Developed for students of the Katheriine Thomas High School, Rockville;

1. As kings and queens
became stronger and
stronger, individuals
began to defend their
RIGHTS and demand
more freedom.
War and revolution in
the Age of Empires
After 1492, countries
FOUGHT each other for
control of empires.
Then, the
Catholic
Church SPLIT,
leading to
more war.
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2. By 1600, Europe ruled a large part of the world,
especially the Americas 2

3. Who would
be the
strongest
country in
Europe:
Spain,
France, or
England?
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4. At first,
Spain was
the
strongest
country in
Europe.Spain controlled
1. The Spanish peninsula
2. Southern ITALY
3. The Netherlands
4. Austria
Spain
Austria
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5. The Spanish empire included land
in…
1. North America
2. South America
3. Africa
4. Philippines
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6. At the center of the
Spanish web was Charles_
V (5th), a deeply Catholic
ruler in Catholic Europe.
Under him, Spain grew
rich from SILVER and
sugar. His son, Philip II,
further expanded the
Spanish empire.
Spain’s power did not last
long….
Spain
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7. After 1520 many Europeans left Catholic Church
and started a new religion: Protestantism.
Protestants were Christians who opposed the power of the Catholic
Church. There were many types of Protestants: Lutherans,
Calvinists, Presbyterians, Anglicans, Quakers, Shakers, Pilgrims,
Puritans, and more.
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8. • They believed that only faith in
God could lead to salvation
(going to heaven).
• They believed that the Bible is
source of truth about God.
• Individuals must make their
own choices about right and
wrong.
What did Protestants believe?
They did NOT believe that...
• following the Church’s rules
could help get you into heaven.
• Catholic priests had special
powers or deserved special
privileges.
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9.  The change from Catholicism to Protestantism was called the
Reformation.
The Reformation started in the German states of central Europe (G) and
spread to Switzerland, the Netherlands, England, and Scandinavia. The blue
countries are Protestant.
G
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10. After the Reformation,
War broke out everywhere
WITHIN countries, and
BETWEEN Catholic
countries and Protestant
countries. Two wars struck
directly at Spanish power.
Spain
1. Protestants in the Netherlands broke away from
Spain and formed the Dutch Republic (also called
Holland) in the late 1500s. Spain and the Netherlands
were at war for almost 80 years. In 1648, the
Netherlands finally became independent.
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11. 1. Queen Elizabeth worried that Catholics were trying to take over
England. She had her sister, a Catholic, beheaded.
2. England sided with the Netherlands against Catholic Spain
3. England wanted to take Spanish land in the New World. England
wanted to cash in on sugar and silver.
2. Another war
broke out between
Protestant England
and Catholic Spain.
Three reasons
why they
fought:
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12. Spain sent a large navy (Armada) against England in 1588.
England’s navy destroyed the Spanish Armada (on the right) in
one of the great naval battles in world history. 12

13. Spain lost most of its power
in the 1600s.
• France and England now
competed to be the
strongest country.
• They were very different
sorts of countries.
France
England
13

14. Louis XIV (14th)
wanted to expand
the borders of
France into the
Netherland and
Spain.
He claimed all his
power came from
God and called
himself the Sun
King.
France was becoming the strongest land empire in
the 1600 and 1700s.
Louis’ palace at Versailles (VER-SIGH) was the largest and most beauti-
ful in Europe. It was a symbol of Louis XIV’s power as the “sun king.”14

15. After defeating Spain,
England was the
greatest sea empire and
its control of North
America, India, and the
sugar islands of the
Caribbean.
Queen Elizabeth. Notice the scene
outside the window. It shows the Spanish
Armada attacking England, then being
destroyed. What is the object on which
Elizabeth’s hand is resting?
Unlike Louis XIV, Elizabeth could
not do anything she wanted. She
had to respect the power of
Parliament, a group of
elected lawmakers.
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16. After Elizabeth, English kings tried to
increase their power, which stirred up
a revolution– a change in the type of
government.
1. In the 1630s, King Charles I needed
money to fight a war, but
Parliament refused to help him
out. When he tried to rule without
Parliament, angry lawmakers cut
off his head.
2. In the 1680s, King James II tried to
make England Catholic again and
raise taxes without Parliament’s
approval. Angry English people
refused. They said they were born
with rights that kings could not
take away. They believed
individuals have a right to say
what they want, believe what
they want, and protect their own
property.
In 1688, England had a “Glorious
Revolution.” From now on, kings
and queens had to share power
with Parliament. Their power
came NOT from GOD (as in other
countries) but from the PEOPLE.
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17. In the 1700s, England and France were different sorts
of country, and they went to war. Both wanted to
control the sugar islands of the Caribbean, as well as
land in North America and India.
War broke out between
England & France in
Europe. Countries lined up
with either England or
France.
17

18. War spread to Asia and the Caribbean and became a “world war.” The
fighting in North America was known as the Frencgh and Indian War.
The British won, and the French lost most of their land in North
America.
Before 1763: With the French After 1763: without the French
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19. After decades of
fighting…
England and France
were broke, Wars are
expensive, and both
countries were in debt.
19

20. The British tried
to raise money
by taxing its
colonies in
America.
They taxed sugar,
tea, paper, and
other products
bought from
Britain.
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21. Americans
weren’t
very happy.
Angry
colonists
threw tea off
this British
ship to
protest the
taxes.
Americans wanted to
make their own
decisions.
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22. Americans such as Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson,
and Tom Paine did not like kings. ANY kings. They
believed individuals are born with rights to free
speech, property, liberty, and religion. Even people
in the colonies of America had rights. It wasn’t
enough to limit the power of kings. They wanted to
create a new government without kings, or
republic. Creating a new type of government
required a revolution.
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23. 1. In 1775, war broke out with British soldiers in the little
towns of Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts
2. In 1776, America declared its independence from Britain
3. In 1781, Americans defeated the British and began forming
their own country. They wanted to govern themselves
without a king.
4. In 1787, they wrote a Constitution creating a new
government based on these new ideas.
…so Americans had a
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24. From… To…
Kings and queens who said
they got their power from
God (monarchy)
People who are free to choose
their own leaders (democracy)
Special privileges for the
wealthy and the Catholic
Church
Equal rights for every individual
Continuous war Peace
Slavery Freedom
A revolution is a change of
government. What kind of change?
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25. The king wanted to
tax the people, but
NO ONE would pay.
Revolution broke out in
1789, and the king lost
power (and his head).
The French revolution led to a violent war WITHIN
France and between France and countries that
still had kings and queens.
A few years after the American
Revolution, the French had their own
revolution
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26. • Britain and France lost empires in North
America.
• The desire for revolution spread, so Spain’s
colonies in the Americas became
independent too.
• Demands for individual freedom led the
British and Americans to end the slave trade.
• The slaves of the sugar island of Haiti had a
revolution and began to govern themselves!
As a result of revolutions….
Toussaint L’Ouverture led a slave on the
sugar island of Haiti, a French colony. He
became the first black leader of the
former French colony.
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