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Kathy Pierce Madiha Patel Period 4 In what ways and to what extent did absolutism affect the power and status of the European nobility in the period 1650 to 1750? Use examples from at least TWO countries. (2002 #4) Beginning in the sixteenth century, monarchs in Europe began to consolidate their countries under the rule of a single, centralized monarchy. While the monarchy rapidly began gaining more power from 1650 to 1750, the traditionally privileged nobility of the European nations became an obstacle for the monarchial advancement. This caused some countries to become parliamentary monarchies, where the monarch shared power with the nobility, but some monarchs were able to keep absolute power through various means, such as in Russia and France. The rise of absolutism in these countries caused the nobility to lose their traditional political power, but it generally contributed to the stability of the nation itself. Russia Russia before Peter the Great and the Rise of Absolutism . Not part of European politics before 1673 . Weak and impoverished Before Romanov dynasty, Russia went through “Time of Troubles” After the last monarch of the Rurik dynasty, Feodor I, died and before the Romanov dynasty rose to power, from 1598-1613 Caused there to be: Civil Uprisings Boyars (Russian nobility) competing for power and resulting in anarchy Also, two major famines took place from 1601-1603, which resulted in mass starvations and plagues . However, Russia did have vast amounts of natural and human resources Natural resources Timber Iron Human Resources Large population This meant a larger potential workforce to make the country more productive . Romanov Dynasty Romanov Dynasty begins in 1613 with the election of Michael Romanov Elected by assembly of nobles Began to bring stability and centralization to Russia Started the movement toward absolutism Still in turmoil and impoverished Russian bureaucracy largely controlled by the boyars who only looked out for their self interests Administration could barely suppress the peasants’ revolts that took place during the early seventeenth century . Nobility’s status and power before rise of absolutism Bureaucracy still largely controlled by the boyars, or the old nobility Fought for control of the state Ongoing threat of mutiny from the Moscow streltsy The streltsy were the Russian military corps, but also performed police and security duties in Moscow The streltsy became a hereditary social class because of the various privileges given to them Not subject to taxation Allowed to pursue careers as merchants and artisans The economic privileges granted to the streltsy caused them to be less effective, because they were pursuing other careers and became unreliable However, their economic status allowed them to become influential in Russian politics, and they frequently staged uprisings against the monarchy Peter the Great’s reign and the rise of absolutism in Russia . Peter’s early reign: Ascended to the throne in 1682 Danger and turmoil during youth convinced Peter that: The power of the tsar must exceed that of the boyars and the streltsy Peter took a trip to Western Europe in 1697 Peter was fascinated with Western Europe and traveled there to imitate the ideas of the great European powers Wanted to “Westernize” Russia to allow them to enter into European politics . Absolutism’s Effects on the Power of the Russian nobility The Streltsy Rebellion In 1698, the streltsy rebelled while Peter was still touring Europe Peter sought absolute rule in Russia and knew he had to tame the streltsy and boyars Peter returned to suppress the revolt successfully . Private torturing and public executions were used as intimidation tactics to undermine the rebellion and to discourage disloyalty against the tsar 1,000 rebels killed and bodies hung out on display Peter wanted to tame the streltsy into submission to the absolute power of the monarchy Peter took away the power of the streltsy to be able to revolt by completely crushing the rebellion . Treatment of Boyars Boyars were the Russian nobility during the seventeenth century Made numerous major decisions without consulting the boyars, so their power in political decisions was diminished Almost all foreign and domestic policies were decided without the influence of the boyars However, Peter the Great faced problems from particularly troublesome nobles and was never able to completely control the nobility, as King Louis XIV of France had Boyars frequently tried to advance their own power and were still able to keep some political power by staging rebellions against the monarchy . Creation of Senate Senate created in 1711 to direct all aspects of the government while the tsar was away with the army Made up of nine members drawn from Peter’s favorite court boyars They were subject to change over time as the boyars’ loyalty to the tsar changed The purpose of the Senate was establish a bureaucracy that supported the military structure of Russia Represented the authority of the tsar against the court boyars Senate intended to keep power in the hands of the tsar and not court nobles . Administrative Colleges Created in December 1717 Used to sustain Peter’s personal authority and fight corruption Instead of a single person being in charge of Russian administration, a group of people headed the departments Peter appointed the administrators and was able to balance the power of the nobles by also appointing those loyal to him alongside them Eight separate colleges that took care of Russian administration Included departments that took care of: Collection of taxes Foreign relations War Economic Affairs Effects on the Status of the Russian Nobility . “Westernization” of Russia Boyars were typically attached to traditional Russian culture Peter knew that in order for Russia to become influential in European affairs, he needed to modernize the boyars Peter, in an effort to “westernize” Russia, tried to imitate Louis XIV’s taming of the nobility . Shaved off beards of court boyars . Sheared off the customary hand-covering sleeves that the court boyars traditionally wore Gradually began to take away boyars’ status Stopped granting boyar status to new individuals Peter stopped the growth of the boyar class so they became a less influential part of Russian society . Creation of St. Petersburg Peter created the new capital of St. Petersburg in 1703 Located on the Gulf of Finland, which was the western border of Russia Allowed the capital to be as close to Western Europe as possible to be more involved with European politics Acted as an imitation of King Louis XIV’s Versailles by forcing the boyars to live in St. Petersburg and creating it into a royal court Took away boyars’ local status by forcing them to move to St. Petersburg . Table of Ranks Created in 1722 Wanted to lure nobility into state service Peter realized that in order to tame the nobility, he could not just suppress them. He needed to reform the government to get the boyars into state service and increase their loyalty to the monarchy “Ranked” nobles according to the amount of state service and loyalty to the tsar that the family provided Higher ranked nobles were able to obtain more privileges than lower ranked nobles System of merit based on their service to the monarchy However, before Peter’s rule, boyars traditionally were given a higher status based on the amount of land and serfs they owned so the boyars’ status within the Russian royal court was changed While this did work to a certain extent in drawing nobles into state service, the nobility in Russia were never completely loyal to Peter and still tried to assert their rights over the monarchy While Peter the Great did succeed in creating Russia into an absolutist state, he still was never able to fully control the boyars and was not able to suppress the boyars’ dissent of the absolute monarchy France France before Louis XIV’s personal rule and the rise of absolutism . France is ravaged after the religious wars of the sixteenth century . French nobility’s status and power before the rise of absolutism Parlements and provincial governors in France held most of the regional power Made up mainly of old noble families Wanted to protect privileges In the parlements, the divisive, tax-exempt nobles reigned to protect their self interests . However, Louis’ predecessors and regent, Cardinal Mazarin, laid the foundation for the centralized state Henry of Navarre rose to the throne during this time and was able to restore peace to the nation Wanted to curtail the power of the nobles, mainly the parlements and the provincial governors Henry was able to reduce the nobility’s power by cutting out noble positions in the government that were unnecessary and took away power from the nobles’ counsels Louis XIII and Cardinal Richelieu also sought to curtail the power of the nobility Cardinal Richelieu was Louis XIII’s chief minister who sought to make France the supreme European power Richelieu created the intendants, which were civil servants employed by the monarchy that supervised the parlements and the other powerful nobility to reduce corruption and subject the nobles to the monarchial power Reduced the sale of royal offices among the nobility . The sale of royal offices caused the nobility to have the right to collect revenues, sell licenses, and carry out other forms of administration. The nobility would often be the only ones who could afford to buy the offices,
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