AP EUROPEAN HISTORY: THE BEGINNING OF MODERN EUROPE

WORLD HISTORY NOTES 34
THE BENEVOLENT DESPOTS OF EUROPE

- The Hapsburgs
- ruled Austria, but also were rulers of the Holy Roman Empire
- but after religious strife between Catholics and Protestants ended
grew less interested in HRE in Germany
- instead tried to build up a strong empire by uniting Austria & Bohemia
- by 1700 Vienna became capital city of Austrian empire
- as it grew, the rulers became stronger
- their palace rivaled Versailles
- one of greatest rulers was Maria Theresa
- she helped make Austrian empire more powerful
- by uniting the many different peoples
- by 1780 she had made Austrian Empire one of strongest nations in Europe
- Austria’s ruler had absolute or complete power
- Maria Theresa’s son, Joseph II, tried to use that power to improve life
- an absolute ruler who tries to help people is called a benevolent despot
- he gave Protestant and Jews equal rights with Catholics
- tried to make the many different people of Austria feel included
- made German the official language of Austrian Empire
- replaced old laws with new set that were more modern
- freed the serfs in Austria
- they could now own land, and have rights
- forced nobles to pay their share of taxes
- many nobles, the church and others disagreed with the changes
- before he died in 1790, he was forced to end most of them

- The Hohenzollerns
- With Hapsburgs out of Germany, the Prussians ruled
- led by Hohenzollern family
- between 1600 and 1700 built up Prussia’s power
- Frederick William became king in 1640
- took power away from nobles
- strengthened the government
- built up the Prussian army
- rulers who followed Frederick continued his plan
- Prussia became a well organized nation
- always prepared to fight a war
- around 100 years later, Frederick the Great ruled Prussia
- he conquered a good deal of land increasing Prussia
- got nickname from his success as a benevolent despot
- improved Prussian in many ways
- opened elementary schools
- set up trade schools for older children
- allowed Prussians freedom to worship as the chose
- built canals and encouraged trade with other nations
- encouraged creation of new industries
- so he ruled well
- but he did not free Prussian serfs
- did not want to upset Prussian nobles
- the Spanish Bourbons
- during 1600's Spain lost its place as most powerful nation in Europe
- after 1700's ruled by same family as in France
- like the French rulers, tried to make gov’t stronger
- by cutting power of the nobles
- and ruling as absolute monarchs/despots
- but benevolent ones
- allowed Protestants to have religious freedoms
- encourage trade and industry
- wrote new modern laws
- but Spanish Bourbons would never make Spain a powerful nation again

WORLD HISTORY NOTES 35
THE RUSSIANS

- Russia had been ruled by Mongols until late 1400's
- when Ivan the Great, Grand Duke of Moscow freed most of it
- in 1500's his grandson, Ivan the Terrible became czar
- Russian word for Caesar or emperor
- czars were very powerful
- controlled both government and church
- most also controlled the nobility
- but they did not use their power to help the Russian people
- during 1500-1600's, passed laws forcing farmers to become serfs
- worked on their lords estates
- by mid-1600's most farmers were serfs for life
- for them, life sucked
- but not all farmers became serfs
- some lived on plains of Russia
- where they hunted and traded
- they were famous for their equestrian abilities
- which helped them be able to move from place to place
- they were called Cossacks
- during 1600-1700's Russia took over much land from Asia
- Cossacks moved into these frontiers
- some moved near the Black Sea
- others eastward to Siberia
- as late as 1600's, Russian life more like Asia than Europe
- they belonged to Greek Orthodox Church, not Roman Catholic
- the people included mainly small class of rich nobles
- and large class of poor serfs/farmers
- very little to no middle class of merchants
- they traded more with Asia than with Europe
- because Russian did not have seaports in Europe
- The Romanov Family
- 1689 Peter the Great became czar
- he believed Russia must learn more about western Europe
- or Russia will never develop into a modern nation
- believed Russia must increase trade with the west
- he took land from the Turkish Empire Black Sea port of Azov
- took some land from Sweden along the Baltic coast
- now Russia had western Seaports
- Peter tried to build up army and navy like Western counterparts
- replaced Russian nobles with government officials
- just like in the west
- encouraged Russians to set up industries like the west
- opened schools to teach European science
- moved the capital from Moscow to St. Petersburg
- his plan to “westernize” Russia did not sit well with the nobles
- when he died in 1725, they regained power
- in 1762 Catherine the Great became ruler
- she continued Peter’s plans
- improved local government
- limited the powers of the nobles
- encouraged spread of European science and learning
- increased trade with Europe
- by forcing Turks to allow ships to sail from Black Sea to
Mediterranean
- by the time she died in 1796, Russia had taken over eastern Poland
- Russian nation now included part of central Europe
- but even then, few European ideas spread into Russia
- the few who learned were only merchant traders and nobles
- most Russians remained serfs on large estates

WORLD HISTORY NOTES 36
THE BIRTH OF MODERN SCIENCE

- During the late middle ages, scientists studied ideas of Greek and Arab scientists
- by 1500's European scientists beginning to make new discoveries
- astronomy
- used to believe that earth was at center of universe
- geocentric theory
- in 1540's Copernicus discovered earth/planets revolved around the sun
- called it the Copernicus or Copernican theory
- heliocentric theory
- this could not be proven until invention of telescope in early 1600's
- primarily through the works of new astronomers
- Galileo Galilei of Italy
- Tycho Brahe of Denmark
- Johann Kepler of Germany
- there were also discoveries in medicine
- 1543 Vesalius wrote a book about anatomy
-it corrected many ideas about the human body
- later the English doctor William Harvey discovered blood flows through veins
- there was also progress in mathematics
- before end of 1500's, Dutch citizen Simon Stevin invented decimal system
- used to find correct weights and measures of objects
- in 1600's, Rene Descartes united algebra and geometry
- created new subject in math called analytic geometry
- used by astronomers to calculate distances between stars and planets
- in late 1600's, Wilhelm Leibnitz of Germany and Isaac Newton of England
- developed a math system called calculus
- made it possible for engineering to develop
- Galileo also discovered the law of falling bodies
- two objects of different size/weight dropped from same height would fall to the
ground at the same speed
- this law became one of the laws or main ideas of physics
- science of matter and energy
-Newton also discovered the law of gravity
- all objects tend to attract or pull each other toward each other
- made easier to understand by the legend of the falling apple
- this discovery helped to explain how planets and stars moved in space
- and why the earth and other planets move around the sun, not each other
- during 1600-1700's, new discoveries about electricity
- 1600, Englishman William Gilbert helped identify it
- 1752 Benjamin Franklin proved lightening was form of electricity
- 1800, Allesandro Volta of Italy invented the battery
- making it possible to do experiments in a lab using electricity
- Modern chemistry was developed
- Robert Boyle of England
- the “father of modern chemistry”
- scientists discovered new elements
- basic kinds of matter
- gasses in the air, liquids, etc.
- Joseph Priestly of England was first to identify oxygen
- most people thought fire burned because of a magic substance
- but in 1700's Frenchman Antoine Lavoisier proved fire needed oxygen

WORLD HISTORY NOTES 37
YEARS OF REVOLUTION AND CHANGE

- Great Britain’s first successful colony in N. America, Jamestown, VA
- started in 1607
- other colonies in 1600's and 1700's
- with Georgia in 1732, there were 13 colonies along Atlantic coast
- American colonists given more freedom than any other European colonies
- each had own legislature
- divided into governor’s council and the assembly
- assembly elected by voters in colony
- had very important power
- the power to tax
- colonies also controlled own governments
- in towns they usually chose own judges, police and jury members
- in New England, local matters discussed at town meetings
- attended by all townspeople
- here they made own decisions over local matters
- most colonies allowed religious freedom
- many Quakers, Jews, Catholics, and Protestants came for this freedom
- built own churches
- learned to live with each other in peace and harmony
- in spite of different beliefs
- others came to make a better living
- in New England, many became merchants, shipbuilders
- some owned fishing fleets
- in Middle Colonies (NY,NJ,PA,DE)
- from trade, industries and farming
- In Southern Colonies (VA, MD,NC,SC,GA)
- tobacco and rice plantations (large farms)
- not all new setters became rich
- but most better off than where they came from
- many without jobs or lived hard lives
- in American colonies, easy to buy land, settle as a farmer, and be a good citizen
- During French & Indian War (1754-1763) GB spent a lot of money for troops/supplies
- to help colonists defeat French forces
- after the war, GB kept soldiers in colonies
- to protect colonists from Indian attack
- but in order to support this, GB needed more money
- 1760 GB government raised money by taxing the colonists
- but colonists said they could protect themselves from Indians
- besides, GB had no right to tax colonies
- only elected assemblies could
- and only if the people approved
- taxes did not help colonists, only GB
- taxation without representation
- Parliament continued to try and tax colonists
- When they sent soldiers to force colonists to pay, end of “good guy”
- colonists decided time to declare independence
- Declaration of Independence
- written by Thomas Jefferson
- approved July 7, 1776
- United States born!
- took 8 years for colonists to win American Revolution
- France, defeated in French/Indian war, helped colonists
- sent army leaders, ships, and lots of money
- Spain and Netherlands also helped
- by 1783, GB defeated
- U.S. now a democracy

WORLD HISTORY NOTES 38
REVOLUTION IN LATIN AMERICA

- Spanish colonies helped establish New World
- but not allowed to govern themselves
- mostly by Spanish officials
- highest was Viceroys
- chosen by rulers of Spain
- took orders from the monarch’s council
- Spain kept strict control over trade in colonies
- expected them to send gold, silver, and farm products to Spain
- also expected to buy all manufactured goods from Spain
- machine made products
- tools, furniture, etc.
- these rules helped make Spain a powerful rich nation
- but also held back growth of the colonies
- colonies forced to accept Spain’s rule for many years.
- when 13 colonies won in U.S., they began their try for freedom and independence
-1808 Napoleon Bonaparte conquered most of Spain
- now Spain too weak to control colonies
- next few years, most Spanish colonies declared independence
- one of early wars for independence broke out in 1810 in Venezuela
- led by Francisco Miranda
- Venezuela tried to set up own government
- but Spain able to defeat revolt
- however by 1826, Simon Bolivar helped win independence for several colonies
- Venezuela, Columbia, Bolivia, Ecuador
- meanwhile, Argentina, Chile and Peru gained their independence
- led by Jose de San Martin and Bernardo O’Higgins
- by 1822, Brazil won independence from Portugal
- Mexico won independence in 1821
- 1804 Haiti won independence from France
- but Spain” islands in West Indies remained with Spain, Cuba and Puerto Rico
- with Latin American freedom, democratic governments did not develop right away
- Spain and Portugal did not allow the colonists practice in governing themselves
- trade and industry had been held back
- as result, people too poor, uneducated, unable to set up democratic gov’t
- for this reason, most countries in Latin America accepted strong military rulers
- army generals, etc.
- lasted most of the 1800's
- Spain wanted colonies back
- But US and GB warned them to keep out of American affairs
- President Monroe came up with the Monroe Doctrine
- any move to colonize the Western Hemisphere is considered an
attack on the United States
- so Spain gave up
- during late 1800's-early 1900's some European nations loaned money to Latin America
- sometimes Latin American unable to pay these loans back
- European warships would then try to force nations to pay money owed
- 1904 Theodore Roosevelt decided to prevent this from happening
- his philosophy as leader of the most powerful nation in the world
- “Speak softly, but carry a big stick.”
- sent in US troops to protect these Latin American nations
- many Latin Americans did not agree with this program
- in fact many hated U.S.
- they had taken control of Panama Canal Zone in 1903
- but US continued to send troops
- to “protect American interests”