Deck 6: Absolute and Limited Monarchies in the Seventeenth Century

Question 1

People in the seventeenth century believed that royal power existed in two spheres, one absolute and the other limited by subjects' rights and liberties. The name of power in the absolute sphere was ________.

A) gloire
B) natural law
C) royal prerogative
D) tyranny
E) unlimited power

Answer 1

C

Question 2

The ________ was the most important innovation in finance that the Duke of Sully brought about in France during Henry IV's reign.

A) taille
B) paulette
C) tercios
D) mercantile tax
E) Versailles levy

Answer 2

B

Question 3

________ was tried by his subjects and executed for treason in the seventeenth century.

A) King James II
B) King William III
C) King Louis XIV
D) King Charles I
E) King Philip III

Answer 3

D

Question 4

The signing of the Peace of the Pyrenees in 1659 marked the end of Spanish domination and the beginning of ________ domination of Europe.

A) Dutch
B) English
C) French
D) Ottoman
E) Prussian

Question 5

The most significant diplomatic issue in seventeenth-century Europe was ________.

A) what would become of the Spanish empire after Charles II's death
B) the rise of Louis XIV and his absolutist tendencies
C) the decline of Spain's power on the European stage
D) continuing religious divisions between Protestants and Catholics
E) the dissolution of the Union of Kalmar

Question 6

________ serves as a useful counter-example to the growth of absolute monarchy in the seventeenth century.

A) England
B) Sweden
C) Russia
D) Spain
E) Poland

Question 7

In the seventeenth century, ________ was defined by its army, with some arguing it was better defined as an army with a state rather than a state with an army.

A) France
B) Brandenburg-Prussia
C) Bohemia
D) Denmark
E) Russia

Question 8

The main driver of the move towards absolutism was ________.

A) the need to limit the power of the nobility
B) a monarch's desire for gloire
C) open rebellion of subjects
D) the need to pay costs of waging war
E) the development of trade and industrialization

Question 9

Political life in the Dutch Republic witnessed a struggle for power between the Princes of Orange and the ________, who were members of the urban merchant classes.

A) Zeelanders
B) stadtholders
C) regents
D) Arminians
E) members of the States-General

Question 10

The rulers of Russia, Brandenburg-Prussia, and the Habsburg monarchy relied upon the cooperation of ________ in their efforts to enhance absolute monarchical power.

A) the nobility
B) the serfs
C) the ambitious bourgeoisie
D) fellow monarchs
E) trusted advisors

Question 11

Absolutism shares a number of characteristics with modern totalitarian regimes such as Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union under Stalin.

Question 12

The growth of royal power under absolutism was much more traditional than earlier historians have thought, in large part because it was not accompanied by a revolution in methods of government.

Question 13

Despite popular beliefs fostered by The Three Musketeers, Louis XIII and Cardinal Richelieu worked together.

Question 14

Elizabeth I left her successor James I a stable government with no underlying religious or political problems.

Question 15

Charles I's attempts to rule without Parliament during the "Eleven Years' Tyranny" were unprecedented and unconstitutional.

Question 16

The English Civil War was a conflict between the political and social elite of the kingdom, not a conflict between the rulers and the ruled.

Question 17

Gold and silver from the Americas obscured serious problems in Spain's economy, government, and society.

Question 18

Charles II of Spain was a competent and effective king who demonstrated the benefits of Habsburg inbreeding.

Question 19

The Dutch Republic was a haven of religious tolerance because authorities lacked the ability to enforce uniformity and persecute minorities.

Question 20

Holland was the richest and most influential province in the Dutch Republic and as a result, Dutch national politics were often determined by who controlled Holland.

Question 21

Gustavus Adolphus was unable to increase the power of the Swedish crown because he had agreed to a number of conditions that limited his power and increased noble influence.

Question 22

Absolute monarchy in Sweden and Denmark was arbitrarily imposed by their respective monarchs.

Question 23

In centralizing royal power, societies east of central Germany relied on the support and resources of ambitious bourgeoisie in order to counteract the power of the nobility.

Question 24

Following the Peace of Westphalia, the Habsburg dynasty focused its attention on its patrimonial lands of Austria, Bohemia, and Hungary.

Question 25

The Habsburg monarchy ruled over a diverse empire that was united only by its allegiance to a single religion and ruling dynasty.

Question 26

Peter the Great built a system of absolutism in Russia that required a motivated and energetic leadership in order to function effectively.

Question 27

All attempts at building a system of absolutism relied on a master plan.

Question 28

By 1700, the political ideal of Christendom was beginning to be replaced by sovereign states who paid allegiance to themselves rather than a concept of a united Christendom.

Question 29

Absolute monarchs may have had significant power, but there power was not unlimited, either in theory or practice.

Question 30

Louis XIV was content to rely on his personal sense of gloire and did not require any one else to acknowledge his dominance.

Question 31

What was absolutism?

Question 32

What was the crisis of the mid-seventeenth century?

Question 33

What restrained the power of an absolute monarch?

Question 34

How did Henry IV allow France to recover from the Wars of Religion?

Question 35

What goals guided Cardinal Richelieu's policies?

Question 36

What caused the Fronde?

Question 37

What role did Versailles play in Louis XIV's absolutism?

Question 38

What were the consequences of the revocation of the Edict of Nantes?

Question 39

How did Charles I alienate his subjects in England and Scotland?

Question 40

How did the Puritans reform English society during the Interregnum?

Question 41

How did Parliament limit William and Mary's power following the Glorious Revolution?

Question 42

Why did Spain decline during the seventeenth century?

Question 43

Gaspar de Guzman, Count-Duke of Olivares was Richelieu's contemporary, but while Richelieu succeeded, Olivares failed. Why did Olivares fail?

Question 44

What were the two competing forces in the politics of the Dutch Provinces?

Question 45

How did Gustavus Adolphus enable Sweden to become the dominant power in Europe?

Question 46

Why did absolutism not emerge in Poland?

Question 47

What role did the army play in Brandenburg-Prussia?

Question 48

How did Emperor Leopold I change the government of Hungary?

Question 49

How did Ivan the Terrible almost undo the achievements of his predecessors?

Question 50

How did Peter the Great attempt to implement his new vision of Russia?

Question 51

Absolutism was one of the key developments in the seventeenth century. How and why did absolutism develop in Europe during this period?

Question 52

How did European rulers respond to the crises of the mid-seventeenth century?

Question 53

Historians continue to debate the broader question of absolutism and what it marked in European history. Was absolutism an innovation, a myth, or a collaborative project?

Question 54

Absolutism and limited monarchy were two points on a spectrum. Using specific examples, explain this spectrum and discuss where the chosen examples fit on the spectrum.

Question 55

How did Louis XIV establish the pinnacle of royal absolutism in Europe?

Question 56

Absolutism was only one possible form of government in seventeenth-century Europe. A number of other kingdoms developed systems of limited monarchy. How did limited monarchy develop in the seventeenth century?

Question 57

How did the Habsburgs increase royal power and control in their dynastic empire?

Question 58

How did Russia become part of Europe?

Question 59

How did absolutism emerge in the Baltic states?

Question 60

How did Brandenburg-Prussia rise to prominence?