Absolutism corrupts the French absolutely
In 1685, Louis XIV revoked this 1598 edict, ending religious toleration for French Huguenots and forcing hundreds of thousands to flee the country.
What is the Edict of Nantes?
This Romanov tsar centralized Russian autocracy by forcing the boyars to shave their traditional long beards or pay a steep annual tax.
Who was Peter the Great?
This English King kicked off decades of tension with Parliament in 1603 by claiming that monarchs are "justly called gods" under Divine Right.
Who was James I?
This dominant economic and financial hub of the United Provinces became the undisputed capital of European trade and capitalism in the 17th century.
What is Amsterdam?
During the Interregnum, England was legally structured under this type of non-monarchical government, though it effectively functioned as a military dictatorship.
What is the Republic or Commonwealth?
This French monarch consolidated his absolute power by forcing nobles to reside at his lavish Palace of Versailles, effectively stripping them of local authority.
Who was Louis XIV? (or the Sun King)
Peter the Great fought a 21-year war against Sweden to secure ice-free ports on the Baltic Sea, a conflict known by this geographic name.
What is the Great Northern War?
Passed by the Long Parliament in 1641, this legislative act mandated that Parliament must be summoned at least once every three years.
What is the Triennial Act?
Rather than a centralized parliament, the Dutch Republic was a decentralized federation governed by this merchant-dominated assembly.
What is the States General?
In his Second Treatise of Government, he counter-argued that governments exist solely to protect the natural rights of life, liberty, and property.
Who is John Locke?
This political theory asserted that a monarch's authority comes directly from God and that the king is accountable only to Him.
What is the "Divine Right of Kings?”
Peter the Great built this magnificent new capital city on the Baltic coast, calling it his "Window on the West."
What is St. Petersburg?
This 1628 document forced upon Charles I demanded an end to arbitrary imprisonment, forced loans, and the billeting of troops in private homes
What is the Petition of Right?
The Dutch Republic pragmatically embraced this domestic social policy to attract skilled, persecuted minorities like French Huguenots and Sephardic Jews.
What is Religious Toleration?
This 1714 treaty brought an end to the War of the Spanish Succession and established the foundational geopolitical principle that no single crown should dominate Europe.
What is the Peace of Utrecht?
To centralize financial control and weaken regional noble influence, the French crown relied heavily on these royal officials who administered justice and collected taxes in the provinces.
What are Intendants?
This 18th-century female ruler is considered an "Enlightened Despot" for modernizing Russia's laws, though she crushed the Pugachev peasant rebellion to preserve noble support.
This highly un-Puritan court, used by Charles I to bypass common law and prosecute political dissenters, was permanently abolished by the Long Parliament.
What was the Court of Star Chamber?
Real domestic power in the Dutch provinces rested in the hands of this wealthy class of urban merchant oligarchs and civic officials.
Who were the Regents (or Regenten)?
To secure the throne, the new monarchs signed this 1689 document, which permanently banned kings from suspending laws or levying taxes without Parliament's consent.
What is the Bill of Rights?
This French finance minister championed state-controlled economic policy, or mercantilism, to fund Louis XIV's massive standing army and aggressive wars.
Jean Baptiste Colbert
To break the hereditary power of the boyars, Peter the Great established this 1722 system that tied a noble's social rank directly to their military or administrative service to the state.
What is the Table of Ranks?
This Puritan military leader rose to power during the English Civil War and eventually ruled England as "Lord Protector."
Who is Oliver Cromwell?
This specific corporate monopoly, established by the States-General in 1602, acted as a "state within a state" and fueled the Dutch Republic's global commercial empire with its own private army and navy.
What is the Dutch East India Company?
To build his legendary standing military, Frederick William I ("The Soldier King") struck a deal with this powerful class of traditional Prussian landed nobles.
Who were the Junker?