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European History Unit 3: Absolutism and constitutionalism (c. 1648–1815)

Some European states concentrated power in absolute monarchs, while England and the Dutch Republic limited royal power.

Covers: Agricultural revolution, English Civil War and Glorious Revolution, Dutch Republic, French absolutism, Prussia, Austria and Russia, balance of power, the Atlantic system

Study guide

Absolutism meant a monarch held complete power, often justified by divine right. Louis XIV of France, the 'Sun King,' ruled without the Estates-General, built Versailles to control the nobility, and revoked the Edict of Nantes in 1685. His finance minister Colbert promoted mercantilism. In Prussia, the Hohenzollern rulers built a powerful army, and the Junker nobility served as officers. Austria's Habsburgs ruled a diverse empire and defended Vienna against the Ottomans in 1683. Peter the Great westernized Russia, built St. Petersburg and reduced the boyars' power.

Constitutionalism limited royal power through law and representative bodies. In England, conflict between the Stuart kings and Parliament led to the English Civil War (1642–1651), the execution of Charles I and Oliver Cromwell's rule. After the monarchy was restored, the Glorious Revolution (1688) replaced James II with William and Mary, who accepted the English Bill of Rights (1689), establishing a constitutional monarchy. The Dutch Republic was a wealthy, tolerant commercial power governed by merchants.

Europe's states tried to maintain a balance of power so no single nation dominated. Wars like the War of the Spanish Succession (ending with the Treaty of Utrecht, 1713) and the Seven Years' War (1756–1763) were fought partly for that reason. Economic life changed too: the agricultural revolution introduced crop rotation, new crops like the potato and enclosure, increasing food and population. The putting-out system (cottage industry) spread manufacturing to rural households, and the Atlantic system tied Europe, Africa and the Americas in trade, including the triangular trade in enslaved people and sugar.

Louis XIV's distrust of the nobles grew out of the Fronde (1648–1653), revolts by nobles and the Paris parlement during his childhood. He governed through intendants, royal officials sent to run the provinces, but he still had to bargain with local elites and kept selling government offices. James I and Charles I claimed divine right and raised money without Parliament's consent. Charles accepted the Petition of Right (1628) but then ruled for years without Parliament. After 1688 the Toleration Act protected Protestant dissenters, and during the 1700s power shifted to Parliament, a cabinet led by a prime minister such as Robert Walpole, and the rival Whig and Tory parties.

Poland-Lithuania showed the dangers of a weak monarchy. Its nobles elected the king, and any single noble could block legislation through the liberum veto. Russia, Prussia and Austria eventually partitioned it out of existence (1772–1795). Maria Theresa inherited the Habsburg lands under the Pragmatic Sanction, but Frederick the Great of Prussia seized Silesia in the War of the Austrian Succession (1740–1748). In the 'Diplomatic Revolution' that followed, Austria allied with its old rival France before the Seven Years' War.

Peter's Table of Ranks tied noble status to service in the army and bureaucracy. He also built a navy and placed the Orthodox Church under a state-run Holy Synod. Catherine the Great expanded Russia to the Black Sea and took a large share of partitioned Poland.

Key ideas

• Absolute monarchs claimed complete power, often by divine right.
• Louis XIV used Versailles to control the nobility.
• England's Glorious Revolution created a constitutional monarchy.
• The balance of power aimed to stop any one state from dominating.
• The agricultural revolution increased food supply and population.

Formulas and rules

Common mistakes

• Confusing the English Civil War (king executed) with the Glorious Revolution (bloodless change).
• Thinking absolutism meant no nobility; nobles stayed, but under royal control.

Words to know

Absolutism

A system where a monarch holds complete power.

Divine right of kings

The belief that monarchs rule by God's will.

Louis XIV

French 'Sun King' who ruled as an absolute monarch.

Versailles

Louis XIV's palace used to control the nobility.

Colbert

Louis XIV's finance minister who promoted mercantilism.

Junkers

Prussian landowning nobles who served as army officers.

Peter the Great

Tsar who westernized Russia.

Constitutionalism

Government limited by law and representative institutions.

English Civil War

1642–1651 war between Parliament and Charles I.

Oliver Cromwell

Leader who ruled England after Charles I's execution.

Glorious Revolution

1688 bloodless replacement of James II by William and Mary.

English Bill of Rights

1689 law limiting the monarch's power.

Balance of power

Policy of keeping any one state from dominating Europe.

Treaty of Utrecht

1713 treaty ending the War of the Spanish Succession.

Agricultural revolution

Improvements like crop rotation that increased food supply.

Putting-out system

Merchants giving rural households materials to make goods.

Sample practice questions

5 more questions like these, from level 1 to 5, are in the practice set.