Deck 15: Absolutism and Empire,1660–1789

Question 1

In England,Charles II triggered a crisis not unlike that produced by his father's rule when he:

A) reformed court life to match Puritan sensibilities.
B) began modeling his kingship on the absolutism of Louis XIV.
C) established a family and produced several heirs to the throne.
D) created the Whig Party and used them to increase his influence in Parliament.
E) disbanded Parliament and ruled absolutely.

Answer 1

began modeling his kingship on the absolutism of Louis XIV.

Question 2

In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries,absolutism was a political theory that:

A) encouraged rulers to turn over control of their governments to Parliament.
B) allowed rulers to govern by divine right and according to their own will.
C) discouraged military and economic competition among European states.
D) built on the democratic ideals of early Renaissance republics.
E) allowed countries, regardless of their form of government, to assume authority over its citizens.

Answer 2

allowed rulers to govern by divine right and according to their own will.

Question 3

The English call the 1688-1689 transfer of power to William and Mary the "Glorious Revolution" because:

A) England and Scotland were formally separated and allowed to have their own kings.
B) wealthy magnates and large property holders were able to assert power and control over local governments.
C) it established England, without bloodshed, as a mixed monarchy governed by "the King in Parliament."
D) Catholics were finally placed on an equal footing with Protestants in public life, religion, and government.
E) Ireland, Wales, Scotland, and England formally united to become Great Britain.

Answer 3

it established England, without bloodshed, as a mixed monarchy governed by "the King in Parliament."

Question 4

Louis XIV used the palace of Versailles to:

A) demonstrate the grandeur of his rule and to control the French nobility.
B) create touring artistic exhibitions that would benefit all Frenchmen.
C) withdraw from public life and spend time with close friends and family.
D) practice military tactics and train France's elite fighting force.
E) create a place that all French people would feel comfortable visiting.

Question 5

According to the French finance minister,Colbert,one underlying principle of mercantilism is:

A) high tariffs.
B) fair trade rules.
C) a common currency for all trading partners.
D) self-sufficiency.
E) free enterprise.

Question 6

The government of France under Louis XIV would be best described as:

A) highly centralized, with everyone being appointed by and reporting to the king.
B) highly decentralized: Louis appointed able people and left them to do their jobs.
C) chaotic, with no clear lines of authority or responsibility.
D) uneven, as every government official simply tried to do what they thought the king wanted.
E) a constitutional monarchy, with a system of checks and balances between the different branches.

Question 7

In general,the religious policies of Louis XIV aimed to:

A) grant religious toleration to the Arsonists and Quietists.
B) grant religious toleration to all French people.
C) impose religious unity upon all French people.
D) suppress the work of Catholic Jesuits.
E) transform France into a Protestant constitutional monarchy.

Question 8

The balance of power in central and eastern Europe was reshaped at the end of the seventeenth and beginning of the eighteenth centuries because of the loss of power of:

A) Prussia.
B) Austria.
C) Russia.
D) France.
E) the Ottoman empire.

Question 9

The royal finance minister who increased revenues in France during the reign of Louis XIV was:

A) Cardinal Richelieu.
B) Jean-Baptiste Colbert.
C) Cornelius Jansen.
D) John Locke.
E) François Marie Arouet.

Question 10

Absolutist rulers such as Louis XIV sought control over the state because:

A) they knew best what was good for their subjects rather than parliaments.
B) they were vulnerable to personal attacks-even in their own palaces.
C) they wanted to strengthen the power of the Church and the papacy.
D) they were hoping to strengthen the power of parliaments and representative assemblies.
E) the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries were times of great disorder in Europe.

Question 11

The wars of Louis XIV:

A) were fought to eradicate the Huguenots and Jansenists.
B) allowed Louis to construct his palace at Versailles.
C) led to the defeat of Spain in the War of the Spanish Succession.
D) were an enormous drain on the treasury of France.
E) were enormously successful and extended French power throughout Europe.

Question 12

The Treaty of Utrecht (1713)altered the balance of power in Europe by:

A) giving France desirable British territory in North America and the income from those colonies.
B) increasing the power of Spain beyond that of France and Great Britain.
C) placing France and Spain under the same ruler.
D) making Holland the dominant sea power in the New World.
E) giving Great Britain trading rights and desirable French territory in the New World.

Question 13

In his Two Treatises of Government,John Locke argued that:

A) no group of people has the right to dissolve civil society.
B) wealth should be distributed equally among all members of society.
C) kings should rule society absolutely, as fathers rule households.
D) legitimate government authority is conditional and contractual.
E) the theory upholding the absolute, divine right of kings was unassailable.

Question 14

James II of England angered his critics and set off a national crisis when he:

A) and his second wife, Mary of Modena, had a son: a Catholic heir to the throne.
B) banned Roman Catholics from all political offices.
C) formed an alliance with William and Mary of Holland.
D) publicly converted to Catholicism after becoming king and advanced the Catholic cause.
E) took the army to Ireland to put down a Catholic rebellion.

Question 15

The most important opponents of royal absolutism were:

A) churchmen.
B) peasants.
C) nobles.
D) merchants.
E) all of these

Question 16

According to Chapter 15,which European government developed into an autocracy in the early modern period?

A) England
B) France
C) Sweden
D) Russia
E) Austria

Question 17

Although most European countries have had representative assemblies,the longest surviving assembly is in:

A) Austria.
B) Belgium.
C) England.
D) France.
E) Germany.

Question 18

The War of the Spanish Succession was fought when the Spanish king,_________,died without an heir.

A) Philip of Anjou
B) Philip II
C) Leopold I
D) Charles II
E) William of Orange

Question 19

According to the justification given for absolutism,the fundamental basis for order and justice in the world is:

A) power.
B) religion.
C) obedience.
D) fear.
E) fairness.

Question 20

The governmental system used by the United Provinces in the Netherlands throughout the seventeenth century was:

A) an absolutist monarchy.
B) a limited monarchy.
C) an oligarchy.
D) a republic.
E) a constitutional democracy.

Question 21

The consumerism of the eighteenth century grew to allow more people to buy goods that had been luxuries only a short time before; however,one result of this situation was a rise in the cost of such goods caused by:

A) the iron law of wages.
B) the law of supply and demand.
C) mercantilism.
D) protoindustrialism.
E) capitalism.

Question 22

By the late eighteenth century,the population of Naples,Italy,had reached nearly:

A) 200,000.
B) 300,000.
C) 500,000.
D) 1,000,000.
E) 1,500,000.

Question 23

When England began to break into international colonial trade,its efforts were marked by:

A) the systematic exploration of North America for good land on which to establish colonies.
B) quite a bit of piracy, as English sailors seized Spanish cargo ships for the plunder.
C) constant disappointment, as their every attempt to establish colonies met with disaster.
D) technological innovations in ship design that allowed the English to transport more goods faster.
E) a great deal of success in establishing very profitable colonies in the southern part of North America.

Question 24

In the French colonial system,the greatest profits came from:

A) fish.
B) furs.
C) sugar.
D) tobacco.
E) slaves.

Question 25

Under Maria Theresa and her son,Habsburg,absolutism:

A) was concerned primarily with Ottoman attacks on the capital of Vienna.
B) became "enlightened," but was still limited by weaknesses within the empire.
C) declined and sovereigns no longer used the title Holy Roman Emperor.
D) declined and sovereigns reduced taxation and supported serfdom.
E) increased as the Habsburgs conquered most of the Germanic principalities.

Question 26

European wealth and prosperity in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries may be attributed at least in part to:

A) their Asian, African, and American colonies.
B) the beginning of the Industrial Revolution.
C) the Peace of Westphalia that brought a century of peace to Europe.
D) the creation of a free trade zone on the continent, the beginnings of the Common Market.
E) the Reformation that caused the redistribution of the Church's wealth to individual countries.

Question 27

The balance of power in eastern Europe was realigned in 1721 with the Peace of:

A) Livonia.
B) Nystad.
C) Utrecht.
D) Estonia.
E) Versailles.

Question 28

The great peasant uprising of the seventeenth century was led by:

A) Stenka Razin.
B) Emelyan Pugachev.
C) Pavel Strelnikov.
D) Yuri Zhivago.
E) Alexis Romanov.

Question 29

The economic nature of the Spanish colonies in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries reflected:

A) the need to defend these colonies from English pirates.
B) the Spanish desire to make these colonies economically self-sufficient.
C) the principles of capitalist theory.
D) the drain that colonies place on mother countries.
E) the principles of mercantilist theory.

Question 30

The goal of Peter the Great's foreign policy was to:

A) annex Prussia.
B) secure year-round ports for Russia.
C) secure territories in the New World.
D) open up a land route to Asia.
E) conquer the Ottoman empire.

Question 31

Frederick the Great of Prussia made Prussia a major European power by:

A) forming an alliance with Catherine the Great.
B) forming an alliance with Maria Theresa and the Habsburgs.
C) confiscating church property and skillfully administering monastic lands.
D) invading Silesia and Poland, and carefully consolidating his gains.
E) forming an alliance with Louis XIV.

Question 32

Poland lost 30 percent of its territory and 50 percent of its population as a result of an agreement brokered between Prussia,Austria,and Russia by:

A) Maria Theresa.
B) Joseph II.
C) Frederick the Great.
D) Peter the Great.
E) Catherine the Great.

Question 33

As an "enlightened" absolutist monarchy,the Habsburgs of Austria:

A) created a system of public elementary education.
B) relaxed censorship.
C) created a standing professional army.
D) increased their control of the Church.
E) all of these

Question 34

Social relations in the Spanish colonies of Central and South America were characterized by all of the following EXCEPT:

A) frequent intermarriage with native people.
B) a complex system of racial and class categories.
C) the uprooting and resettlement of large numbers of native people.
D) cultural assimilation between the Spanish colonists and the native population.
E) the enslavement of large numbers of the native population.

Question 35

The cultivation of New World sugar and tobacco depended on:

A) slave labor.
B) new European technologies, such as the steam-powered turbine.
C) relative peace and cooperation among European nations.
D) cotton and rum plantations.
E) constant development of hybrid strains of the crops.

Question 36

An important technical innovation in early modern Holland was a machine called the _________,by which the hulls of ships could be raised in the water for repair.

A) "devilish invention"
B) "camel"
C) "pope's belt"
D) "Jib hoist"
E) "goat"

Question 37

Frederick William I made Prussia strong by:

A) emphasizing religious toleration.
B) scoring victories against the armies of Louis XIV.
C) exerting prudent financial leadership and building a large army.
D) establishing a lavish palace in Berlin and constructing a "theater" of absolutism.
E) allying himself with, and receiving military aid from, Great Britain.

Question 38

Catherine the Great's interest in codifying and liberalizing Russian law was essentially abandoned when:

A) she founded hospitals and orphanages.
B) Russia lost control of the Crimea in 1783.
C) Frederick the Great of Prussia partitioned Poland.
D) peasants revolted in 1773-1775 and threatened Moscow.
E) all of these

Question 39

In the eighteenth century,Europe's traditional food supply was augmented by which new products from the Americas?

A) maize and potatoes
B) wheat and rice
C) olive oil and almonds
D) chicken and pheasant
E) venison and potatoes

Question 40

In general,the policies of Peter the Great of Russia included:

A) the introduction of Western ideas and customs.
B) reducing the tax burden on the peasantry, so that they could be more productive.
C) abolishing serfdom and giving the freed serfs land.
D) rebuilding the power of the Duma, Russia's national assembly.
E) invading the Ottoman empire to secure Constantinople as a Russian port.

Question 41

On a typical merchant run along the "triangle trade" route,a British ship would sail from New England with rum,trade the rum for slaves in Africa,and then:

A) return to Europe to sell the slaves to farm or factory owners.
B) trade the slaves for molasses in Jamaica.
C) trade the slaves for tobacco in New England.
D) trade the slaves for cotton in Brazil.
E) trade the slaves for cotton in the southern British colonies.

Question 42

The power within Europe was gradually shifting toward the East during the eighteenth century with the rise of Prussia and Russia.

Question 43

"Whigs" was a nickname for the supporters of King Charles II.

Question 44

Approximately how many Africans were transported across the Atlantic Ocean during the eighteenth century to be sold as slaves?

A) 100,000
B) 200,000
C) 500,000
D) 3,000,000
E) 6,000,000

Question 45

Although the Puritans left England to escape the government's attempt to impose religious conformity:

A) no more than a few thousand English immigrated to America.
B) they showed little interest in converting Native American peoples to Christianity.
C) they established a strict form of Catholicism in Plymouth that discouraged Protestant belief.
D) they quickly established merchant relations with other European countries.
E) they soon came to realize that the English government controlled their colonies strictly.

Question 46

After the collapse of the Ottoman empire,Austria's biggest threat was from Germany.

Question 47

The "Junkers" were a group of enserfed peasants in Prussia.

Question 48

The League of Augsburg united Holland,England,Spain,Sweden,Bavaria,Saxony,the Rhine Palatinate,and the Austrian Habsburgs against Louis XIV.

Question 49

The Smirnoff dynasty ruled Russia after the death of Ivan the Terrible.

Question 50

The absolute monarchs ruled only with the consent of their nobles and people.

Question 51

European governments at first joined the Church in condemning the use of tobacco,but when it became:

A) wildly profitable, they encouraged its consumption.
B) a health hazard, they continued their condemnation.
C) very expensive to buy, they permitted it among only the upper classes.
D) difficult to grow outside of Virginia, they abandoned their condemnation.
E) widely popular, they taxed it heavily to inhibit its use.

Question 52

In 1780,Britain declared war on _________ for continuing to trade with the colonies during the American Revolution.

A) the Dutch Republic
B) Spain
C) Prussia
D) Russia
E) France

Question 53

In the late seventeenth century,European wars almost always had a colonial aspect.

Question 54

In the context of early modern European history,the American War of Independence was:

A) the beginning of the end for absolutist governments in Europe.
B) unrelated to the politics or philosophy of Europe.
C) the end of an important trade relationship between America and Britain.
D) the final military conflict in a century-long struggle between Great Britain and France.
E) the beginning of a long period of war between France and Great Britain.

Question 55

One of the important causes of the American Revolution was Britain's success in:

A) the War of the Spanish Succession.
B) the War of the League of Augsburg.
C) the Seven Years' War.
D) the wars of the Habsburg League.
E) King William's War.

Question 56

The Portuguese and the Spanish had begun modern European colonization,but by the mid-eighteenth century the European leaders were the:

A) Dutch and the English.
B) Dutch and the French.
C) French and the English.
D) French and the Germans.
E) English and the Germans.

Question 57

Catherine the Great of Russia was actually a German who came to the throne upon the death of her husband,Peter III.

Question 58

The most valuable Dutch colonies during the seventeenth century were in:

A) North America.
B) the North Atlantic.
C) India.
D) the Caribbean.
E) Southeast Asia.

Question 59

Of all the slaves brought to the Western Hemisphere from Africa,approximately _________ percent came to North America.

A) 5
B) 15
C) 25
D) 35
E) 50

Question 60

Habeas corpus is a guarantee that no one can be imprisoned unless charged with a crime.

Question 61

What was the role of the army in the formation of the Prussian state?

Question 62

What was the role of theater and image in the success of absolutism?

Question 63

The mortality rate on a slave ship was about 10 percent,the same as for a normal sea voyage.

Question 64

How did absolute monarchs overcome the obstacles of the Church and the nobility?

Question 65

Intermarriage between natives and Africans was quite common in the New World,as were Native/English marriages,though African/English marriages were banned.

Question 66

What were the effects of the Glorious Revolution on English society and government?

Question 67

How were the policies of an enlightened absolutist compared to those of an absolute monarch?

Question 68

In the eighteenth century,infectious disease killed half of all people before they reached the age of twenty.

Question 69

Why was northwestern Europe the center of economic growth in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries?

Question 70

Techniques for printing colored designs on calico cloth were imported from the New World but made illegal in some areas to protect native industry.

Question 71

War is the normal state of Europe at any point in its history,and the eighteenth century was no exception.

Question 72

In what ways can it be said that Peter the Great made Russia a European power?

Question 73

What was the role of nature in Locke's ideal government?

Question 74

What was the role of the peasant in Russian society and government?

Question 75

What was the role of the Treaty of Utrecht in redefining the balance of power?