Absolute monarchs centralize their absolute power. Louis XIV and Peter the Great are exceptional examples of an absolute monarch. Louis ruled in France from 1638 – 1715 and Peter ruled in Russia, but he was not liked by many people. They both had all four characteristics of an absolute monarch. Louis centralized his power by keeping nobles busy with court life, he increased revenue by supporting the arts and literature and reformed taxation with the help of Jean Baptiste Colbert. In addition, he increased his army to gain more territory. Peter the Great centralized his power through fear of the people, built up his army from nothing, and what also made him an absolute monarch was he did not share his power with anyone at all. Louis XIV is the best example of an absolute monarch because he had all four characteristics. He did not share his power with anyone or any organization. He limited the power of his nobles and princes by having them live in his palace where their power would have been void. The nobles over time felt they needed to please Louis in return for letting them live in the Palace of Versailles (Doc 5). Louis attempted to control Protestants in France by making them convert to Catholicism. In addition he would not allow them to leave the country and he took down their churches (Doc 6). Louis taking this action …show more content…
He built an army of 210,000 men and a navy from scratch (Doc4). He was a feared leader an was disliked because of how he ruled. Peter had a goal of conquering the Baltic sea because of the warm water to trade. In attempt to reach this goal, the Swedish King, Charles XII, defeated him at Narva (Doc 2). To overcome his defeat he improved his armies and worked even harder for mastery of the Baltic. He was not liked for this because he strived so much for this goal that he only focused on that one achievement. He did not share his power with anyone at all, which helps characterize him as an absolute