Sovereignty

Justified and rationalized by theories of political sovereignty, states adopted a variety of methods to acquire the human, fiscal, and material resources essential for the promotion of their interests.

Sovereignty,

c. 1648-1815 CE

Between 1648 and 1815, the sovereign state was consolidated as the principal form of political organization across Europe. Justified and rationalized by theories of political sovereignty, states adopted a variety of methods to acquire the human, fiscal, and material resources essential for the promotion of their interests. Although challenged and sometimes effectively resisted by various social groups and institutions, the typical state of the period, best exemplified by the rule of Louis XIV in France, asserted claims to absolute authority within its borders. A few states, most notably England and the Dutch Republic, gradually developed governments in which the authority of the executive was restricted by legislative bodies protecting the interests of the landowning and commercial classes.

Between the Peace of Westphalia (1648) and the Congress of Vienna (1814–1815), European states managed their external affairs within a balance of power system. In this system, diplomacy became a major component of the relations among states. Most of the wars of the period, including conflicts fought outside of Europe, stemmed from attempts either to preserve or disturb the balance of power among European states. While European monarchs continued to view their affairs in dynastic terms, increasingly, reasons of state influenced policy.

Source: https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/pdf/ap-european-history-course-and-exam-description.pdf

The English Constitution

Objective: Explain the causes and consequences of the English Civil War.

The English Civil War—a conflict among the monarchy, Parliament, and other elites over their respective roles in the political structure— exemplified the competition for power among monarchs and competing groups.
The outcome of the English Civil War and the Glorious Revolution protected the rights of gentry and aristocracy from absolutism through assertions of the rights of Parliament.

The English Civil War

Charles I at the Hunt (1635) by Anthony van Dyck depicts Charles resting in a manner described as a "subtle compromise between gentlemanly nonchalance and regal assurance".

execution of Charles I in 1649 by unknown artist

The Glorious Revolution

Christopher Wren's plan for the rebuilding of London after the Great Fire of 1666 with St. Paul's Cathedral in the upper-left corner

Following the Glorious Revolution (1688), William III and Mary II signed the English Bill of Rights establishing constitutional monarchy.

Prime Minister William Pitt the Elder led Britain against France during the Seven Years’ War. His son, William Pitt the Younger, led Britain against Napoleonic France.

George I (1714–1727)

The English Civil War and Glorious Revolution

The Dutch Republic

Objective: Explain the factors that contributed to the development of the Dutch Republic.

The Anglo-Dutch Wars and Franco-Dutch War greatly weakened the Netherlands and brought an end to the Dutch Golden Age.

Windmill of Wijk bij Duurstede by Jacob van Ruisdael (c. 1670)

The Dutch Republic, established by a Protestant revolt against the Habsburg monarchy, developed an oligarchy of urban gentry and rural landholders to promote trade and protect traditional rights.

The Dutch Republic

Absolute Monarchy

Objectives:

Explain the context in which different forms of political power developed from 1648 to 1815.
Explain how absolutist forms of rule affected social and political development from 1648 to 1815.
Explain how European states attempted to establish and maintain a balance of power on the continent throughout the period from 1648 to 1815.

Portrait of Louis XIV as Jupiter Conquering the Fronde (1655) by Charles François Poerson. He was just that fabulous. No lie.

The new concept of the sovereign state and secular systems of law played a central role in the creation of new political institutions.
Monarchies seeking enhanced power faced challenges from nobles who wished to retain traditional forms of shared governance and regional autonomy.
Absolute monarchies limited the nobility’s participation in governance but preserved the aristocracy’s social position and legal privileges.
Until about 1750, Baroque art and music promoted religious feeling and was employed by monarchs to illustrate state power.

The Bourbon Dynasty of France

The Baroque-style Palace and Gardens of Versailles were built to awe French nobility. They were widely imitated in palaces built by other European monarchs.

Louis XIV, the Sun King (r. 1643–1715)

French culture and influence were at their height during the reign of Louis XV (r. 1715–1774). However, his leadership weakened France, and he is credited with saying "Après moi, le déluge" ("After me, comes the flood") foreshadowing the French Revolution and the collapse of the monarchy.

Jean-Baptiste Lully Spotify Playlist

Louis XIV and his finance minister, Jean-Baptiste Colbert, extended the administrative, financial, military, and religious control of the central state over the French population.

Absolute Monarchy and the Bourbon Dynasty of France

The Romanov Dynasty of Russia

The Russian Winter Palace in Saint Petersburg was built in imitation of Versailles.

Saint Petersburg in 1744

Peter I, the Great (r. 1682–1725) elevated Russia from a weak state on Europe's eastern fringe to a Great Power as he modernized and Westernized the nation.

Peter the Great “westernized” the Russian state and society, transforming political, religious, and cultural institutions; Catherine the Great continued this process.

Peter and Paul Fortress and Cathedral, Saint Petersburg by unknown artist (1780)

The Hohenzollern Dynasty of Prussia

Frederick William II ordered construction of the famous Brandenburg Gate, Berlin, completed in 1791.

view of Berlin by Merian Matthäus (1652)

Frederick II, the Great (r. 1740–1786) greatly expanded Prussia's territory and made Prussia a leading military power in Europe. Considering himself "the first servant of the state", he advocated enlightened absolutism.

The struggle for sovereignty within and among states resulted in varying degrees of political centralization.
Following the Peace of Westphalia, religion declined in importance as a cause for warfare among European states; the concept of the balance of power played an important role in structuring diplomatic and military objectives.

The Hapsburg Dynasty of Austria

Schönbrunn Palace was the Habsburg summer residence in Vienna, Austria.

Kohlmarkt in Vienna, Austria by Carl Schütz (1786)

Maria Theresa (r. 1740–1780), the only female leader of the Hapsburg dynasty, modernized Austria, mothered 16 children, and defended her lands against Frederick the Great of Prussia in both the War of Austrian Succession and Seven Years’ War.

Wedding Supper at Redoutensaal by Martin van Meytens (1763) celebrates the marriage of Princess Isabella of Parma to Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor at the Hofburg Palace in Vienna.

The Partitions of Poland

Krakow, Poland besieged by Swedish forces in 1655. 1/3 of the Polish population perished during the Swedish Deluge (1655-1660), a military campaign also involving Russia, Germany, Denmark and Transylvania for control of Baltic Sea trade.

Poland fell so far from its once Great Power status, that Catherine the Great of Russia, Joseph II of Austria, and Frederick the Great of Prussia began the conquest and Partitions of Poland by the 1770s.

The inability of the Polish monarchy to consolidate its authority over the nobility led to Poland’s partition by Prussia, Russia, and Austria, and its disappearance from the map of Europe.