1) Spain's empire expanded greatly in the 16th century through conquests in Portugal, Africa, India, and the Americas, making it very wealthy. However, the empire began weakening due to economic problems and revolts in the Netherlands and elsewhere. 2) In France, Louis XIV came to power in 1643 at age 5 and later became an absolute monarch, centralizing power. He pursued expensive wars and built grand palaces, weakening France financially by the 1700s. 3) Across Europe, monarchs pursued absolute rule but faced resistance from nobles and parliaments to their power, as seen in conflicts between the English monarchy and Parliament in the 1600s that led to civil