
3. What were the major conicts in the Thirty Years War?
4. What steps did the Austrian Hapsburgs take toward becoming absolute monarchs?

CRITICAL THINKING & WRITING
RECOGNIZING EFFECTS How did the Peace of Westphalia lay the foundations of modern
Europe?

Part D. Absolute Rulers of Russia
Read pages 608 - 611.
Terms & Names
*Ivan the Terrible *Boyar *Peter the Great *Westernization
MAIN IDEAS
5. What were some of the ways Peter tried to westernize Russia?

CRITICAL THINKING & WRITING
DRAWING CONCLUSIONS Which class of Russian society probably didnt benet from Peters
reforms? Why?
Part E. Parliament Limits the English Monarchy
Read pages 614 617
Terms & Names
*Charles I *English Civil War *Oliver Cromwell *Restoration *Glorious Revolution
*Constitutional monarchy
MAIN IDEAS
3. Why was the death of Charles I revolutionary?
4. What rights were guaranteed by the Habeas Corpus Act?
5. How does a constitutional monarchy differ from an absolute monarchy?

CRITICAL THINKING & WRITING
SYNTHESIZING What conditions in England made the execution of one king and the overthrow
of another possible?