All flashcards
Flashcard 1: Which general trend best describes the relationship between New Monarchs and representative assemblies?
Answer: Monarchs limited assemblies’ influence while expanding royal bureaucracy. Parliaments/Cortes weakened as royal administration grew.
Flashcard 2: Which country’s New Monarchy is most closely linked to early Atlantic exploration and expansion?
Answer: Portugal. Maritime ventures enhanced royal prestige and revenue.
Flashcard 3: What is meant by "state-building" in the context of the New Monarchies?
Answer: Creating centralized administration, law, taxation, and military capacity. Transforming feudal realms into unified territorial states.
Flashcard 4: Which Portuguese figure is traditionally associated with sponsoring early navigation on Africa’s coast?
Answer: Prince Henry the Navigator. Promoted systematic exploration down African coastline.
Flashcard 5: Which institution in Spain functioned as a royal police force to suppress disorder and banditry?
Answer: The Santa Hermandad. "Holy Brotherhood" enforced royal justice over local lords.
Flashcard 6: What policy did Spain use in 1492 to remove practicing Jews from the kingdom?
Answer: The Alhambra Decree (Edict of Expulsion). Forced conversion or exile, creating religious uniformity.
Flashcard 7: Which event in 1492 symbolized the completion of the Reconquista?
Answer: The conquest of Granada. Last Muslim stronghold fell to Ferdinand and Isabella.
Flashcard 8: What does the term "Reconquista" mean in the context of Spanish consolidation?
Answer: The Christian reconquest of Iberia from Muslim rule. 800-year campaign ending Muslim political power in Iberia.
Flashcard 9: What was the primary purpose of the Spanish Inquisition for Ferdinand and Isabella?
Answer: Enforce Catholic orthodoxy and strengthen royal control. Religious unity served political centralization goals.
Flashcard 10: Which Spanish rulers completed the dynastic union that anchored the Spanish New Monarchy?
Answer: Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile. Their 1469 marriage united Spain's two largest kingdoms.
Flashcard 11: What was the French taille in the context of New Monarchy state-building?
Answer: A direct royal tax that funded the crown and its army. Bypassed noble consent, providing steady royal income.
Flashcard 12: Which French king is most associated with strengthening royal authority after the Hundred Years’ War?
Answer: Louis XI. Called "Spider King" for his cunning centralization tactics.
Flashcard 13: What was the English "Court of Star Chamber" primarily used to do under the Tudors?
Answer: Prosecute and intimidate nobles outside common-law jury courts. Avoided jury trials where nobles could protect each other.
Flashcard 14: Which English monarch used the Court of Star Chamber to control powerful nobles?
Answer: Henry VII. Founded Star Chamber to bypass noble-dominated courts.
Flashcard 15: Which English dynasty is most associated with New Monarchy consolidation after 1485?
Answer: The Tudor dynasty. Henry VII established this dynasty after Bosworth Field.
Flashcard 16: What financial development most directly enabled New Monarchs to maintain standing armies?
Answer: More effective taxation and expanded royal revenue systems. Regular income freed monarchs from noble financial control.
Flashcard 17: What was the primary military innovation that helped New Monarchs curb noble power?
Answer: Standing, professional armies loyal to the monarch. Replaced feudal levies dependent on noble cooperation.
Flashcard 18: What was the main political goal shared by the New Monarchs?
Answer: To reduce noble autonomy and centralize power in the crown. Feudal decentralization gave way to royal supremacy.
Flashcard 19: Which four kingdoms are most commonly identified as the core New Monarchies?
Answer: France, England, Spain, and Portugal. These Atlantic powers pioneered centralized royal authority.
Flashcard 20: What does the term "New Monarchies" refer to in late 15th-century Europe?
Answer: Centralizing monarchies that strengthened royal authority after the Middle Ages. Emerged after feudalism's decline, marking shift to modern state power.
Flashcard 21: What was the Reconquista completed by Spain in 1492?
Answer: The conquest of Granada, ending Muslim rule in Iberia. This victory expelled the last Islamic kingdom from the peninsula.
Flashcard 22: What English dynasty began with Henry VII after the Wars of the Roses ended in 1485?
Answer: The Tudor dynasty. Henry Tudor defeated Richard III to establish this dynasty.
Flashcard 23: Which Spanish monarchs created dynastic unity by marrying in 1469?
Answer: Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile. Their marriage united Spain's two largest kingdoms.
Flashcard 24: What policy did Ferdinand and Isabella use to limit the power of the Spanish nobility?
Answer: Use of royal councils and the Hermandad to enforce order. The Hermandad was a royal police force that bypassed noble courts.
Flashcard 25: Which French king is most associated with consolidating royal power after the Hundred Years’ War?
Answer: Louis XI. Known as the "Spider King" for his cunning political tactics.
Flashcard 26: What was the primary political goal shared by most New Monarchs?
Answer: To reduce noble autonomy and centralize power under the crown. They sought to break feudal fragmentation and create unified kingdoms.
Flashcard 27: What was Louis XI’s key strategy for weakening great French nobles like Burgundy?
Answer: Diplomacy, alliances, and absorption of rival territories. He avoided direct conflict, preferring intrigue and negotiation.
Flashcard 28: Which battle in 1485 brought Henry VII to the English throne?
Answer: The Battle of Bosworth Field. Henry Tudor's victory ended the York-Lancaster civil war.
Flashcard 29: What does the term "New Monarchies" refer to in late 15th-century Europe?
Answer: Centralizing rulers who strengthened royal authority and state power. They emerged after medieval crises to build stronger, unified states.
Flashcard 30: What permanent tax did French kings use to fund a standing army in the late Middle Ages?
Answer: The taille. This direct royal tax bypassed feudal obligations.