HIST 202: European Civilization, 1648-1945
Lecture 02 - Absolutism and the State. The rise of absolutism in Europe must be understood in the context of insecurity attending the religious wars of the first half of the seventeenth century, and the Thirty Years' War in particular. Faced with the unprecedented brutality and devastation of these conflicts, European nobles and landowners were increasingly willing to surrender their independence to the authority of a single, all-powerful monarch in return for guaranteed protection. Among the consequences of this consolidation of state power were the formation of large standing armies and bureaucratic systems, the curtailment of municipal privileges, and the birth of international law. (from oyc.yale.edu)
| Lecture 02 - Absolutism and the State |
| Time | Lecture Chapters |
| [00:00:00] | 1. The Rise of Absolutism in the Continental States of Europe |
| [00:11:26] | 2. Reaction against War: Absolutism as Reassertion of Order |
| [00:21:56] | 3. The Shape of Government in an Absolute State: Nobles and Bureaucrats |
| [00:26:50] | 4. The Arm of the Absolute State: The Rise of Large Standing Armies |
| [00:34:58] | 5. Representations of the Absolutism in Art and Literature |
| References |
| Lecture 2 - Absolutism and the State Instructor: Professor John Merriman. Transcript [html]. Audio [mp3]. Download Video [mov]. |
Go to the Course Home or watch other lectures: