The Renaissance Reading List

IRE 2201 DIPLOMATIC HISTORY WEEK II Lecture Outline • The rise of national monarchies. • Holy Roman Empire • The Renaissance Reading List • Required Reading: • Stephen Hause and William Maltby, Chapter 13: The Renaissance: Political Renewal and Intellectual Change , pp. 233-252. • Recommended Reading: TIME LINE • 1453 The Hundred Years' War ends • 1455-1485 England is tom by the Wars of the Roses • 1461 Louis XI becomes king of France • 1469 Ferdinand of Aragon marries Isabella of Castile • 1485 Henry Tudor becomes King Henry VII of England • 1492 The Spanish government orders the country's Jews either to convert to Christianity or leave • The Spanish reconquer Granada from the Moors • 1519 Charles V becomes Holy Roman emperor • 1556 Charles V begins the process of abdication THE RISE OF NATIONAL MONARCHIES • The weakened papacy coincided with the revival, after 1450, of unified national monarchies. • In the early part of the fifteenth century, European monarchs shared power with their noble vassals in the countryside and with local magistrates in the urban towns and cities. THE RISE OF NATIONAL MONARCHIES • After 1450, the monarchs began to award royal administrative offices to high-ranking town officials rather than nobles. • This marked the beginnings of an alliance between the monarchs and an emerging middle class of merchants and professionals that would make the creation of a modern, sovereign nation state possible. THE RISE OF NATIONAL MONARCHIES • European monarchs also began to create national armies in the fifteenth century. • These new armies differed from their predecessors in several ways: 1- Monarchs hired mercenary soldiers rather than relying on the nobility to raise troops. 2- The armies became “professional,” in that they fought for pay and spoils rather than honor and feudal obligation. THE RISE OF NATIONAL MONARCHIES 3- The cavalry, usually composed of nobles, became less important than artillery and infantry. 4- Larger professional armies increased costs, creating an even greater need for taxes. THE RISE OF NATIONAL MONARCHIES 1- ENGLAND • England experienced a long struggle known as The Wars of the Roses (1455-1485) between the Lancaster and York families. • The War got its name from the fact that a white rose was the symbol of the York family, and a red rose that of the Lancasters. THE RISE OF NATIONAL MONARCHIES 1- ENGLAND • The wars ended with the accession of Henry Tudor as Henry VII and the end of the Plantagenet dynasty in 1485. • Henry VII restored the authority of the English monarchy, and he preferred diplomacy instead of expensive wars. THE RISE OF NATIONAL MONARCHIES 2- FRANCE • Removal of English influence from the continent gave the French kings increasing power. • The French Kings’ growing power at the expense of the nobles placed them in the dominant role of ruling France. THE RISE OF NATIONAL MONARCHIES 2- FRANCE • After their victory against the Duchy of Burgundy, the French King Louis XI (r.1461- 1483) attempted to strengthen the monarchy in a way never before seen in Western Europe. THE RISE OF NATIONAL MONARCHIES 2- FRANCE • He no longer depended for support on the French representative assembly, the Estates General, and established heavy taxes. • He used these taxes to expand a salaried bureaucracy and a standing army. THE RISE OF NATIONAL MONARCHIES 3- SPAIN • In Spain, the period of civil wars known as the Trastamaran Wars was ended with the marriage of Ferran and Isabel (the proper names for the individuals usually called Ferdinand and Isabella). THE RISE OF NATIONAL MONARCHIES 3- SPAIN • Aragon and Castile were united in 1469 by this marriage and completed the Reconquest with the conquest of Granada in 1492. • Ferran and Isabel formed an alliance with the Church -- an easy matter since Aragon controlled much of Italy. THE RISE OF NATIONAL MONARCHIES 3- SPAIN • They "purified" their realms by expelling both Muslims (1502) and Jews (1492), and used the Inquisition as a personal police force that gave them power that the laws and customs of the land did not permit them. THE RISE OF NATIONAL MONARCHIES 3- SPAIN • By 1500, the riches of the Americas began arriving in Spain, making the Spanish monarchs supreme in Spain and a major power in Western Europe for the next two centuries. THE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE • While strong national monarchies emerged in England, France and Spain, in the German lands of Central Europe, the Holy Roman Empire experienced continuing disintegration as the nobility increased its power at the expense of the emperor. THE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE • The process of centralization was less successful in Germany and Italy. • The German principalities were nominally ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor who, since 1356, had been elected by a seven-member council consisting of the archbishops and rulers of the most strongest provinces. THE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE • In 1356 Golden Bull was issued. • Probably the most important aspect of the Golden Bull was that it set out in detail the rules for the election of the King of the Romans. THE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE • The king had long been chosen by the seven Electors, but the Bull broke the papal hold by confirming that only the seven electors had the right to choose. • Conflict between religious and political authority? THE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE • In other words, the election itself was sufficient and papal approval was not needed. • No longer could the popes intervene in imperial affairs by refusing to recognize the king. The new monarchs began to assume almost absolute powers, depending upon their circumstances. What were the bases of their power? • Wherever possible, they gained permanent taxation powers from the representative assemblies, and were thus less dependent upon popular support. The new monarchs began to assume almost absolute powers, depending upon their circumstances. What were the bases of their power? • They used this income to surround themselves with salaried employees: administrators drawn from the middle classes and standing armies of professional soldiers. The new monarchs began to assume almost absolute powers, depending upon their circumstances. What were the bases of their power? • Their professional administrators allowed them to keep much better records and financial accounts, and they used their control of information to increase their power still further. The new monarchs began to assume almost absolute powers, depending upon their circumstances. What were the bases of their power? • They used the weakness of the papacy to gain control of their national churches, which gave them many advantages. The new monarchs began to assume almost absolute powers, depending upon their circumstances. What were the bases of their power? • They had control of the most intellectuals, teachers, writers, and administrators and gained access to the wealth of the church when needed. The new monarchs began to assume almost absolute powers, depending upon their circumstances. What were the bases of their power? • They often used the Inquisition as a secret police and were able to depend upon the secular clergy to help in shaping public opinion in their favor. The new monarchs began to assume almost absolute powers, depending upon their circumstances. What were the bases of their power? • They used their powers to put down popular uprisings, gaining the support of the middle class and the reputation of being the sole defense against rebellion and anarchy. The new monarchs began to assume almost absolute powers, depending upon their circumstances. What were the bases of their power? • They were economically aware, and used their powers to tax, regulate, charter, and subsidize to promote the economy of their state. • Under royal guidance, the economy of Europe began to emerge from the recession of the 15th century. The new monarchs began to assume almost absolute powers, depending upon their circumstances. What were the bases of their power? • Generally speaking, the new monarchs were political creatures with little concern for ethical action or the general welfare other than that of their own state. • Their accession marked the end of any real aspiration for morality in international affairs. The new monarchs began to assume almost absolute powers, depending upon their circumstances. What were the bases of their power? • They gained power largely because the monarchy was the only institution of European society that had not been discredited. What were the limits of the new monarchs’ powers? • Although medieval society was much changed by the end of the 15th century, the basic conditions to which it had to adapt -- limited resources, population, periodic waves of contagious disease, insufficient capital, and shrinking markets -- were still much the same. What were the limits of the new monarchs’ powers? • The rise of the national monarchs was important, but not decisive in ending the Middle Ages. • What was important was that these national monarchs were laying the foundations of the modern state. Although the kings up to this time might have seemed powerful, their powers were actually quite limited. What were the limits of the new monarchs’ powers? • They generally ruled only after swearing to obey the customs of the land, and there was always a nobility and clergy ready to oppose their policies if they appeared to be taking more power than was traditional. What were the limits of the new monarchs’ powers? • Most of the wealth of their countries was in the hands of nobles and the Church, and their power to tax these properties was limited. • Transportation and communication was difficult, and the kings could not expect to be able to control their subjects if those subjects did not want to be controlled. What were the limits of the new monarchs’ powers? • If the kings tried to levy new or heavier taxes, they could not find officials able to gather the revenues that they demanded. • In short, they depended a great deal upon the good will of their subjects.

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