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.
During the 1600s and 1700s a new type of monarch emerged known as an absolute ruler. Some of these rulers were Louis XIV, the Fredericks of Prussia, and Peter the Great. These rulers believed that a monarch had a divine right to rule and should only listen to God. All these rulers had characteristics that defined them as absolutists. Louis XIV was constantly at war during his reign which resulted in a powerful army.
Absolute monarchies had all the power in Europe. Their kingdoms were powerful and accomplished. Although absolute monarchies empowered and enriched their kingdoms, they were still largely detrimental because of King Louis XIV of France, debt, Frederick the Great’s seizure of Silesia, and the city of St. Petersburg. King Louis XIV of France was an absolute monarch.
In the 1500s and the 1600s the feudal system was beginning to fall. Different countries were trying new different types of governments instead of the dysfunctional feudal system. The feudal system consisted of many different nobles ruling over their own land. It was not a uniform system of ruling over the country. There were small city-states run by a singular ruler.
But first what is Power? When researching Power words such as authority, control, direct, command and influence all appear. These words all support the following statement “Power is the ability to influence and control the behaviour of others.” The problem with power is that it often leads to those in power abusing it. As Lord Acton famously quoted “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
Being an absolute ruler was beyond any other ruler and had no limitations to what
Although, through an absolute monarchy would only benefit the king and his noblemen, but the Magna Carta changed that when rights were given to the people. The Magna Carta greatly states, “Men in our kingdom shall have and keep all these liberties, rights, and concessions” (Britannica). To illustrate, the Magna Carta states no man will be denied of their rights or justice, instead will be equally among his heirs and the government. With that being said, no individual rights will be oppose under this justice system. Thus, from the article one of the constitution states, “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.
Eastern and Western European countries had many differences on economics and political structures. Both the East and the West tried to achieve an absolute monarchy, which can be described as a type of government where the monarch has complete rule over everything. Although both had an absolute monarchy at some point, they were structured differently and one much more successful than the other. In Eastern Europe the members of nobility had almost all of the control over the poor peasants who lived in their community.
Louis XIV treated the people of France unfairly and he didn’t seem to care about their well-being. Louis XIV suppressed the Catholic church, and Nobles. He made the Nobles wait on him. Louis XIV weakened the power of the nobles and excluded them from his councils. This supports my thesis that Louis XIV was the best example of an absolute ruler because this shows he truly only cared about himself and he made sure that he had all of the power, by weakening the power of all of the nobles.
King Louis XIV of France recommended absolute rule because he believed that the less people there are to exploit it. (Document 3) I agree with him and I believe it is one of the reasons for the prosperity of absolutism. When one person controls an entire country,
In great literature there are often characters who are deceitful to others to carry out a greater purpose. By doing so the character often compromises relationships with friends and family but it can also compromise the safety of the character and others around them. In the play Hamlet Shakespeare uses Hamlet’s character to elaborate on this situation, Claudius is deceiving his family and friends for a greater purpose which at times seems to do more bad than good. Claudius deceives many people in the tragedy Hamlet.
By far the most popular solution to the crisis of authority in the era of religious wars was absolute monarchy. What is absolute Monarchy you may ask? Absolute Monarchy is a form of government where it’s ruled by a king and he has an absolute power over everyone and that there is no one higher or equal to him. Even though they are similar, Absolute monarchy is not the same as dictatorship. In a dictatorship it’s ruled by one person and they usual get their power through force the people are forced to follow their orders or they will be killed or hurt.
If the ruler desires control or strength they might force the people below them to bow down to their ever will. If the ruler desires riches they might steal from the poor or up the price on an item to draw more out of someone who may not have much but needs that item. An example of someone who may do this is a king or a president. Someone with plenty of power to have away with this kind of stuff. In some cases, powerlessness can lead
Even after the death the power stays within the same family. The people do not have the power to remove monarch from leadership, even if the monarch is not ruling the country according to the will of the majority of the citizens. A monarch is aware that he or she is not accountable to anyone, which can lead to economic disruption. An incompetent monarch can bring a downfall to his
To many, monarchs were God 's form on earth. King James I of England said that "The state of monarchy is the supreme thing upon earth; for kings are not only God’s lieutenants on earth, and sit upon God’s throne, but even by God Himself they are called gods..." (Document 2). Like King James I, people believed monarchs were needed because they had power like God. Kings and Queens were essential and brought goodness to the land.
