Phillip II and Empire Division

• Charles V was a devout Catholic who opposed Muslims and Lutherans.
• Charles V divided his immense empire and retired to a monastery.

Dividing the Empire

• Charles V left Austria and the Holy Roman Empire to his brother Ferdinand.
• Charles V's son, Phillip II, inherited Spain, the Spanish Netherlands, and the American Colonies.

Phillip II's Empire

• Phillip II seized the Portuguese kingdom due to being the king's nephew.
• Portugal had strongholds in Africa, India, and the East Indies.
• In 1580, the king of Portugal died without an heir.
• Spain supported a large army of 50,000 soldiers, due to having an empire that circled the globe and its wealth.

Defender of Catholicism

• Europe was experiencing religious wars caused by the Reformation when Philip assumed the throne.
• In 1571, the pope called on all Catholic princes to take up arms against the Ottoman Empire.
• Spanish and Venetian ships defeated a large Ottoman fleet in a battle near Lepanto.
• In 1588, Philip launched the Spanish Armada to punish Protestant England and Queen Elizabeth I.
• The Spanish fleet was defeated, which seriously weakened Spain.
• Philip II sent about 130 ships carrying 19,000 soldiers to the English Channel in the summer of 1588.
• English warships outmaneuvered the Spanish vessels and bombarded the Armada with heavier long-range cannons.

Spanish Empire Weakens

• Even with the loss of the war, Spain was able to maintain its power because of its wealth which also caused long-term economic problems.
• Severe inflation, which is a decline in the value of money accompanied by a rise in the prices of goods and services, was present.
• Inflation in Spain had two main causes.
• Spain's population was growing, thus, as more people demanded food and other goods, merchants were able to raise prices.
• As silver bullion flooded the market, its value dropped, therefore, people needed more silver to buy things.
• Spain lost many valuable artisans and businesspeople with different religions.
• Spain's nobles did not have to pay taxes, this tax burden fell on the lower classes which prevented them from starting their own businesses.
• Spain never developed a middle class due to this preventing them from accumulating enough wealth to start businesses.
• Spaniards bought many of the things they needed from France, England, and the Netherlands.
• Spain's great wealth flowed into the pockets of foreigners, who were mostly Spain's enemies.
• Spanish kings borrowed money from German and Italian bankers to finance their wars.
• Money was sent abroad to repay debts when shiploads of silver came in.

The Dutch Revolt

• Angry Protestant mobs swept through Catholic churches in 1566, due to taxes and persecution of Prostantism.
• The Dutch continued to fight the Spanish for another 11 years, eventually they united and declared their independence.

Absolutism in Europe

• Even though Phillip II lost his Dutch possessions, he tried to control every aspect of his empire's affairs.
• Many European monarchs would claim the authority to rule without limits on their power during the next few centuries.
• Absolute monarchs, kings or queens who held all of the power within their states' boundaries, sought to control every aspect of society.

Divine Right

• Absolute monarchs believed in divine right.
• Divine right is the idea that God created the monarchy and the monarch acted as God's representative on Earth.
• An absolute monarch answered only to God, not to his or her subjects.

Growing Power

• The decline of feudalism, the rise of cities, and the growth of national kingdoms all helped centralize authority which was supported by middle classes.
• Monarchs grew increasingly powerful as Europe emerged from the Middle Ages.

Crises Lead to Absolutism

• The 17th century was a period of great upheaval in Europe.
• Religious and territorial conflicts between states led to almost continuous warfare.
• Governments built huge armies and levied even heavier taxes on an already suffering population.
• These pressures brought about widespread unrest and sometimes peasants revolted.
• Monarchs tried to impose order by increasing their own power in response to these crises.
• Absolute rulers regulated everything from religious worship to social gatherings.
• Absolute rulers created new government bureaucracies to control their countries' economic life.
• Absolute rulers' goal was to free themselves from the limitations imposed by the nobility and representative bodies such as Parliament.
• They could only rule absolutely with such freedom.