Question 1

What was the Fronde, what were its goals, why was it unsuccessful, and what were its consequences?

Accepted Answer

Answer would ideally include the following. When the five-year-old Louis XIV became king in 1643, his mother, Anne of Austria, and her adviser, Cardinal Mazarin, ruled in his name. After five years under this regency, opponents of Mazarin gave him a charter of demands that would have given more power to France's parlements, or local high courts; Mazarin responded by arresting the leaders of the parlements. His response sparked the revolts that came to be known as the Fronde. When Mazarin and Anne made it clear that they would prefer to reach a compromise rather than risk civil war, aristocrats and local officials saw this as an opportunity to regain some of the power they had lost to the monarchy when the French Wars of Religion ended in 1598. However, the Fronde did not attain its goals because the government's opponents were too self-interested to put aside their differences long enough to make the monarchy capitulate and share power with them. In the long run, the Fronde helped to convince Louis XIV that a stronger monarchy was needed to prevent such revolts in the future.

Question 2

What was the doctrine of divine right as expressed by Bishop Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet, and how did it fit in with Louis XIV's political goals?

Accepted Answer

Answer would ideally include the following. Bossuet believed that kings were God's surrogates on earth and that they were to act as fathers to their people, just as God was the father of humankind. He further stated that the first idea of power that existed was paternal power: kings were modeled on fathers, who had a duty to correct and educate their children. This approach fit in with Louis's political goals because it made clear that the king's power was not only divinely inspired but also natural, suggesting that the monarch's decisions could not be questioned, only obeyed.

Question 3

Why did Louis XIV revoke the Edict of Nantes in 1685, and what impact did this have on international politics?

Accepted Answer

Answer would ideally include the following. Louis XIV believed that the toleration embodied in the edict was a temporary measure, never intended to remain in force forever. He further believed that it was his duty to reconvert the Huguenots protected by the edict and to enforce Catholic orthodoxy, which he attempted to do by closing all Protestant churches, banning any public Protestant activities, and exiling thousands who refused to convert. This intolerance shocked Europe's Protestant countries, and they used this religious oppression as justification for their participation in wars against Louis XIV.

Question 4

In what ways was the government of Oliver Cromwell even more absolutist than that of Charles I?

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Question 5

Why can the English Bill of Rights be seen as the culmination of fifty years of parliamentary struggle for increased constitutionalism?

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Question 6

How did the prosperity of the Dutch Republic affect women and their position in society?

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Question 7

What was the significance of Barbados's slave code of 1661?

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Question 8

How did Austria's "liberation" of Hungary hasten the decline of Ottoman influence in Europe?

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Question 9

What factors contributed to the spread of the "new science" in the West?

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Question 10

How and why were women significant in the cultivation of manners and the promotion of the arts?

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Question 11

Using the examples of Louis XIV of France, Frederick William of Brandenburg-Prussia, and Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I, discuss the principles of European absolutism. How were these monarchies similar, and in what ways did they differ?

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Question 12

While European rulers were embracing absolutism in the late seventeenth century, how did people in their American colonies react to the attendant economic, racial, political, and social changes?

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Question 13

Compare the English civil war and its aftermath to Louis XIV's persecution of the Jansenists and his revocation of the Edict of Nantes. To what extent were these conflicts actually about religious belief? Explain how religious questions could also become debates about the nature of sovereign power, obedience, and loyalty; draw examples from both England and France.

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Question 14

Outline the basic political theories of Thomas Hobbes and John Locke. To what degree did they agree about the basis of political authority? How did their visions of the best form of political authority differ?

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Question 15

What role did women of the upper classes play in society during the seventeenth century? Were women granted more or fewer freedoms during this time? How was this received by others in society?

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Question 16

Seventeenth-century absolutism was a political response to which of the following French developments?

Accepted Answer

The Fronde revolts (1648-1653) were a series of civil wars in France that reflected deep-seated social, fiscal, and political discontent. The chaos and fear of disorder they generated led to a desire for a strong, centralized authority to restore stability, which contributed to the development and acceptance of absolutism as embodied by Louis XIV.

Question 17

When he reportedly uttered the phrase "L'état, c'est moi" ("I am the state"), Louis XIV demonstrated his attachment to what form of rule?

Accepted Answer

Louis XIV's statement "L'état, c'est moi" reflects his belief in absolutism, where the monarch holds supreme authority, centralized and unrestricted by laws or opposition.

Question 18

The series of revolts in France known as the Fronde (1648-1653) broke out when Cardinal Mazarin

Accepted Answer

The Fronde revolts in France were partly triggered by Cardinal Mazarin's arrest of his opponents who were demanding that the parlements (sovereign courts) be given the right to approve new taxes. This move was seen as an infringement on the rights and privileges of the French nobility and judiciary, leading to widespread unrest.

Question 19

What was one of Louis XIV's first goals when he assumed direct control as king of France?

Accepted Answer

One of Louis XIV's primary objectives upon taking direct control was to consolidate power and assert his authority over the nobility, who had previously enjoyed significant autonomy and had been a source of rebellion and disorder. By reining in the nobles, he aimed to strengthen the central authority of the monarchy.

Question 20

Why did Louis XIV place such immense importance on court ritual at the palace of Versailles?

Accepted Answer

After his experiences with the Fronde, a series of civil wars in France, Louis XIV aimed to consolidate his power and ensure the loyalty of his nobility. By engaging them in elaborate court rituals at Versailles, he effectively kept them under his surveillance and control, reducing their ability to participate in or lead rebellions. This strategy helped to domesticate the warrior nobles and secure his reign.

Quiz 16: Absolutism, Constitutionalism, and the Search for Order, 1640-1700