Powers Of The Monarch Summary

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APPARTS (The Powers of the Monarch)
Author: The author, or rather the speaker of this excerpt, was James I of England. James I was the first Stuart king to preside over the English, and therefore was met with some untrustworthy followers. During his reign, he tried to practice absolutist values, however, was stopped habitually by the British parliament.
Place and Time: This speech was delivered in 1610, in England.
Prior Knowledge: During this time, France was still in the process of becoming an absolutist monarchy. Louis XIV not born yet meant that France had not become an authentic absolutist state, however France was still dwindling with the idea of divine right. England was in the process of becoming an absolutist state, using the mechanisms of the New Monarchies, James I lowered the power of the nobility, and raised the power of the middle class, and he published the “Trew Law of Free Monarchy,” which was a book in support of divine right. The roadblock in his attempt for absolute power was the parliament. In a forced signing in 1215, the Magna Carta granted higher power to aristocrats to limit the power of the king. One of these provisions was that tax laws had to go through parliament with a majority vote. This meant that if the King needed money for his …show more content…

The concept that the only person suited to have power was the King, as he was directly chosen by God. It was seen successfully through Louis XIV; however, James lacked the charisma to make it work. Seen in his writing, James mentions that as Kings are called Gods in the Bible, it is compulsory that they treat him the same way that they would treat a God. It is mentioned that they should give him the power to “make and unmake their subjects; raising or casting down [his subjects]; of life and death; and yet accomptable to none but God only.” Although these were his ideals, they would sadly (not really), never truly come into

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