| Severe economic and social crises plagued Europe in the
Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries. The Holy Roman Empire was devastated,
and France emerged as the dominant nation in Europe. Conflicts between
the kings of England and its parliament led to a civil war, an execution
of a king, and a revolution. From such crisis, constitutional monarchy
emerged.
Crisis in Europe
-
Population decline in Europe and the hysteria of witchcraft
trials contributed to economic and social problems in Seventeenth-Century
Europe.
From 1560 to 1650, Europe witnessed severe economic and social
crises. One major economic problem was inflation, or
rising prices.
Economic and Social Crises
By 1600, the economy had slowed in parts of Europe.
Spain's economy, which had grown dependent on the silver from their Latin
American mines, was failing by the 1640s. The mines were producing
less silver.
Spanish fleets carrying silver from the New World to
Europe were subject to pirate attacks.
The Witchcraft Trials
The religious zeal that had led to the Inquisition and
the hunt for heretics-- for those who were not Catholic or who had strange
and different beliefs about God and Christ-- extended to an intense concern
about witchcraft.
witchcraft
the pre-Christian beliefs that were still around in traditional
European village culture
During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, a wild,
superstitious hysteria gripped Europe. It could be that as many as
a hundred thousand people across the contient were charged with witchcraft
and of being in league with Satan.
The Malleus Maleficarum
The Hammer of Witches
A guide to the hunting, trial, and torture of witches
originally published in 1486 by two Dominican monks, Heinrich Kramer and
Jacob Sprenger.
For more than 200 years, this handbook offered guidence
to the religious and secular judges of the accused.
Its advice was cruel and inhuman.
As more and more people were brought to trial, the fear
of witches grew-- as did the fear of being accused of witchcraft.
Common people-- usually the poor and those without property--
were those most often accused of witchcraft.
More than 75% of those accused of being witches were women--
more than 75,000 women--
and
most of them were single or widowed and over 50 years
old.
The torture used on these unfortunate victims was merciless,
and as they begged for their lives and for the pain to end, those who had
been accused usually confessed to a number a practices-- anything their
sadistic torturers wanted to hear.
By 1650, the witchraft mania had begun to wane.
As governments grew stronger, fewer officials were willing
to disrupt societies or share their rule with a mob wanting to destroy
a witch.
REVIEW & DO
NOW
Answer the following questions in your spiral notebooks: |
What time period are we talking about?
Give the range in years.
What is inflation?
Why had Spain's economy slowed?
What is a heretic?
What is witchcraft? What was it really? |
What is the estimate for how many people were charged
with witchcraft during this time?
How many of those people were women?
What was the Malleus Malificarum?
How were those accused of witchcraft treated? |
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The Thirty Years’ War
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Started over religious conflicts, the Thirty Years’ War was
sustained by political conflicts.
Religious disputes continued in Germany after the Peace
of Augsburg was signed in 1555, giving German princes the right to
decide between Lutheranism or Roman Catholocism.
One of the main problems was that the treaty did not recognize
Calvinism, a much stricter form of Protestantism than Lutheranism.
And by the 1600's, Calvinism had spread throughout Europe.
Causes of the War
It began in 1618 in the Holy Roman Empire-- the
territories of the German states.
The Hapsburg ruling family was at war with the nobles
in Bohemia.
Bohemia
The Bohemian states, a large component within the Holy
Roman Empire, were almost entirely Protestant (mostly Calvinist).
The Bohemian Revolt against the Hapsburgs started
the Thirty Years' War.
As Denmark, Sweden, France, and Spain entered the war,
the conflict grew more political.
Catholic Cardinal Richelieu of France fought against the
Holy Roman Empire and against Spain in order to gain greater control of
Europe.
The End of a Medieval Empire
All the major European powers-- except England-- were
involved in the plunder and destruction of Germany that took place in the
Thirty Years War.
The war officially ended in 1648 with the Peace of Westphalia.
Sweden, France, and their allies claimed German territories
as part of the treaty.
Sweden's acquisition of the Baltic Sea increased its
power in northern Europe.
The treaty also divided the Holy Roman Empire-- a medieval
relic from the times of Charlemagne-- into more than three hundred
independent German states, each with the freedom to conduct their own foreign
policy and determine their own religion.
The Holy Roman Empire had finally ceased to be.
It would be another 200 years before Germany was again
united.
REVIEW & DO
NOW
Answer the following questions in your spiral notebooks: |
What was the Peace of Augsburg?
When was the treaty signed and what did it do?
What was Calvinism?
When did the Thirty Years' War begin?
Where was the Holy Roman Empire? |
What ended the Thirty Years' War?
When did the war end?
What happened to the Holy Roman Empire?
How many German states were there after this? |
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Revolutions in England
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Civil war raged over what roles the king and Parliament should
have in governing England.
Queen Elizabeth
Daughter of King Henry VIII and second wife, Anne
Boleyn, whom he beheaded for not producing a male heir
Became Queen of England and Ireland after the death of
her half-sister, “Bloody Mary” November, 1558
Unlike Mary, who was Catholic, Elizabeth was Protestant.
the Virgin Queen—never married, never had children
Considered herself “married” to England
Head of the Church of England
Fought wars with Catholic Spain and France
Had her rival, Queen Mary of Scotland (a different Mary,
who was half French), beheaded in 1587
When Elizabeth died in March, 1603, she left no heir,
and was the last monarch of the House of Tudor.
The Stuarts and Divine Right
James I
James Charles Stuart
Son of Mary, Queen of Scots (who was beheaded), Grandson
of James V
Cousin of Queen Elizabeth of England
Originally King James VI of Scotland, became King James
I of England after Elizabeth’s death in 1603.
James I was a devout Protestant. He sponsored the
creation of the King James Version of the bible.
He was deeply afraid of witchcraft.
James I ruled as an absolute monarch and strongly believed
in the Divine Right of Kings
Absolute Monarch
A king or queen who has unlimited power and seeks to
control all aspects of society
Divine Right of Kings
The idea that monarchs are God’s representative on earth
and are therefore answerable only to God
Puritans
Protestants in England inspired by Calvinist ideas.
They were very strict, and believed in dressing in dark colors without
ornamentation.
The reign of King James I of England (1603-25)
saw the continued rise of the Puritan movement in England, that
began during reign of Queen Elizabeth (1558-1603), and the continued
clash with the authorities of the Church of England.
This eventually led to the further alienation of Anglicans
and Puritans from one another in the 17th century during the reign of King
Charles I (1625-49), that eventually brought about the English Civil
War (1642-51), the brief rule of the Puritan Lord Protector of England,
Oliver Cromwell (1653-58), the English Commonwealth (1649-60),
and as a result the political, religious, and civil liberty that is celebrated
today in all English speaking countries.
Charles I
Son of James I, took the English throne after James’
death.
King Charles I of Great Britain and Ireland from 1625
to 1649
Charles was a Protestant, raised in the Anglican Church
of his father-- and as King of England was head of the Church of England--
but he was married to Henrietta Marie, the daughter of
French King Henry IV, who had been the Huguenot Henry of Navarre, but had
become a Catholic when he ascended to the throne of France.
Because of his wife, the Protestant English always suspected
Charles I of Catholic sympathies.
Charles I always needed money because he was at war with
Spain and France,
He dissolved Parliament several times when they refused
to give him money;
He signed the Petition of Right to get money from parliament,
but didn’t follow it;
after dissolving power again, to get money he imposed
all kinds of fees on the English people decreasing his popularity
Civil War and Commonwealth
Petition of Right
A petition that would give Charles I money if he signed-
He did,
but refused it after given the money;
Charles I said:
1. he would not imprison subjects without due cause
2. he would not levy taxes without Parliament’s consent
3. he would not house soldiers in private homes
4. he would not impose martial law during peacetime
English Civil War
War between the supporters and opponents of King Charles
I from 1642-1651;
The civil war in England was a conflict between the king
and Parliament.
People loyal to Charles were called Royalists or
Cavaliers;
Puritans on the other side who were called Roundheads
because of their hair cuts
Oliver Cromwell
General of the Puritans who began defeating the Cavaliers;
helped the Puritans bring Charles I to trial for treason
against Parliament-
and he was sentenced to be executed;
The Rump Parliament beheaded Charles I
They abolished the monarchy,
and declared England a republic, or commonwealth.
Oliver Cromwell dispersed Parliament and became a military
dictator after tearing up the constitution they had drafted.
He abolished theater, sporting events and dancing in order
to promote Puritan morality.
Cromwell was tolerant of other Protestant denominations,
but was completely intolerant of Catholics.
The Restoration
The period after Oliver Cromwell died and Charles II
began to reign, restoring the monarchy
Charles II
had Parliament pass the habeas corpus law
habeas corpus
means “to have the body” in Latin
A law in 1679 that gave every prisoner the right to obtain
a writ or document ordering that the prisoner, be brought before a judge
to specify the charges against the prisoner;
This law stopped a monarch from putting someone in jail
because they opposed the ruler; it also said that prisoners could not be
held indefinitely without a trial.
James II
Inherited throne after Charles II;
His supporters were called Tories and the opposition were
called Whigs;
James II openly displayed his Catholicism, which offended
his subjects, and he violated the law by appointing several Catholics to
high office;
James II had a Protestant daughter, Mary, who married
Dutch Prince William of Orange.
James II passed laws in favor of the Catholics and against
the Puritans.
The Glorious Revolution
The bloodless overthrow of King James II by his daughter
and son-in-law William and Mary in 1688
William & Mary
William of Orange, Prince of the Netherlands, and his
wife, Mary, daughter of James II were Protestant.
In January, 1689, they were visited by seven members of
the English Parliament.
Parliament offered the throne of England to Dutch leader,
William of Orange, and his wife, Mary, daughter of King James II.
Parliament did not want another Catholic monarch on the
throne.
William and Mary accepted the throne, along with a Bill
of Rights.
Constitutional Monarchy
when laws limit the monarch’s power
The English Bill of Rights
A list of things a ruler could not do, including
1. no suspending of Parliament’s laws
2. no levying of taxes without a specific grant from
Parliament
3. no interfering wit freedom of speech in Parliament
4. no penalty for a citizen who petitions the king about
grievances
The English Bill of Rights
recognized Parliament’s right to make laws,
prevented monarchs from raising armies, and
recognized the right to jury trials.
Cabinet
the group of government ministers or officials who acted
in the ruler’s name but really represented the major party of Parliament;
over time became the center of power and policy making
Prime Minister
the king’s first minister who was the leader of the politcal
party in power
The Toleration Act of 1689 granted Puritans the
right to free public worship—but not Catholics.
By deposing one king and establishing another in the Glorious
Revolution, Parliament had destroyed the divine-right theory of kingship:
William of Orange was not made king by Grace of God, but by Act of Parliament.
REVIEW & DO
NOW
Answer the following questions in your spiral notebooks: |
Who was Queen Elizabeth?
Who had ruled England before her?
Who took the throne of England after Elizabeth?
What was his religion?
What is an absolute monarch?
What is the Divine Right of Kings?
Who were the Puritans?
Who was Charles I? |
Who was Oliver Cromwell?
What were the supporters of the King called?
What were supporters of Parliament called?
What English king was beheaded?
Who were William and Mary?
What was their religion?
What was the Glorious Revolution |
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