Name____________ Date:_______Ms. Reyes/Ms. Rust Global 10

Mini-Lesson One: Review and Absolute RulersAIM: How did exploration, technological innovation, and cultural change lead to the Age of Absolutism?DO NOW: Match the words in the box with the timeline below. Place the vocabulary words in the boxes below the timeline.

Indulgences Gutenberg Theocracy Triangular trade

Humanism Code of chivalry Protestant Increased cultural diffusion

Columbian Exchange Monarchy Machiavelli Plague

Mercantilism Christopher Columbus Printing press No social mobility

Secular Anglican Conquistadors Henry VIII

Increased social mobility Slave Trade Martin Luther Middle passage

European Middle Ages and Crusades Renaissance and Reformation Age of Exploration and Exchange (500 AD – 1500 AD) (1300 AD – 1600 AD) (1400AD – 1800 AD)

OVERVIEW: Following Europe’s emergence from the Middle Ages, many monarchs would claim the authority to rule without limit to their power. These rulers wanted to be absolute monarchs, kings or queens who held all of the power within their states boundaries. Their goal was to control every aspect of society. Absolute monarchs believed in divine right, the idea that God created the monarchy and that the monarch acted as God’s representative on earth. An absolute monarch answered only to God, not to his or her subjects.

As Europe emerged from the Middle Ages, monarchs grew increasingly powerful. The decline of feudalism, the rise of cities, and the growth of national kingdoms all helped to centralize authority. In addition, the growing middle class usually backed monarchs, because they promised a peaceful, supportive climate for business. Monarchs used the wealth of colonies to pay for their ambitions. Church authority also broke down during the late Middle Ages and the Reformation. That opened the way for monarchs to assume even greater control.

The 17th century was a period of great upheaval in Europe. Religious and territorial conflicts between states led to almost continuous warfare. This caused governments to build huge armies and to levy even heavier taxes on already suffering population. These pressures in turn brought about widespread unrest. Sometimes peasants revolted. In response to these crises, monarchs tried to impose order by increasing their own power. As absolute rules, they regulated everything from religious worship to social gatherings. They created new government bureaucracies to control their countries economic life. Their goals was to free themselves from the limitations imposed by the nobility and by representative bodies such as Parliament. Only with such freedom could they rule absolutely.

Absolutism appears in various places throughout history, most notably in India under Akbar the Great in the 16th century, Spain under Charles V and Philip II also in the 16th century, France under Louis XIV in the 17th century, and in Russia under Peter the Great in the late 17th - early 18th centuries. These leaders exercised complete control over all aspects of their population’s lives.  Reaction to this form of government was often violent, many times resulting in revolutions seeking greater political, social, and economic freedoms.

OBJECTIVE ONE ACTIVITY: After reading the above section, complete the following graphic organizer.

1. Why do you think absolute monarchs controlled social gatherings?_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. How did the Church’s loss of power factor into the rise of absolute monarchs?_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. Today, several nations of the world (such as Saudi Arabia) have absolute monarchs. Judging from what you know of past courses of absolutism, why do you think absolute rules still exist today?____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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EFFECTS:

ABSOLUTISM