The New Monarchs 15th Century Characteristics of the New
Monarchies
They offered the institution of monarchy as a guarantee of law and
order. They proclaimed that hereditary monarchy was the legitimate
form of public power all should accept this without resistance.
They enlisted the support of the middle class in the towns tired of
the local power of feudal nobles. They would have to get their
monarchies sufficiently organized & their finances into
reliable order. They would break down the mass of feudal,
inherited, customary, or common law in which the rights of the
feudal classes were entrenched. The kings would MAKE law, enact it
by his own authority, regardless of previous custom or historic
liberties What pleases the prince has the force of law The New
Monarch made use of Roman law
They incorporated the will and welfare of the people They enlisted
the support of the merchants and middle class They went a long ways
in establishing European Nation-States -The Inventions of Gunpowder
, the pike and longbow made it possible for Kings to be less
dependent on Knights on horseback -Now, Kings could hire
mercenaries to supplement their armies.They did not have to give
concessions to the powerful nobles. England stability under the
Tudors
France consolidation of power. Spain unification by marriage. HR
Empire different model: the cost of decentralization. After the
Hundred Years War, England was troubled by the War of the Roses
1455-1487
The War was over different families wanting to take the throne One
was the House of Lancaster, and the other York.Both had legitimate
claims to the throne England: Civil War and a New Monarchy
The House of Lancaster (red rose) verses the House ofYork (white
rose) Many aristocratic families brought into conflict Henry Tudor,
Duke of Richmond, defeated the last Yorkish king, Richard III, and
established the new Tudor dynasty The Tudors of England England:
Civil War and a New Monarchy
The first Tudor King, Henry VII reduced dissension and established
strong monarchy Abolished private armies of the aristocrats Special
commissions to trusted nobles raised armies for special campaigns
then were disbanded Established the Court of Star Chamber which did
not use juries and permitted torture to extract confessions, but he
held ultimate authority Henry VII finally gained power
Henry VII finally gained power.He married Elizabeth of York, and
the houses were united England: Civil War and a New Monarchy
Henry VIImanaged the monarchy well Extracted resources from
traditional sources Use diplomacy to avoid wars Kept taxes low
Henrys policies left England with stable, prosperous government and
gained status for the monarchy itself Over time, the Star Chamber
became a symbol of absolute authority Henry VII always felt uneasy
about his claim to the throne
His son, Henry VIII, knew that it was necessary that he, too, have
a son to prevent civil war This is whyhis son, Henry VIII, would
end up with six wives, in his effort to gain a sonsomething we will
learn about shortly France in the 15c 16c The Valois Dynasty The
Valois dynasty which ruled France during the 14th 15th Centuries
The Hundred Years War allowed this dynasty to establish its power,
consolidated during the reign of Philip IV ( ) The Growth of the
French Monarchy
The Hundred Years War had left France prostrate Depopulation,
desolate farmlands, ruined commerce, unruly nobles, etc. The war
also engendered a sense of loyalty--the understanding of a common
enemy The war permitted strengthening the kings authority Charles
VII was able to secure permission for a royal army from the
Estates-General The Growth of the French Monarchy
King Charles VII The Estates-General also permitted a taille,
annual taxusually from land or other property Ensured certain
amount of power King Louis XI ( ), (known as the spider for his
wily ways) With force, cunning, and diplomacy, he brought order to
France Louis XI Son of Charles VII King 1461 1483
As a young man he spent much of his time organising a series of
rebellions against his father, Charles VII one of the most
effective kings of France Louis XI The Reign of Louis XI 1461 1483
unpopular man, ruthless & efficient ruler Brought the Church,
nobles & merchants to heel Smashed the Dukes of Burgundy Left a
strong, united, nationalistic France that possessed a strong
central government He subdued the nobles and made their territories
part of France When Cardinal Balue defied Louis, he was sentenced
to live in a cage Charles VIII (1470-1498) 1491 was on throne under
a regency
1494 invaded Italy & briefly occupied Naples Driven out through
a strenuous Italian effort France attempted to invade Italy in the
next half century France by 1500 Had become a strong nation.
Flourishing economy staffed by noble & middle class bureaucrats
Iberian Peninsula: Spain & Portugal Reminder: Spain conquered
by Muslim Invaders
In the early 700s AD Muslim invaders called Moors- from North
Africa Reconquista Almost immediately, Christian kings began taking
back territory in the Iberian Peninsula. Ferdinand and Isabella of
Spain The Unification of Spain
After the conquest of the Iberian Penisnsula from the Muslims, the
peninsula was divided into several smaller states, the largest
which was Aragon and Castile Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of
Aragon were married in a dynastic (not political) union The two
states maintained their own parliaments 1469 Marriage of King
Ferdinand (Aragon) & Queen Isabella (Castile)
The Unification of Spain
Ferdinand and Isabella worked to build a strong central government
for both states They reorganized the military and created and built
the best army in Europe by the 16th century They achieved
permission from the pope to select the most important church
officials They realized the importance of the Churchs power War
against the Moors Between 1482 and 1492, Isabella and Ferdinand
waged the Granada War to conquer all of Spain and unite it as one
Christian kingdom In 1492, they succeeded in defeating the last
Moorish King, Boabdil The Unification of Spain
Ferdinand and Isabella received permission to institute the
Inquisition in Spain Converts were effected, but not Jews or
Muslims Thus, they expelled all Jew and Muslims The two Most
Catholic monarchs had achieved absolute religious orthodoxyto be
Spanish was to be Catholic Uniformity policy was enforced by the
Inquisition Paying for the war The Granada War was very expensive
(it lasted 10 years) Much of it was paid for by confiscating the
property of Spanish Jews Jews in Spain Jews in Spain held
considerable power
Jews in the courts of all the kings of Spain and Portugal In fact,
Ferdinand and Isabellas marriage was arranged by a mutual Jewish
friend. Many early bankers were Jewish because Christians were
prohibited from usury (charging interest on loans). But banks are
critical, without them businesses cant get started. These same
bankers helped finance the war against the Moors Their goal was to
create a Pure Catholic Spain
A Spain without Jews or Muslims Proving a lapse of faith
Any traditionally Jewish rituals or behaviors could be considered a
lapse of faith. Examples: not eating pork Not working Friday
night-Saturday (the Jewish Sabbath, Christian Sabbath is Sunday)
Eating traditionally Jewish food (Kosher) The Spanish Inquisition
Who Led the Inquisition
Torquemada, the Grand Inquisitor Inquisition methods Under
Torquemada, the Grand Inquisitor, the Inquisition sought to find
these heretics To get these heretics to confess, inquisitors would
employ threats and torture Thousands were tortured, imprisoned for
life and/or burned at the stake in auto de fe (Act of Faith) Holy
Roman Empire Germanic peoples
Ecclesiastical city-states(Church lands), principalities, fiefs,
free towns, counties, duchies Succession to role of Holy Roman
Emperor was left to 7 princes/ electors (votes) States relatively
stable but the empire as whole was becoming powerless Holy Roman
Empire (cont.)
Boundaries shifted according to marriages, war, inheritance No
Papal authority in the Empire Arms manufacturer of the world Big
commercial centre: agric., mineral ores, industrial Ports- north,
west Eventually replaced Italians as international bankers The
Habsburg Dynasty The Holy Roman Empire: The Success of the
Habsburgs
The Holy Roman Empire failed to develop a strong monarchy The
Empire remained in the hands of the Habsburg dynasty The Habsburgs
instituted dynastic marriages Through marriages, the Hapsburgs
gained international power Rulers of France feared they would be
surrounded by the Hapsburgs The Holy Roman Empire: The Success of
the Habsburgs
Much was expected of Maximilian I He had strong opposition from
German princes Through a series of marriages and untimely deaths,
Charles V, Maximilians grandson, became heir to the Habsburg,
Burgundian, and Spanish lines, making him the leading monarch of
his age Empire of Charles V Ferdinand and Isabella were his
maternal grandparents
Charles Vs mother was Crazy Juana, who kept her husbands body with
her for years after he died The Emperor Years of Genetic inbreeding
produced a misshapen jaw that would be known as the Hapsburg Jaw
Charles also faced the emerging Protestant Reformation The Struggle
for Strong Monarchy in Eastern Europe
The rulers of Eastern Europe had many obstacles in the way of
control Different ethnic and religious groups could not get along
Much of the problem with Poland until the later 15th century
revolved around disagreements between crown and the landed nobles
Hungary became one of the most significant countries in Europe
under King Matthias Corvinus The Struggle for Strong Monarchy in
Eastern Europe
King Mathias Broke the power of the wealthy lords Patronized the
humanist culture Brought Italian scholars and artists to his
capital Since the 13th century, Russia had been under the
domination of the Mongols Ivan III ( ) was able to take advantage
of dissention within the Mongols to through off their yoke by 1480
The Ottoman Turks and the End of the Byzantine Empire
Eastern Europe was increasingly threatened by the Ottoman Empire
The Byzantine Empire had served as a buffer between the Muslim
Middle East and the Latin West for centuries The Empire was
weakened by the sack of Constantinople in 1204 The threat of the
Ottomans finally doomed the Byzantine Empire The Ottoman Turks and
the End of the Byzantine Empire
The Ottoman Turks moved quickly through the lands of the Seljuk
Turks and the Byzantine Empire Bypassing Constantinople, they moved
through Bulgaria and into the lands of the Serbians At the battle
of Kosovo, Ottoman forces defeated the Serbs, both leaders dying in
battle The Ottoman Turks and the End of the Byzantine Empire
Battle of Kosovo (1389) became a battlefield long remembered and
revered by the Serbs Not until 1480 were Bosnia, Albania, and the
rest of Serbia added to the Ottoman Empire in the Balkans The
Ottoman Turks completed the demise of the Byzantine Empire by
defeating the army at Constantinople The Ottoman Turks and the End
of the Byzantine Empire
The Turks began to pressure the West By the end of the 15th
century, they were threatening Hungary, Austria, Bohemia, and
Poland The Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V, became their bitter enemy
in the 16th century
Top Related