EUROPE
Absolutism & Constitutionalism
Peter The Great
Peter the Great reigned over Russia from 1689 to 1725. Peter undertook reforms to make Russia a great nation again. He initiated a series of changes that affected all areas of Russian life, and overcame opposition from the country's medieval aristocracy. Peter the Great created a strong navy and reorganized his army according to Western standards, administered greater control of the Orthodox Church, and introduced new administrative and territorial divisions of the country. He reorganized the government and created a senate that regulated all branches of administration. Peter the Great applied the bureacratic system of Western European monarchs to central and local governments to secure his rule. During Peter's reign, both Westerners and Western ideas flowed into Russia for the first time.
For Peter the Great of Russia, modernization meant westernization. Ideas and people from the West flowed into Russia. Peter required men to shave their beards and they had to wear Western clothing. He ordered them to attend parties where young men and women could mix freely. The creation of a more modern army and state introduced much that was new and Western to Russia. Catherine II, or Catherine the Great, continued Peter the Great's reforms by further increasing central control of provinces. She imported Western architects, sculptures, musicians, and intellectuals. Peter the Great Westernized the Russian army, and Catherine the Great Westernized the thinking of the Russian nobility.
Louis XIV
During Jean-Baptiste Colbert’s tenure as controller general, Louis XIV, the Sun God, was able to pursue his goals without massive tax increases and without creating a stream of new offices. Jean-Baptiste Colbert was a financial genius whose central principle was that the wealth and economy of France should serve the state. He applied mercantilist policies to France. To accumulate wealth, a country always had to sell more goods abroad that it bought. He decreased the purchase of goods outside France by insisting the French industry produce everything needed by the French people. He increased exports by supporting old industries and creating new ones, focusing especially on textiles, the most important sector of the economy. He enacted new production regulations, created guilds to boost quality standards, and encouraged foreign craftsmen to immigrate to France. He abolished many domestic tariffs and raised tariffs on foreign products to encourage the purchase of French goods.
Joseph II of Austria
Jospeh II of Austria ruled from 1780 to 1790, and managed to introduce major reforms. Joseph was called an enlightened despot. He adhered to the Enlightenment tenet that the state's determination of commonwealth was based upon reason. He moved forward with his country rapidly when he came to throne. Joseph controlled the established Catholic church even more closey, attempting to ensure that it produced better citizens. He granted civic rights and religious tolerance to Protestants and Jews, which was viewed as a radical innovation. Joseph even abolished serfdom and decreed that all peasant labor obligations be converted to cash payments. He aspired to increase the power and efficiency of the state by placing all of his subjects in the realm under monarchial rule.
Parliament
Manymonarchs tried to establish the same conept such as absolutism in England, though it would not work becuase of the Parliament. The parliament is the highest legislature, consisting of the sovereign, the House of Lords, and the House of Commons. The kings that were in opposition to the Parliament, lost badly, for example one of the kings was the first king to be beheaded. The Glorious Revolution and the English civil war eliminated all chances of absolute monarchy and separated England from the majority of Europe at the time because England had the Parliament and it did not want the monarch having complete power, and therefore it protected the power of those who were not in good with the royalty. When a new king arose that was not trying to make England an absolutist state, he made the English Bill of Rights, further giving up more of his power as the Monarch, and by doing so gave up all chances for an Absolute monarch to rule.
English Civil War & Glorious Revolution
The English Civil War tested wether sovereignty in England was to reside in the king or in parliament. The civil war was a series of armed conflicts and political disputes between the Parliamentarians and the Royalists. The Parliamentarians won, and the monarchy that ruled England was dissolved. The English call the events of 1688 to 1689 the Glorious Revolution. This event replaced one king with another without any blood being shed. It also identified the destruction of the idea of divine-right monarchy. The Glorious Revolution abolished absolutism and established a consitutional monarchy in which Parliament had basic sovereignty over the king; the king now acted as a figurehead with limited power. It led to forming of the English Bill of Rights.
Dutch Republic
The Dutch Republic rejected the rule of monarchs, so they developed a republic. The Dutch had created an oligarchy made up of rich businessmen. They were called regents, and they handled domestic affairs.
Maria Theresa was the Holy Roman Empress. She was from the Habsburg Dynasty from 1740 to 1780. She was quickly accepted as empress by the Austrian duchies, Bohemia, Netherlands, and Hungary, but European Powers resisted her succession. They were previously agreed to her father’s Pragmatic Sanction. So under Frederick II, they formed a coalition against her. Prussia rose to power once more after they resettled from the plague of 1709.
HRE and Their Daddy Issues
When the Holy Roman Empire was divided with the Peace of Westphalia because it lost a lot of its territory. The Holy Roman Empire would take a little while to recuperate and during that time, Prussia became a main power. The Frederick WIlliam I "the Soldier's' King" eliminated those pesky representative governments that represented the people and opposed the king. Laws that recruited peasants unwillingly to the army and disciplined them and made them great, observers were in awe at the greatness and size of his armies. Maria-Theresa centralized Austria with more taxes on the nobles and tried to lessen the oppression of the nobles.
Louis XIV
Louis XIV loved to conquer, and if he were to have control of both France and Spain (he did not thanks to the War of Spanish Succession) he would have planned to take over other European states and the other European states obviously did not want that, the two main European powers joining? That would be your worst nightmare. The fearful countries banded together, not for religious reasons like usual, but for political reasons. They banded together and they made sure that someone of French and Spanish heritage did not unite the two thrones and made especially sure no one of Louis XIV's bloodline was in control of Spain.
Britain V. France
Historically, England and France had hated one another for a very, very long time, it's only natural that they go to war. England was Protestant, France was Catholic, could it be anymore obvious? England has been in several wars against France, but England ultimately emerged as the greater power. England won because of several factors, partially because it was a little more advanced at the time that other European countries (Britain was the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution). England was also less oppressive of the lower classes (and more constitutional) in the time during the 17th century, and to some degree, the people in England decided what happened within the government (such as the deciding to behead Charles I).
Trade Comp.
Just like how companies and countries are today, they are always in competition to be the best and to be more powerful. If you see Spain selling more and doing better than you are, then you feel the need to step up and be the best (especially because you are European). If you want to dominate the trade and become most successful in that respect, you have to push people out of the way and you have to stomp on them to let them know you are the boss, now everyone wanted to be the boss so they were always fighting with one another, France even made laws taxing foreign (including English) goods so it could have a better economy, and since these two European were governed in many different ways, it made matters worse. England and France always fought because of the expansion of their colonies as well, England wanted more of itself to be in the same areas of North America as France did. The expansion of colonies ties in with economic reasons because the more land you claim and the more goods you are selling to your colonies, the better.