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Political changes in medieval society
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Unit 2: Absolutism and Revolution Portfolio In this unit, you examined the American and French Revolutions. The American Revolution, sparked by conflict over British rule and influenced by Enlightenment ideas, broke colonial ties with a monarchy and yielded a new nation. The French Revolution, inspired by the American Revolution as well as the Enlightenment, freed French citizens from an absolute monarchy and secured equality before the law for all male citizens.
How did late medieval governments shape life in positive and in negative ways? The government shaped life in a positive way by protecting the kingdom from invaders and keeping people safe. The monarchs had armies and lots of knight at their disposal. The knights had a code of honor so they were nice to women and others.
liberalism is the pursuit of change and progress for the better good, socially and politically. Liberals of the late nineteenth century, often believed in “new” ideals like liberty and equality, as well as the overthrow of the monarchy in place of a more equal government that gave more power to the people. One key principle of liberalism that evolved from the French revolution is the idea that the will of the people should be represented in the government’s actions. Toussaint talks about this general will in the Haitian constitution, “the terms of this constitution are the free, voluntary, and unchanging expression of our hearts and of our constituents’ general will” (The Haitian Constitution) He believed that his people should have a say in what the government did.
The main idea is that the civil society should be governing itself. In other words, there is a fundamental belief in individual freedom. Classical liberalism holds the view that the people have natural rights and these rights are separate from government. This view is opposite towards the general opinion where the government grants rights. It is a time of scientific revolutions and the time when the power of Catholic Church had no longer the same type of power as before.
Michael Oakeshott and Edmund Burke have very similar views on Conservatism, yet they both use different styles of writing and fundamental reasoning to justify their views. Though Burke expressed his views on Conservatism in 1790 and Oakeshott wrote in 1962, 172 years later, the two men have astonishingly similar explanations of Conservatism. They share similar thoughts on conservative themes such as gradual change, the embrace of familiarity, and agree upon their distaste for rationalism. Though the two authors have slightly contrasting reasons for their beliefs and ways of writing about them, the assumptions they make regarding conservatism are notably alike despite the substantial time gap between them.
Different factors had a part to play in starting or even propelling ‘the Age of Enlightenment’, including the rule of the Church and State which experienced a power struggle among them, in addition to the Western discovery of latest societies with noticeably exclusive cultural traditions and norms. Many intellectuals felt unhappy with the fixed social styles amongst their very own collectives, and angry at their governments' refusal to provide non-public rights. The lasting political effect of the Enlightenment can't be overstated. At the least three fundamental political revolutions came about throughout this time period in Britain, America, and France.
The Age of Absolutism The Age of Absolutism was a period of prosperity in Europe during the 16th and 17th centuries. While at this time many countries had absolute rulers, these rulers were able to make a lot of progress in advancing their nations. These rulers are some of the greatest rulers these countries have ever had and helped lead to the prosperity of this era. During this time period, a majority of the rulers were absolute rulers, having absolute power over their country.
In Machiavelli’s “The Prince” and Luther’s “On Christian Liberty”, both figureheads show that they drew much influence and ideas from the Humanist movement, but also explain how they differ from the values, beliefs, and methods of the Humanist in their writings.
When trying to define a word such as Liberalism it seems difficult to find a solid definition. There are different forms of liberalism and different meanings depending on the time period it is being applied to (idea taken from Phil Badger author from philosophynow). To solve this ambiguity, I’ve decided to define liberalism based on the time period in which I will be conducting my research. Liberalism in the 1700s was the belief of freedom and equals rights generally associated with the enlightenment thinkers, John Locke and Montesquieu (as defined by wikipedia.org). Liberalism didn’t start in the 1700s.
The Age of Absolutism is defined as a time period in Europe in which monarchs gained all of the power and wealth over the state for themselves, expanding the idea of single rule. The Enlightenment, on the other hand, is defined as a movement during the 18th century that rejected traditional social, religious, and political ideas, and introduced a desire to construct governments free of tyranny (or single rule). Document 3, a primary source written by King Louis XIV of France in 1660, is describing the idea of monarchy stating,“ The more you grant . . . [to the assembled people], the more it claims . . . The interest of the state must come first” (Document 3).
The Baroque period was identified as the “Age of Absolutism” because it was a period where rulers practiced their full power to control subjects. Also during the Baroque time frame music became more leant about where it was played. Instead it only being played at churches and occasionally in some courts, it was being played at specific functions and operas. It was at this time that operas were established for the first time in history. Musicians at this time were employed for aristocrat’s courts, churches and operas although they were considered high positions yet still viewed as servants.
A historian once wrote that the 19th century was “a time of bitter conflict, as the world of the past fought to remain alive.” During the 19th century, there was an emergence of the political ideologies: liberalism, conservatism, and socialism. Liberalism sought to limit the government, preserve individual freedom and believed in the hierarchy of merit. Conservatism attempted to preserve the existing order and believed in tradition over reason. Socialists believed in strengthening parliaments and the working class to bolster laborers.
Absolutism was a period of prosperity during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Absolutism is a form of government, a monarchy, in which a monarch has full governmental control. This is different from that of a limited monarch whose power is kept in check by a constitution or other government officials. Absolute monarchs gain their power in one of two ways: being born into a royal family and being in line for the throne or seizing control. Absolutism meant prosperity because monarchs were considered gods (or God 's power on earth), they changed countries for the better, and could be liked by the people for not doing everything in a harsh way.
Albeit Aristotle and Locke lived 2,000 years apart, their periods in history were similar. Both eras were marked by wars, tyrannical figures, and political and social instability in ancient Greece and medieval England. However, there was one major difference in their epochs, religion. The Greeks practice polytheism, while Christianity was practiced in Europe during Locke’s time.
Two Concepts of Liberty Summary of the essay: In this essay, the famous political theorist Isaiah Berlin tries to differentiate between the notions of positive liberty and negative liberty. Berlin briefly discusses the meaning of the word ‘freedom’. He says that a person is said to free when no man or body of men interferes with his activity. He makes reference to many philosophers in the essay, but there is more emphasis on the thoughts of J. S. Mill and Rousseau, the former being a firm advocate of negative liberty while the latter believes strongly in the ideals of positive liberty.
