Overheads Ch. 14: Religion, Warfare & Sovereignty, 1540-1660

1. “…I cannot avoid seeing that the world is threatened with the extremity of barbarism.” John Calvin, 1545

European acceptance of the interdependence of religion & politics: the idea of unity between “throne & altar.”

  • Protestantism was successful where political authorities supported reformers; Roman Catholicism continued dominant where rulers remained Catholic
  • People expected the state to empower true religion.
  • Rulers & peoples desired religious unity

Causes of Wars 1540-1660: religious dissention, desires for political unity, regionalism, dynasticism & nationalism.

Turbulence in Europe 1540-1660: Price Revolution, religious conflict & political instability.

Causes of the Price Revolution (Inflation):

  • Increasing population
  • Static food supply (lack of improvement in agricultural technology) & stagnate wages
  • Bullion from Spanish America

16th/17th century economic Situation in Europe:

  • Entrepreneurs/large-scale farmers profit
  • Laborers hurt
  • Increasing taxes destabilize states.
  • General stagnation in the 17th Century (prices stabilize & population growth slows, but wages remain low with respect to prices. Economy hurt by war & taxes; Black Death returns 1660s

Overheads Ch. 14: Religion, Warfare & Sovereignty, 1540-1660

2. “Thirteenth Rule. To be right in everything, we ought always to hold that the white which I see, is black, if the Hierarchical Church so decides it….” Ignatius of Loyola, 1548

Religious conflict: greatest single cause of war, 1540-1660:

  • German Wars: 1540s-1555
  • HRE Charles V tries to re-establish Catholic unity
  • 1555 Peace of Augsburg: the ruler chooses the religion (Catholic or Lutheran) of his territory
  • French Wars of Religion: 1562-1598
  • French Protestants are called Huguenots
  • Roman Catholic Guise v. Protestant Bourbons
  • St. Bartholomew Day Massacre 1572
  • King Henry IV of (Bourbon Dynasty) embraces Catholicism and issues 1598 Edict of Nantes, which guarantees limited religious freedom of worship (toleration) for Huguenots
  • Dutch Wars: 1566-1609
  • Religious tensions in the Netherlands; Philip II acts
  • Roman Catholic Duke of Alva and William of Orange who converts to Protestantism
  • 1609: recognition of an independent, Protestant northern Dutch Republic
  • 1588 England Defeats the Spanish Armada: nationalism and Protestant fervor strengthen the Tudor Dynasty.
  • The Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648) in German Territory:
  • Catholic Ferdinand v. Bohemians & Protestants
  • Gustavus Adolphus (Sweden) & Richelieu (France) aid Protestants
  • Peace of Westphalia 1648: France emerges as a continental power; Germany remains divided, & Calvinism is recognized in a new religious compromise.

Overheads Ch. 14: Religion, Warfare & Sovereignty, 1540-1660

3. “Where the interests of the state are concerned, God absolves actions which, if privately committed, would be a crime.” Cardinal Richelieu (1585-1642)

France emerged from the turbulent period 1540-1660 as the most powerful country on the European mainland, led by an increasingly powerful king.

Spain declined in the 17th century mostly because of economic reasons.

  • Spain lacked agricultural and mineral resources.
  • Elites uninterested in business; few new industries
  • Unfavorable balance of trade
  • After 1660, American silver declined & debts increased.
  • Costly military engagements (home and abroad)

The power of France and its monarch increased in the 17th century.

  • France was a wealthier country than Spain, and its monarchy more prestigious and effective.
  • Henry IV was a benevolent, popular and forward-minded king; Henry & his minister Sully encouraged economic growth.
  • Cardinal Richelieu (served Louis XIII) increased the power of the monarchy & French power in Europe by applying a doctrine of raison d’état.
  • The Fronde was a series of uncoordinated revolts 1648-1653 that occurred during the minority (Regency) of Louis XIV (1643-1715).

England emerged from Civil War (1642-1649) as a limited monarchy with limited toleration for all Protestants.

  • Stuart kings, James I & Charles I, tried to increase royal power at a time when England had significant money problems.
  • Parliament limited royal power with the 1628 Petition of Right
  • Charles I tried to rule without Parliament 1629-1640
  • 1640 Scottish Rebellion led to civil war between the King & his Cavaliers v. Parliament its supporters known as Roundheads.
  • Oliver Cromwell pressured Parliament to put the king on trial for treason. Charles I was beheaded Jan. 30, 1649.
  • England became a Commonwealth (1649-1652) and then a Protectorate (1653-1658).
  • Parliament proclaimed Charles II (1660-1685) king and restored the monarchy & Anglican Church. Charles accepted the Petition of Right.

Overheads Ch. 14: Religion, Warfare & Sovereignty, 1540-1660

4. “ ‘Either God is or he is not.’ ” –Pascal(1623-1662)

“Man’s greatness comes from knowing he is wretched: a tree does not know it is wretched.” Pascal

“…all our dignity consists in thought…Let us strive to think well.” Blaise Pascal

Uncertainty & the Turbulent Period 1540-1660:

  • Economic, Religious, Political & Intellectual

Responses to Uncertainty:

  • Witchcraft Hysteria 1580-1660
  • Fear of evil & low confidence in old remedies
  • Increasing confidence in the state as protector
  • Increasing power of the state over individuals
  • Montaigne: Skepticism & Moderation
  • Essays: combat fanaticism/religious intolerance
  • Blaise Pascal (1623-1662): moral philosopher mathematician & rationalist
  • Roman Catholic follower of Jansenism
  • Wrote: Pensées
  • Pascal’s Wager (Coin Toss): the rational person chooses faith in God & leads a good life
  • Bodin: theory of absolutism (unlimited monarchy) expressed in Six Books of the Commonwealth, 1576
  • Hobbes: theory of unrestrained state power expressed in Leviathan, 1651

Overheads Ch. 14: Religion, Warfare & Sovereignty, 1540-1660

5. “Men at some time are masters of their fates: the fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves, that we are the underlings.” Cassius in Julius Caesar

Literature during the period 1540-1660 (“iron century”):

  • Miguel de Cervantes (1547-1616): Don Quixote is a satire on a backward-looking Spanish nobility & idealism; it is also a celebration of optimism and human goodness.
  • Christopher Marlowe wrote about human limits, wretchedness & greatness: Tamburlaine and Dr. Faustus
  • Ben Johnson wrote dark comedies about the human condition: Volpone,Alchemist.
  • Shakespeare (1564-1616): plays, sonnets & long poems
  • Great expressive power, wit & psychological insight.
  • Romeo & Juliet, Hamlet, Macbeth, King Lear, The Tempest
  • Puritan Milton wrote Paradise Lost, a Biblical Epic

Visual Art during the “iron century:”

  • El Greco (c. 1541-1614), View of Toledo (Mannerism)
  • Bernini (1598-1680) (Baroque)
  • Colonnades leading to St. Peter’s in Rome
  • Ecstasy of St. Theresa
  • Altar columns of St. Peter’s in Rome
  • Spanish Baroque painter Velázquez: The Maids of Honor
  • Dutch Painter Brueghel (c. 1523-1569), The Massacre of the Innocents (Realism)
  • Dutch Baroque Painter Rubens: Horrors of War
  • Dutch Rembrandt (1606-1669) (Realism & Baroque)
  • Self-Portrait
  • Aristotle Contemplating the Bust of Homer
  • Dutch Painter Judith Leyster (1609-1660), Self-Portrait