a ruler that has unlimited power and authority over his or her people.

the belief that a ruler's authority comes directly from God.

King of Spain (as Charles I); Holy Roman emperor (as Charles V) from 1519-1558; his opposition to the Protestant Reformation embroiled Spain in a series of wars throughout his reign.

an agreement between states in the Holy Roman Empire that gave each German prince the right to decide whether his state would be Catholic or Protestant (1555)

King of Spain (1556-1598), Naples from (1554-15598), and Portugal (1580-1598); he led Roman Catholic efforts to recover parts of Europe from Protestantism. He was defeated by England and the Netherlands.

Greek painter in Spain; chiefly religious in nature, his works express the spirit of the Counter, or Catholic, Reformation.

Spanish painter; he painted in a realistic style but also worked in impressionism towards the end of his career.

Spanish novelist, dramatist, and poet; he wrote "Don Quixote de la Mancha"

Mexican nun and poet; she wrote poetry, prose, and plays.

a great fleet (130 ships and 20,000 men) assembled by Spain in 1588 for an invasion of England.

a French Protestant

August 24, 1572; a massacre of 6,000 to 8,000 Hugeunots in Paris authorized by King Charles IX and his mother Catherine de Medici.

King of France from 1553-1610; he issued the Edict of Nantes (1598), which permitted Protestant worship, in order to restore peace to France.

a declaration of French king Henry IV in which he promised that Protestants could live peacefully in France and were free to establish houses of worship in selected French cities (1598).

King of France from 1610-1643; a relatively weak ruler, he let Cardinal Richelieu, his chief minister, hold great sway during his reign.

French minister and chief minister of King Louis XIII; he wanted to strengthen the monarchy and fought against Huguenot resistance to the Catholic monarchy.

King of France from 1643-1715; known as the Sun King, he built the palace at Versailles as a means to consolidate absolute power; a series of wars at the end of his long reign drained France's wealth.

war fought over the Spanish throne; Louis XIV wanted it for his son and fought a war against the Dutch, English, and the Holy Roman Empire to gain the throne for France (1701-1713).

treaty that ended the War of Spanish Succession; it gave the throne to Louis XIV's grandson but also stated that France and Spain would never be ruled by the same monarch. (1713)

English Protestants of the late 1500s and most of the 1600s who wanted to "purify" the Church of England through reforms.

King of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 1625-1649; his conflict with Parliament started the English Civil War. He was beheaded in 1649.

supporters of government by monarch; used as a name for supporters of England's King Charles I.

Lord Protector of England; in 1642 he led Parliament's forces in deposing King Charles I; he became ruler of England in 1653.

a republican government based on the common good of all the people.

the period of the reign of Charles II in England when the monarchy was restored after the collapse of Oliver Cromwell's government; there was also a rebirth of English culture during this time.

King of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 1660-1685 and eldest son of King Charles I; he was asked by Parliament to rule England after the death of Oliver Cromwell.

King William III (1650-1702) and Queen Mary II (1662-1694), rulers of Great Britain who replaced King James II as a result of the Glorious Revolution.

a nonviolent revolution in which leaders of Britain's Parliament invited Mary, daughter of King James II, and her husband, the Dutch ruler WIlliam of Orange, to replace King James II.

a monarchy limited by certain laws.

wealthy Russian landowners.

"caesar"; title taken by the ruler of Russia

Grand duke of Russia and the first Russian ruler to assume the title of czar; also known as Ivan the terrible. He instituted a campaign of terror against disfavored boyars. He killed his son, leaving no heir to the throne.

Czar of Russia from 1682-1725; he transformed Russia into a modern state. He was an absolute monarch who brought the ways of Western Europe to Russia and made various reforms.

the adoption of the culture and ideas of Western society; namely Europe and America

Czarina of Russia from 1762-1796; ruling with absolute power, she introduced a number of reforms that extended Peter the Great's policy of "westernization".

a conflict in Europe that began in Prague as a Protestant rebellion against the Holy Roman Empire; fought over religion and power among ruling dynasties. (1618-1648)

treaty ending the Thirty Years' War; it reduced the power of the Holy Roman Emperor, it extended religious toleration to Protestants and Catholics within most of the empire. (1648)

Austrian archduchess, queen of Bohemia and Hungary from 1740-1780; she took the throne after the War of the Austrian Succession. She was one of the most beloved monarchs in the history of Austria.

King of Prussia from 1740-1786; through victories in a series of wars with Austria, Prussia's main rival for dominance among the German states, Frederick made Prussia a major European power in the late 1700s