Absolutism and Constitutionalism
Terms
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- Hobbes
- -sovereignty is derived from the people who pass it on to the monarchy through contract; the power of the ruler is absolute but not divine
- "Glorious Revolution"
- when on king is replaced with another with minimal bloodshed and representing the destruction of the divine right in England once and for all
- The Fronde
- wide spread rebellion; bitter civil war between the monarchy and the opposition
- William & Mary
- the daughter of James II and her Dutch husband Prince William of Orange who assumed the throne of England once James, his wife Mary and infant son fled to France
- Charles II
- eldest son of Charles I who was relaxed, easy-going and uninterested in religious issues; at first wanted to get along with Parliament didn't work because he was not granted enough money, entered in to a secret account with Louis XIV, never married and has no legitimate successors
- Revocation of Edict of Nantes
- a law in which ordered the distructions of churches, closings of schools, the Catholic baptism of Huguenots and exile of Huguenot pastors who refused to renounce their faith; the goal was one king, one law, one faith
- Whigs
- Supporter during the American Revolution against the English
- Treaty of Utrecht
- the balance of power and setting limits to how far one persons power can go
- "divine right"
- the belief that God gave each king the power to rule and represent him on earth
- Robert Walpole
- leader of the Cabinet and eventual "prime" or first minister to the king
- Habeas Corpus
- the right for a person to be brought in frount of a judge in court
- Colbert
- son of a wealthy merchant-financer who managed the finances of the entire royal administration and proved himself a financial genius; his central principal was that the French economy should serve the state; introduced mercantilism
- Puritanism
- committed to purifying the elements of the Anglican Church of the Roman
- Charles I
- son of James I, tried to govern without parliament and finance the government through arbitrary levies; this brought intense political conflict
- James II
- successor to his brother Charles II, appointed Roman Catholics to positions in the army, universities, and local government; declaration of indulgence-granting religious freedom to all and because of this he eventually had to flea to France
- Restoration
- the monarchy in power at the time who tried to reinstall constitutionalism
- Mercantilism
- a collection of government policies for the regulation of economic and commercial activities by and for the state
- War of Spanish Succession
- when Charles II died and left his crown and Spanish Empire to Philip of Anjou, Charles's grandson and his acceptance of the crown caused turmoil
- Oliver Cromwell
- controlled the English army
- English Civil War
- Civil war between Parliament and the monarchy of Charles I
- Louis XIV or "Sun King"
- under his reign, the longest in European history, the French monarchy reached its height of absolutism; believed in divine right
- Bill of Rights
- once law was made in Parliament it could not be suspended by the Crown; Parliament must be called every three years and Judges were used to insure judicial independence
- Cardinal Richelieu
- president of council and first minister of the French crown used his influence over Louis XIII to acclaim the monarchy as the embodiment of the French state; wanted total subordination of all groups, individuals and institutions to the monarchy
- Constitutionalism
- the limitation of state by law
- James I
- the cousin of Elizabeth I, her successor, the prior king of Scotland and was politically shrewd
- Bossuet
- French writer and bishop
- Act of Settlement
- act of Parliament to control the sucession to the thrown
- Versailles
- the kingdom built by Louis XVI in the center of france; represented his high power and also offered the nobility to live there for part of the year during the risk of social, political or economic disaster
- Cardinal Mazarin
- the protégé of Richelieu appointed by Louis XII(who was persuaded by Richelieu) as his successor and became dominate power of the government
- Absolutism
- when the monarch is in complete control and direct goods to themselves; do not share with the nobility and wants to say away from the restrictions of Parliament
- Tories
- Supporter of the British during the American Revolution