HIS 112
Unit 2: Seventeenth-Century Europe

The Western facade of Peterhof, Peter the Great's summer palace outside of St. Petersburg, built between 1714 and 1725, overlooking the Gulf of Finland. As you can see, Louis XIV, with his Château de Versailles, had no monopoly on baroque elegance.

• Read chapters 16 and 17 in the textbook. I try and provide multiple sources of information for each unit in the course: the textbook, my short notes (with suggested additional websites), my short video, other suggested videos. You also have the entire web available to you for more research. The textbook is a good starting point to help you answer the key terms and questions to consider for each unit of the course, and the textbook can be a big help in studying for the timeline on the final exam and the maps on both exams.
• Read my notes on Seventeenth-Century Europe and Louis XIV.
• Watch the short video on the Seventeenth Century by Professor Evans. You can also check out Professor Campbell's video, Was The Atlantic Slave Trade B.S.?
• Study the Questions to Consider and the Key Terms for the unit.
• SUBMIT the Required Seventeenth-Century paragraph (25 points).

• Check out some Example Assignments and Sample Test Items so you have a good idea of the kind of assignments in the course.
• Confused about dates? Have a look: What do bp, bc, bce, ad, ce, and cal mean?

• The website on The Glorious Revolution includes a chronology, encyclopedia of terms and quotations.

• The Spanish Empire, Silver, & Runaway Inflation: Crash Course World History #25
• Venice and the Ottoman Empire: Crash Course World History #19
• History of the Palace of Versailles
• Chateau de Versailles
• The Causes of The Glorious Revolution
• Prof. Steven Pincus: "1688: The First Modern Revolution"
• The Atlantic Slave Trade: Crash Course World History #24
• The English Civil War Oliver Cromwell (part 1 of 4)
• Professor Carol's The Age of Absolutism
• For extra credit please suggest to your instructor a relevant video for this unit of the course. Send the title of the video, the URL and a brief explanation of why you find the video interesting and applicable to the material that is being studied in this unit.

• For up to 25 points of extra credit, write a one-page paper, What was Louis XIV's conception of absolutism?  Please be sure to cite your sources.
• For up to 25 points of extra credit, compare and contrast the reigns of Louis XIV and Peter the Great in a one-page paper.  Please be sure to cite your sources.
• For up to 10 points of extra credit, read the English Bill of Rights and write a paragraph in which you examine, Was the English Bill of Rights a democratic document?  Note the earlier important political document in England was the Petition of Right (1628).
• For up to 10 points of extra credit, read the short excerpt from Utopia (1516) by Sir Thomas More (1478-1535) and comment in a paragraph about its relevance over the succeeding centuries.
• For 5 points maximum extra credit, answer the English Bill of Rights study sheet questions.
• For extra credit, please suggest a relevant website for this unit of the course.  Send your instructor the title of the site, the URL and a brief explanation why you find the information interesting and applicable to the material being studied this unit.

Unit Learning Objective

• Upon successful completion of this unit, you will be able to (1) demonstrate knowledge of the European state system of the seventeenth century and (2) describe the foundation and growth of French absolutism and English constitutionalism.