Absolutism vs Constitutionalism

The French System vs The English System

Let’s Start by Talking About Weisner-Hanks and Absolutism

• What was absolutism in theory?
• How did it work in practice?
  • Natural limits to absolutism?
  • Practical limits to absolutism?

• Theory
  • Encouraged adoption of new crops. (cameralist approach)
  • Russian tsar forcing people to cut beards.
• Practice
  • Natural Limits:
    • King followed natural law and God’s law.
    • Act like a more responsible father.
  • Practical limits:
    • Divergent criminal and legal systems.
    • Nobles held considerable military and financial power.
    • might create new laws but couldn’t do away with privileges already existing.
• Absolutism was a joint venture.
  • Successful leaders coopted rather than crushed elites.
  • “Those elites remained the dominant group in the more ‘constitutionalis’ states of Britain and the Netherlands as well, creating similarities across Europe rather than a sharp dichotomy between limited and absolute monarchy.”
  • Legal, customary privileges.
  • Geographic and cultural realities.
    • 3 weeks to cross France in 1600.
  • Maria Theresa (r. 1740-80) created grammar schools, Hungarians refused to send their kids, she couldn’t do anything about it.
  • No way to enforce Peter’s rules.
  • Some proclamations generated vehement violence.

Absolutism

• The System Before Absolutism
• End of the Wars of Religion
• A Fundamental Problem:
  • Composite States

Absolutism, Part II

• Absolutism: What was it not?
• Absolutism: What was it?
• Where was it?
  • France
  • Spain
  • Holy Roman Empire

Absolutism vs Constitutionalism, a Myth?

• Nobles and Monarchies collaborated to centralize more power within the state to grow financially and politically.
• Where that collaboration broke down, war broke out.
• Difference was who led the centralizing effort: the monarch or the nobles.

• “Those elites remained the dominant group in the more ‘constitutionalist’ states of Britain and the Netherlands as well, creating similarities across Europe rather than a sharp dichotomy between limited and absolute monarchy.”

The French System: More Struggles

• Louis XIII (r. 1610-1643)
• Armand-Jean du Plessis, Cardinal Richelieu (1585-1642)
• The Later Wars of Religion (1620-1629)

Portrait of Louis XIII

• More wars of religion broke out in France from 1620-1629
• These were truly wars between nobles trying to protect their perceived religious privileges of the edict of Nantes.
• At first the crown interpreted this as a war against recalcitrant nobles.
• It later became one against the Huguenots.

The French System: Centralizing Patronage

• Cultural Patronage
• Intendants
• Great Nobles and the Army

• Cultural Patronage
• dedicated to increasing royal power
• Recruited writers at the royal court - defended crown policies
• Patronized a newspaper called La Gazette.
• Even in relations with nobles, patronage emanated - grand nobles replaced other grand nobles in provincial governor positions - those grandees who were within Richelieu’s network received greatest dividends.
• Intendants
• appointed directly by the monarch
• Had authority over certain districts - in charge of collecting taxes - recruiting men for the army
• Took away many of the powers of the regional governors
• They also received nobility - became part of the nobility of the robe - those who became ennobled by - as opposed to the nobility of the sword - those who fought.
• Great Nobles and the Army
• demonstrates limits of absolutism
• Still largely dependent on the ability of the
• Regional Nobility
• were not left out
• They still got their money from their lands,
• They were increasingly encouraged to attend the royal court. - This became a location for further decentralization. - Dependent on credit, organization, and local connections for the French officer corps - But royal patronage was reaching directly to those officer corps - Not the noble governors.

The French System: The Fronde (or Revolt): 1648-1653

Anne of Austria, regent (r. 1643-1651)

Jules Mazarin (1602-1666)

Rebellion of Parlementaires and Great Nobles

Louis XIV declares his majority (1651)

Portrait of Anne of Austria

Portrait of Jules Mazarin

Painting of the Battle of the Faubourg Saint-Antoine

Portrait of Louis XIV

Absolutism of Louis XIV (r. 1643-1715)

Louis XIV declares personal rule (1661)

Expansion of the Intendants and Taxation

Centralization of the Military

Expansion of the Royal Court: Versailles

Portrait of Louis XIV

Portrait of Louis XIV

Portrait of Louis XIV

Painting of Versailles

• Continued Richelieu’s plans
• 1661 ruled without a minister
• Centralization of hte Military
• Creates a Minister of War (Louvois) - in charge of organizing the military - organizing the the conscription of the military - most of it comes from france - organizes the tactics of the army and the strategy. - But great nobles continue to control - decentralized in organization, but with a centralized (vertical) patronage system. - “princes, peers, and courtiers owned between them dozens of regiments, encompassing hundreds of thousands of men,” - difference was that Louis XIV had made their interests more closely aligned. - centrally provisioned and rewarded by the monarchy - was not the product of a risk of the army being used against the grand nobles - aligned the sights of the regiments and commanders with a centralized plan.
• Colbert
• Large Court : Versailles (1668-1682)
• Glorious building meant to demonstrate the magnanomy of hte crown
• the court became huge because it was the center of patronage for the whole country - the great nobles wanted to go there - if you wanted a military commission, you would get it there. - the power and wealth of the nobles who attended increased.
• But still spent more time away from Versailles than at it

Absolutism in France

Outcomes

• Cooperation with Elites
• Government controlled by 2% of the population

• Crown coordinated with the elites of society to rule the country
• crown became the source of patronage
• access to court = access to power - the point from which military commissions were doled out - a lucrative
• the crown created
• Basically 1-2% of the population controlled the government under the patronage of the king.
• When the elites and the

Constitutionalism in England

• James VI and I (r. 1567-1625, 1603-1625)
• Problems

Portrait of James I of England

• King of Scotland (r. ).
• Saw himself the natural head of England (the father of the country) only responsible to God.
• Parliament had gained a series of powers over the sixteenth century: - house of lords: - the peers of the country (high nobility) - specifically the house of commons: - full of wealthy merchants and professionals. - full of the lower nobility.
• 2 problems
• Religion: - James grew up in the Presbyterian church in Scotland - large group of Puritans in England wanted to purify the church - They hoped James would support them. - He didn’t: He saw the Bishops as a source of power for him - “No bishop, no king.”–James I
• Debts: - War with Spain due to English support for the Netherlands - 1588: the Spanish Armada fails. - caused a lot of debt for England. - this gave commons a lot of power - they leveraged the debts to expand their powers - created a pattern for first 30 years of the 1600s: - battle between the commons and king. - the commons for instance refused to ratify the union of Scotland and England (James was the king of Scotland and England).

Charles I (r. 1625-1649): Causing a Break

• Dissolves Parliament (1629)
• Religious Problems: Wife
• Religious Problems: Calvinism in Scotland
• Scottish nobles invade (1640)

Portrait of Charles I of England

• Dissolves Parliament (1629)
• the disputes of James I continued under Charles I
• in 1629, he dissolved Parliament.
• Passing New Taxes
• he expanded existing taxes to support government - charged inland cities and port towns “ship money” for defense. - many thought these processes illegal
• Religious Changes
• he married Henrietta Maria of France - daughter if Henri IV and Marie de Medici - she was a good catholic.
• Many feaful of two things: - Charles I was too close to Catholicism - His children would in fact be catholic
• This was a big enough problem that Henrietta Maria was never coronated officially in the English church.
• The situation worsened when Charles I orderd more elaborate ceremonies and services that were a little more similar to the Catholic rites.
• As part of this, Charles I tried to introduce a new prayer book in Scotland
• Calvinism in Scotland
• Calvinism took root in Scotland.
• church led by Presbyterians (church elders selected by the community) the system instituted by Calvin - the idea of a more Catholic styled religious system instituted by king was impossible to imagine
• invasion of England by Scottish nobles (1640)
  • To prevent the institution of the church of England in Scotland

English Revolution (1642-1651)

• Parliament Recalled (1640)
• King’s army & Parliament’s army
• Fighting Begin in 1642

• Calls Parliament (1640)
• Dominated by men with grievances already against the king.
• They voted to limit his powers - forced him to call parliament 1 every 3 years - king cannot dissolve parliament without its approval. - forced Charles to remove his archbishop of Canterbury.
• Charles forced to meet the demands
• Made worse when Ireland began to rebel and many English Catholics joined their co-religionists
• Caused many in commons to call for taking power over raising an army, organizing the church and appointing judges. - Charles I responded by organizing his own army that was loyal to him. - made up of nobles and gentry loyal to him.
• two armies: - the parliament army - the royal army
• Fighting Begins 1642

Interregnum (1649-1660): The Rise of Oliver Cromwell

• Oliver Cromwell (1599-1658)
• Charles I captured and executed (1649)
• Institute of Government (1653)

Portrait of Oliver Cromwell

• oliver Cromwell (1599-1658)
  • member of gentry
  • leader of house of commons
  • convinced parliament to create a new army - new model army - used sermons and hymns to motivate the army - paide it really well - created a formidable fighting force. - Charles surrenders, when Cromwell captured the king
• Reform - Cromwell dismissed member of parliament who disagreed with him - abolished house of lords - tried charles I for high treason - executed him
• Institute of Government (1653)
  • new government
  • made parliament supreme
  • Cromwell the head of executive as the Lord Protector
  • declared state of emergency - granted Cromwell more power - proclaimed quasi martial law - divided countries into 12 districts - ruthlessly put down the Irish rebellion - caused source of major discontent - by end, Catholics owned less than 10% of land
  • inforced Puritan measures despite outward proclamation of religious freedom. - closed theaters - banned sports - banned newspapers
• Support for Charles II (r. 1660-1685)
• Charles II in France - fled during the uprising
• Cromwell dies (1658) - divisions develop.

The Glorious Revolution (1688)

Charles II (r. 1660-1685)

James II (r. 1685-1688)

The Revolution: William and Mary (r.1689-1702)

Portrait of Charles II

Portrait of James II

Portrait of William and Mary

• Support for Charles II (r. 1660-1685)
• Charles II in France - fled during the uprising
• Cromwell dies (1658) - divisions develop.
• Charles II returns (1660) - monarchy returns - anglican church returns - along with bishops, etc. - those who refused communion in Anglican chruch could not vote - could not hold public office - could not attend university - could not preach
• Problems
• Charles ruled through parliament - his advisors came from parliament - parliament agreed to fund his government - but in reality it wasn’t enough
• Charles II reached out to France for support (1670) - Louis XIV promised to support Charles II monetarily if he promised to slowly return England to Catholicism.
• led to widespread anti-Catholic histeria
• James II
  • problems got worse when Charles II died and his brother James II took over
  • Parliament tried to prevent his assension to the throne, but couldn’t get enough votes
  • Created another series of tug of war between king and parliament
  • the last straw came when his wife gave birth to a son
• Glorious Revolution (1688)
• House of commons invited James protestant sists mary and her husband William (Dutch Prince from the house of Orange-Nassau) as the new monarchs (William was also a grandson of Charles I.
• Wiliam invades England in 1688 - James II, wife, and son flee to France - Parliament name William as the new king of france. - They explicitly recognize that parliamen and the king shared sovereignty.
• Agree to a bill of Rights - forbade interefence in the making and inforcing of laws - forbade creation of standing army during peacetime. - allowed limited religious toleration
• After William and MAry died - crown passed to Mary’s sister Anne - Anne had no kids - crown passed to her distant protestant cousin George who was the prince of a small principality of Hanover in Germany. in 1714.

English Constitutionalism: Outcomes

The Rise of the Gentry

Voting Rights: ~2-3% of the population

Charles Howard, Duke of Norfolk (1746-1815)

Painting of Mr and Mrs Andrews (1750)

Painting of Mr and Mrs Andrews (1750)

Image of Charles Howard, Duke of Norfolk

• Gentry became the most powerful group in England.
• **Only about 2% of population could participate in this process.
  • In effect though, some major patrons effectively controlled large amount of members of parliament
  • in 1770, for instance, Charles Howard, Duke of Norfolk controlled 11 buroughs (voting districts) and effectively determined the members of parliament from those locations. - did so through his patronage. - HE was the most powerful lord in the regions and handed down patronage
    • access to local positions
    • access to parliament.
    • so on and so forth.
• Government operated through collaboration between this 2% and the crown
  • when that cooperation broke down, civil war broke out
  • or the crown was replaced.
• Main difference was that the greater amount of power was held by the parliament here.
• But generally speaking, we are talking about
  • a small group of people controlling society
    • the difference was who had the greater amount of power.