16th & 17th Century European History: Key Figures & Events
Characters
Juan Padilla:
He was a Castilian gentleman and revolutionary, known for his involvement in the War of the Communities of Castile.
Antonio Perez:
He was the secretary of Philip II of Spain, son of Gonzalo Pérez (Secretary of Charles I). His descent from Spain and Aragon allowed him to escape persecution from the king.
Juan de Lanuza:
Chief Justice of Aragon during the reign of Philip II, where he participated in the events surrounding the arrest of Antonio Perez and the subsequent riots. He was executed.
Prince Charles Bossuet:
He defended the idea that the king is the representative or deputy of God on Earth, accountable to no one.
Hobbes:
He argued that the king maintains order in society and should therefore have total or absolute power as a minimum requirement for social order.
Father Mariana:
A Spanish Jesuit theologian and historian. Along with Baltasar Gracian, he is a representative example of Jesuit writers.
John Locke:
A 17th-century English philosopher and the creator of empiricism. In politics, he opposed absolutism and was the first to develop the theory of separation of powers (legislative, executive, judicial).
Colbert:
He was a minister of the French King Louis XIV. An excellent manager, he developed business and industry with significant state intervention. His name is associated with a policy called Colbertism and dirigisme, predating Cardinal Richelieu.
Cardinal-Duc de Richelieu:
A French cardinal and nobleman. Appointed bishop, he entered politics, becoming Secretary of State.
Cromwell:
He was an English military and political leader. He made England a republic called the Commonwealth of England. During the first forty years of his life, he was a nobleman and rose meteorically to command the New Model Army and eventually impose his leadership over England.
William of Orange:
Called the Silent. A member of the House of Nassau, he became Prince of Orange. Unhappy with the lack of political power held by the local nobility and the persecution of Dutch Protestants by Spanish troops, he joined the rebellion against the Spanish Crown.
Charles I:
King of England, Scotland, and Ireland (1625-1649), deposed and executed during the English Civil War.
Count Duke of Olivares:
Favorite of King Philip IV, he promulgated the famous Union of Arms.
Duke of Lerma:
Favorite of Philip III. He became immensely wealthy by exploiting influence peddling, corruption, and the sale of public offices.
Galileo:
He was an astronomer, philosopher, mathematician, and physicist closely associated with the scientific revolution. His achievements include improving the telescope, making a wide variety of astronomical observations, formulating the first law of motion, and decisively supporting the Copernican theory.
Concepts
Estates:
The social division that reflects the criteria of feudalism and the Old Regime. The estates tended to be closed groups, entered by birth, unlike social classes defined by economic interests.
Ancien Regime:
The term used pejoratively by French revolutionaries to describe the system of government before the French Revolution, also applied to other European monarchies with similar regimes.
Navigation Act:
The English Navigation Acts were a series of laws that restricted the use of foreign vessels in the trade of England (later Britain and its colonies).
Triangular Trade:
A trade route established in the Atlantic Ocean from the 16th to the 19th centuries. It involved three continents and its path formed a triangle. It began with Western European ships landing on the west coast of Africa. The next stop was the Caribbean islands or the American coast, and then back to Europe.
Manufactures:
Describes the transformation of raw materials into finished goods for sale. It also involves processes of semi-manufactured products. It is also known as the secondary industry. Some industries, like semiconductor or steel manufacturing, use the term manufacturing.
Mayorazgo:
An ancient Castilian law that allowed a set of interconnected goods to be kept together, preventing its division. The property was linked to the heir, usually the eldest son, ensuring that the bulk of a family’s assets did not spread but could only increase.
Puritans:
A radical part of Protestantism that originated in England after the Reformation during the reign of Elizabeth I.
Habeas Corpus:
It guaranteed individual liberties, ensuring that no one could be arrested or charged without being brought before a judge within seventy-four hours of their arrest.
Magna Carta:
A document granted by King John Lackland in 1215 in which he recognized the privileges of the nobility, the church, and the bourgeoisie.
Valid:
A person close to the sovereign and enjoying their friendship, who, due to their proximity to the monarch, has access to power. In the 17th century, due to the inability of kings to rule, validos held great power.
Union of Arms:
Proclaimed by Philip IV to create an army of 140,000 recruits and reserves maintained by the various provinces, kingdoms, and viceroyalties according to their needs and possibilities.
Tithing:
A tax of ten percent (one-tenth of all profits) to be paid to a ruling king or church leader.
Historical Facts
Battle of Villalar:
April 23, 1521. The decisive episode of the War of the Communities, where the imperial forces of Charles V clashed with the Commoners’ Board. The battle was won by the imperial forces and ended the War of the Communities in the north, where three commoner captains were beheaded.
Battle of St. Quentin:
1557. A battle in the Spanish War of Independence, fought between the Spanish liberation army and the occupying French army. It took place near the hill of Saint Quentin.
Battle of Pavia:
February 24, 1525. A battle between troops under King Francis I and the Spanish troops of Emperor Charles V, resulting in the latter’s victory, near the Italian city of Pavia.
Sack of Rome:
The Sack of Rome by Spanish and German troops of Charles V marked a crucial imperial victory in the conflict between the Holy Roman Empire and the League of Cognac.
Peace of Augsburg:
1555. It ended the fighting between German Protestants and Charles V. This treaty granted religious freedom to the rulers.
Holy League:
1571. A league headed by Spain and consisting of Venice, the Papal States, and Malta, formed to fight the Ottoman Empire.
Peace of the Pyrenees:
November 7, 1659. Signed by the Spanish and French monarchies on the Isle of Pheasants (Bidasoa River on the Franco-Spanish border) to end the conflict during the Thirty Years’ War.
Twelve Years’ Truce:
Also called the Truce of Antwerp, it was a peace treaty signed in 1609 between Spain and the United Provinces of the Netherlands. It was a peaceful break in the Eighty Years’ War that the Netherlands waged against the Spanish Empire from 1568 to achieve independence.
Battle of Rocroi:
May 19, 1643. Fought between the French army commanded by the young Louis II de Bourbon and the Spanish army. The fighting, which began before dawn and lasted about six hours, ended with a French victory.