Unit 2: Conflict and Empire in the 1600s and 1700s
Nations throughout the world experienced profound military and political transformations over the course of the 17th century. Gunpowder technology gradually made its way from Asia through the Middle East to Europe between the 1300s and the 1600s. By the beginning of the 17th century, Europeans were beginning to perfect cannon technology and experiment with handheld firearms. These new military technologies altered warfare across Europe and the Middle East, and they contributed to the development of powerful, centralized states. Nations such as France, Russia, and Japan also witnessed the emergence of absolutist forms of government. Powerful kings and emperors declared themselves to be agents of God and used the military and political power at their disposal to demand total obedience from the lesser nobility and the peasantry of their kingdoms.
In this unit, we will examine the development of absolutism in Europe and Asia and compare it with other forms of government. We will also look at the growing conflicts between European states over colonial possessions and resources throughout the world and explore how these conflicts altered the balance of European power in the 1600s and 1700s.
Completing this unit should take you approximately 10 hours.
Upon successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
- identify and analyze the growth of global trade networks in the 17th and 18th centuries, and assess the importance of the political, economic, cultural, and technological exchange along these routes; and
- describe the status of colonies in the European empires of the 17th and 18th centuries, and identify how European conflicts affected political and economic life in the colonies.
2.1: Information Exchange and Changing Political Systems
Read Chapters 30–32 on pages 529–680. As you read these chapters, focus your attention on the sections that discuss the Near East, Europe, the Indian Subcontinent, and the Americas.
These chapters cover the 16th through the 18th centuries (1501–1800). We will examine the development of powerful monarchical regimes in Europe during these centuries.
Read Chapter 8 and 9 on pages 281–334. Chapter 8 focuses on the rise of absolutist monarchies in Europe during the 17th and 18th centuries. The first section of Chapter 9 addresses European colonization and trade during the same time period.
2.2: Absolutist Political Systems
2.2.1: Europe
Read this article. This website promotes the knowledge and shared information of history, by hosting articles and other materials written by professors around the world.
Read this primary-source document.
In this 1697 treatise, French lawyer Jean Domat justified absolute monarchical rule as an instrument of God's will. Domat argued that kings and princes derive all their power from God and consequently deserve absolute loyalty and obedience from their subjects. He also asserted, however, that monarchs must always act justly and provide for the welfare of their subjects, even though they are accountable to no one but God alone.
2.2.2: Middle East and Asia
2.2.3: Challenges to Absolutism
Read this article, which focuses on the causes of the English Civil War and consequences of the conflict for the English monarchy.
Read this article, which presents a number of historical criticisms of absolutism.
2.3: Colonial Conflicts
2.3.1: Warfare in the Americas
Read this article. As you read, consider the causes of these conflicts and the wars' consequences for the colonial powers and the colonists in the Americas.
2.3.2: Growing Economic Power of Northern Europe
Unit 2 Assessment
Review each chapter overview, and then take the 12 question "self-check" multiple-choice quiz for each chapter to assess your understanding of the subjects covered in Unit 2.