The Rise of New Monarchies

What is a Monarchy?• a form of government in which supreme power

is actually or nominally lodged in an individual (the monarch), who is the head of state, often for life or until abdication, based often on hereditary

• Around 1450, Europe saw a rise of new monarchsskilled in diplomacy and control over their realms– Occurred in response to a decline in the power of

the Church and nobles

Characteristics of the New Monarchies:

14th--16th centuries

Characteristics of the New Monarchies:

14th--16th centuries1. Make law and enact order.2. Often limited the power of the nobility by enlisting the

support of the middle class in the towns1. Monarchs rewarded middle class for their service

and loyalty to the crown3. Utilized taxation to run countrytarget nobility to

check power4. Tamed the aristocracynew nobles based on official

capacity “nobles of the robe”5. Controlled all warfare6. Religious control over the clergy

New National Armies

• Monarchs no longer relied on nobility to raise troopshired mercenary soldiers

• Armies became “professional,”fought for pay and spoils rather than honor

• Cavalry (nobles)was less importantinfantry and artillery was the focus

• Large armies created a greater need for taxes

The Rise of New Monarchies

• As a group read your sections per your country.

• On the posterboard, highlight the steps that occurred in the consolidation of power

• Identify any laws/institutions created to control the nobles by the monarch

The Renaissance under the New Monarchs

The Tudors of EnglandThe Tudors of England

Tudor Engla

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Tudor Engla

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England• Defeat from Hundred Years War led to economic hardship

and power struggle for monarchy• The War of the Roses erupted in the 1450s between House of

Lancaster and House of York• Henry Tudor (VII) defeated Richard III and established the

Tudor dynasty– Established the Star Chamber—a court to control the

nobles; no jury and torture was common.

Tudors Gain Power

• Ended livery (personal symbols of loyalty to a lord) and maintenance (payment of soldiers for a private army)

• Ended the private armies of the nobles• Henry VIII took control of the Catholic Church

and took confiscated its lands.

The Valois Dynasty in France

The Valois Dynasty in France

France in the 15c – 16cFrance in the 15c – 16c

France• After the war, economically

devastated, farmland destroyed, lives lost, but national UNITY!!

• Nationalism and strong monarchy • Valois family reduced power of

nobility by use of taille (tax on land and property)

• King Charles VII took power away from Estates-General and secured power over Church

• King Louis XI (“the spider”) used the army to defeat the Duke of Burgandy

• King Louis XI imposed the taille—tax on property—to keep the nobles in line and gabelle—gov’t salt mononpoly– Secured annual revenue for the gov’t

• Francis I, a Renaissance king, gained control of the French clergy by an agreement with the pope—Concordat of Bologna

The Habsburg DynastyThe Habsburg Dynasty

Ferdinand & Isabella of Spain

Ferdinand & Isabella of Spain

The Madonna of the Monarchs

Kingdoms of Spain: 1492Kingdoms of Spain: 1492

Spain• 1469—marriage of Isabella of

Castille and Ferdinand of Aragon united two dynasties under the Hapsburg family– Did not create a unified nation– together secured borders,

ventured abroad militarily, Christianized Spain

• Strengthened royal authority and army

• Created hermandades (political units) to control the aristocracy

• Completed reconquista of lands held by Muslims/Moors

• Inquisition—monitored the political and religious atmosphere of Spain– 1492 expelled Jews

• Promoted voyages of exploration• King Charles I will inherit throne of HRE and

will became most powerful monarch in Europe

Empire of Charles VEmpire of Charles V

HRE: Germany and Italy• Holy Roman Empire: Germany & Italy

exceptions to 15th-c. centralizing trend– the many (princes) fought off the one (emperor)– divided into some 300 autonomous entities

Germany• 1356 Golden Bull between

Emperor Charles IV & major territorial rulers: established seven-member electoral college; elected emperor & provided some trans-regional unity;

• Emperor’s power severely limited by Reichstag—legislative body of German states

Russia• Yaroslav the Wise developed Kiev as a cultural/political

center; established contacts w/ the West• Social division: Freeman [clergy, army, boyars

(landowners), townspeople, peasants] and slaves (prisoners of war and debtors)

• 1223 Russia fell to Ghengis Khan and the Mongols (Golden Horde)

• Mongols dominated Russian society and politics• 1380 Grand Duke Dimitri of Moscow defeated the

Mongol force

Ivan III or “the Great” (r. 1442—1505)

• Ended Mongol domination over Russia in 1480

• Began modernization of Russia by importing many Greek scholars, craftsmen, architects, and artists

• Moscow called the “Third Rome”

Revival of Monarchy

• after 1450, divided feudal monarchies unified national monarchies

• rise of towns, alliance of growing business classes with kings—broke bonds of feudal society

• the sovereign state: powers of taxation, war making, law enforcement no longer reside with semiautonomous vassals, but with monarch & royal agents; taxes, wars, laws become national rather than regional matters

Revival of Monarchy (cont.)• France: two cornerstones of 15th-c. nation-building:

– collapse of English Empire in France after Hundred Years’ War, 1453– defeat of Charles the Bold of Burgundy, 1477—perhaps strongest

political power in Europe at the time– Charles VII (r. 1422–1461), Louis XI (r. 1461–1483)—doubled territory

• Spain: 1469 marriage of Isabella of Castile & Ferdinand of Aragon– brought Spanish church under state control, ended toleration of Jews

& Muslims– sponsored Christopher Columbus, leading to Spanish Empire in

Mexico & Peru, helping make Spain the dominant European power in 16th c.

Revival of Monarchy (cont.)• England

– turmoil of Wars of the Roses, 1455–1485 (Lancaster vs. York)– 1485 Battle of Bosworth Field seats Henry VII, first Tudor monarch– Henry brings nobles to heal with special royal court, the Star Chamber

England stability under the Tudors

France consolidation of power by the Valois.

Spain unification by marriage into the Habsburgs

HR Empire different model: the cost of decentralization.

The New Dynasties of Power

Revival of Monarchy in N. Europe

• Summarize the strategies of centralization by monarchs.

• Prepare summaries of each country’s challenges, responses, and results.