Section Overview |
Justified and rationalized |
Between 1648 and 1815, the sovereign state was consolidated as the principal form of political organization across Europe. Justified and rationalized by theories of political sovereignty, states adopted a variety of methods to acquire the human, fiscal, and material resources essential for the promotion of their interests. Although challenged and sometimes effectively resisted by various social groups and institutions, the typical state of the period, best exemplified by the rule of Louis XIV in France, asserted claims to absolute authority within its borders. A few states, most notably England and the Dutch Republic, gradually developed governments in which the authority of the executive was restricted by legislative bodies protecting the interests of the landowning and commercial classes.
Between the Peace of Westphalia (1648) and the Congress of Vienna (1814–1815), European states managed their external affairs within a balance of power system. In this system, diplomacy became a major component of the relations among states. Most of the wars of the period, including conflicts fought outside of Europe, stemmed from attempts either to preserve or disturb the balance of power among European states. While European monarchs continued to view their affairs in dynastic terms, increasingly, reasons of state influenced policy.
The French Revolution was the most formidable challenge to traditional politics and diplomacy during this period. Inspired in part by Enlightenment ideas, the revolution introduced mass politics, led to the creation of numerous political and social ideologies, and remained the touchstone for those advocating radical reform in subsequent decades. The French Revolution was part of a larger revolutionary impulse that, as a transatlantic movement, influenced revolutions in Spanish America and the Haitian slave revolt. Napoleon Bonaparte built upon the gains of the revolution and attempted to exploit the resources of the continent in the interests of France and his own dynasty. Napoleon’s revolutionary state imposed French hegemony throughout Europe, but eventually a coalition of European powers overthrew French domination and restored, as much as possible, a balance of power within the European state system. Conservative leaders also attempted to contain the danger of revolutionary or nationalistic upheavals inspired by the French Revolution.
Source: https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/pdf/ap-european-history-course-and-exam-description.pdf
Between the Peace of Westphalia (1648) and the Congress of Vienna (1814–1815), European states managed their external affairs within a balance of power system. In this system, diplomacy became a major component of the relations among states. Most of the wars of the period, including conflicts fought outside of Europe, stemmed from attempts either to preserve or disturb the balance of power among European states. While European monarchs continued to view their affairs in dynastic terms, increasingly, reasons of state influenced policy.
The French Revolution was the most formidable challenge to traditional politics and diplomacy during this period. Inspired in part by Enlightenment ideas, the revolution introduced mass politics, led to the creation of numerous political and social ideologies, and remained the touchstone for those advocating radical reform in subsequent decades. The French Revolution was part of a larger revolutionary impulse that, as a transatlantic movement, influenced revolutions in Spanish America and the Haitian slave revolt. Napoleon Bonaparte built upon the gains of the revolution and attempted to exploit the resources of the continent in the interests of France and his own dynasty. Napoleon’s revolutionary state imposed French hegemony throughout Europe, but eventually a coalition of European powers overthrew French domination and restored, as much as possible, a balance of power within the European state system. Conservative leaders also attempted to contain the danger of revolutionary or nationalistic upheavals inspired by the French Revolution.
Source: https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/pdf/ap-european-history-course-and-exam-description.pdf
Theories of Absolute Monarchy
Louis XIV of France (r. 1643–1715) epitomized absolute monarchy. For 72 years, he reigned as the Sun King.
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The Bourbon Dynasty of France
French culture and influence were at their height during the reign of Louis XV (r. 1715–1774). However, his leadership weakened France, and he is credited with saying "Après moi, le déluge" ("After me, comes the flood") foreshadowing the French Revolution and the collapse of the monarchy.
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The Romanov Dynasty of Russia
Peter I, the Great (r. 1682–1725) elevated Russia from a weak state on Europe's eastern fringe to a Great Power as he modernized and Westernized the nation.
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The Hohenzollern Dynasty of Prussia
Frederick II, the Great (r. 1740–1786) greatly expanded Prussia's territory and made Prussia a leading military power in Europe. Considering himself "the first servant of the state", he advocated enlightened absolutism.
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The Hapsburg Dynasty of Austria
Maria Theresa (r. 1740–1780), the only female leader of the Hapsburg dynasty, modernized Austria, mothered 16 children, and defended her lands against Frederick the Great of Prussia in both the War of Austrian Succession and Seven Years’ War.
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English Constitutionalism
The Dutch Republic
The Anglo-Dutch Wars and Franco-Dutch War greatly weakened the Netherlands and brought an end to the Dutch Golden Age.
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The Partitions of Poland
Poland fell so far from its once Great Power status, that Catherine the Great of Russia, Joseph II of Austria, and Frederick the Great of Prussia began the conquest and Partitions of Poland by the 1770s.
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Colonial Rivalry
Britain and France vied for control of North America and India during the 17th and 18th centuries.
The French Revolution
The Haitian Revolution
Following a successful slave revolt inspired by the French Revolution, Jean-Jacques Dessaline became the first Emperor of Haiti.
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The Napoleonic Empire
The Congress of Vienna
Louis XVIII trying on Napoleon's boots. This British political cartoon by George Cruikshank mocks the conservative Congress System's interventions to smother liberal revolutions following the Congress of Vienna.
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