Politics and Society - AP European History

The Medici family was one of the most powerful and influential families in Italy whose connections reached from the Papacy and the French Monarchy to local nobility in various cities. Machiavelli was a diplomat and civil servant in Italy who fell out of grace with the Medicis and attempted to regain their support through his writings on how to be an effective ruler. He believed that he held the key to attaining and maintaining power and wished for the Medici family to utilize it and extend its influence. The Prince later became a fundamental lesson for any ruler on how to govern by any means necessary.

Francis I was one of a long line of French kings who consolidated power in the late Medieval and early Renaissance periods by reducing the influence of the nobility and by increasing the ability of the monarchy to make money. The taille was a tax on land and property that was levied throughout the French kingdom and made Francis, and his successors, the wealthiest monarchs in Europe.

The Protestant reformer Martin Luther emphasized four central beliefs: 1) That faith alone, rather than good works, was all that was necessary for salvation, 2) That religious authority rests in the Bible alone, 3) That the church exists as a community of believers, rather than a hierarchy of clergymen, and 4) That the priesthood was not superior to the laity. Luther also emphasized the dogma of consubstantiation (the Eucharist representing Christ's Last Supper), as opposed to the Catholic transubstantiation (the literal transformation of bread and wine into Christ's body and blood). While Luther's ideas spurred German peasant revolts in the sixteenth century, he ultimately sided with the rulers crushing the revolts, and Lutheranism tended to uphold secular leaders.

Huguenots were the name for French Calvinists. During the mid-sixteenth century, many aristocrats converted to Calvinism as part of an ongoing power struggle to decrease the authority of the French monarchy and increase the power of the aristocracy. Huguenot lords clashed with Catholic lords, leading to all-out civil war. The moderate politiques and the eventual ascension of Henry of Navarre to the throne paved the way for peace. King Henry IV passed the Edict of Nantes, which granted some religious liberties to the Huguenots.

Edmund Burke wrote his Reflections on the Revolution in France in 1790. In it, Burke condemns the chaos and violence of the French Revolution and argues in favor of the importance of conservatism and the preservation of established institutions of authority. The text has been widely employed in the centuries after it was written to argue in favor of maintaining the status quo and preventing movements towards republicanism, liberalism, and later, socialism.

The Thermidorian Reaction ocurred at the very end of the most radical period of the French Revolution, taking its name from the month of the Revolutionary Calendar in which it took place. The Thermidorian Reaction involved the overthrow of the Committee of Public Safety, in particular its leader Maximillien Robespierre, who was essentially the last man standing among the radical revolutionaries after he had ordered the executions of most of his fellow radicals. His opponents invaded a meeting of the Committee, branded Robespierre an outlaw, and executed him the next day.

Machiavelli wrote The Prince in 1513. It quickly became one of the most widely read and influential political books in history. Machiavelli advocated heavily that states and rulers should always do whatever is in the best interest of the continuation of their power. Machiavelli believed in pragmatism above all else, advising that princes should make war or peace, betray alliances or remain loyal, as long as they acted in the best interest of the state.

After the Hundred Years’ War, the power of the French nobility was weakened, and their finances were nearly exhausted. This allowed the king to centralize power under the monarchy. It also led to a slight opening of French society as the bourgeoise began to emerge as the primary source of revenue for the king.

The Peace of Westphalia brought to an end the Thirty Years’ War in 1648. Most historians consider the Thirty Years’ War to be the culmination of more than a century of religious wars in Europe. With the signing of the Peace of Westphalia limited religious tolerance was provided throughout the majority of Europe. But, a new political and social order was established that led to war and atrocity for the next three centuries. “Balance of power” politics was established, whereby all the nations of Europe agree to collectively prevent any one European power from becoming hegemonic.

The so-called “Golden Age of France” took place during the seventeenth century and the early eighteenth century. This mostly coincided with the reign of the Sun King Louis XIV. It was a time when French culture, particularly art and literature, were widely embraced around Europe, and French became the international language in much the same way that English is in the twenty-first century.

The English Civil War broke out in 1642 when the longstanding rivalry between the monarchy and Parliament erupted into conflict. Tensions had been building for several generations and were exacerbated by the unwillingness of Charles I's father James I to compromise with Parliament. The tipping point occurred when Charles I tried to round up opposition members of Parliament for trial and imprisonment. Parliament took control of the army and the English Civil War began.

The idea of Enlightened Despotism is that an autocratic ruler will make the necessary enlightened reforms—fostering education, social equality, and the growth of the economy—because doing so is in the best interest of their states. Many Enlightenment thinkers, like Voltaire and Diderot, supported Enlightened Despots because they believed the common people were incapable of self-rule and that Enlightened Despotism was the only way to reliably implement reform.

The National Convention was the name of the legislative and executive body of government established when France was proclaimed a Republic in 1793. The Jacobins were supported by the common people of Paris and were led by the infamous Robespierre. The Girondists were supported by the rural peasantry. Jacobins seized control of the National Convention when various Girondist members were arrested and tried for treason.

Giovanni de Medici was a merchant banker in Florence who made his fortune by ignoring the Catholic Church’s prohibition of lending money for interest. The Medici family became immensely wealthy and was vitally important for encouraging the Italian Renaissance by providing the necessary funds to patronize notable artists. Giovanni’s son and grandson, Cosimo de Medici and Lorenzo the Magnificent, became famous rulers of Florence and patrons of the arts.

Baroque art emerged in the Italian Renaissance during the sixteenth century. Baroque art was defined by its imperfect exaggerations designed to overstimulate the audience. It was widely embraced by those in power around Europe for the political purpose of intimidating the masses. It was a particularly favorite weapon of the Catholic Church and the rulers of the Italian city-states and France.

Calvin differed from Luther and the majority of the rest of the major Protestant reformers because he advocated for the inclusion of the church in the affairs of the state. Calvin believed that the church should be the primary factor in the makeup and decisions of a secular government. As Calvinism spread, this encouraged the rise of theocratic governments in England, Switzerland, and even the New World.

The Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648) is one of the most relatively destructive wars in European history. It began as a religious war, like many others in this time period, between Catholics and Protestants, but eventually expanded to include all the major nations of Western and Central Europe. France entered the war in 1635 to try and prevent the growth of Hapsburg dominance over the Germanic states and Central Europe; in this sense, France was quite successful.

Ivan the Terrible is notable for dramatically expanding the territory of the Russian state and for centralizing authority under the monarchy by persecuting the nobility. He died without leaving an heir, and widespread civil war and disaster erupted in what is known as the Time of Troubles. This era came to an end when the Romanov dynasty took power in 1614; it would rule for the next three centuries until it was overthrown during the Russian Revolution.

The Whigs and Tories emerged as the two major political parties in Parliament during the Stuart Restoration. The Stuart Restoration is the time period that followed the English Civil War and Cromwell’s dictatorship, when the Stuart monarchs were reestablished for two decades. The Whigs were mainly merchants and urban and supported Parliament; the Tories were mostly conservative Anglican nobles who favored the monarchy and wanted Anglicanism to be the state religion.