New Monarchies
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In between the years of 1450 and 1550, kingdoms throughout Europe substituted the feudal. decentralized governments of the Middle Ages with New Monarchies. France, England, and Spain were three of the major followed of this development. These monarchs came to power through the use of forming an alliance with the bourgeoisie, developing personal armies, developing a hereditary throne, establishing a common language, and unifying religion across the state. These key features helped in the gain and retention of power within these new monarchies.
England was the first of the New Monarchies in Europe. In 1485, Henry Tudor put and end to the Wars of Roses- a civil war for control of the English crown between the houses of Lancaster and York that had be ongoing for 30 years- by defeating Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field.. It was with this accomplishment that he took control of the state and crowned King Henry VII (though he eventually married Elizabeth of York to ease the tensions between the two families). To ensure and strengthen his new found power, Henry VII banned nobility from maintaining private armies. By prohibiting maintenance and livery, the only army in England was his own, bringing the monarchy to significant advantage over said nobles. He used his royal council as a court to resolve issues of territory, security, and property, as well as to assist in maintaining peace throughout the kingdom, thus establishing a somewhat neutral relationship with the people. Henry VII kept the morale of the state up by making it fiscally stable, avoiding expensive wars and encouraging trade within the country to do so. Although generally well-received by the people, Henry VII eliminated the fear of losing his power and wealth by making the throne a hereditary position. It is upon this foundation that England remained a powerful, active monarchy for the next three and half centuries.
France entered this new age of monarchies in 1461, through the rise of power of Louis XI of the Valois dynasty. One of the key factors in Louis XIs rise came from his spreading of the dominance of royal power from Paris by means of marriage, war, conquest, and general intrigue of the people. He gained lands in the North (what are now Picardy and Amiens) and rounded out Frances borders, increasing the size of the kingdom and expanding its boundaries. To demonstrate that his power was above the rest of the states, Louis XI raised national taxes sans the consent of parliament. As a result, the Estates General requested he continue to rule without them, with the hope that this would bring about order in the kingdom. Early on in his kingship, Louis XI put together a solid royal army, one that helped in controlling rebel forces and putting a halt to gangs of robbers and other criminals. Not only did Louis XI have the respect of and control over the poor men and the bourgeoisie, he had a substantial amount of power over the French clergy. Power over the clergy was a vital aspect of ruling the monarchy due to the level of importance religion held in the lives of nearly everyone of these times in France. Louis XIs reign ended in 1483, though the next notable monarch of France, Francis I, would come to power until 1515. Francis I was also a member of the Valois dynasty, whos most illustrious contributions to strengthening