The Theory of Absolutism
Absolute monarchy or absolutism meant that the sovereign power or ultimate authority in the state rested in the hands of a king who claimed to rule by divine right. But what did sovereignty mean? Late sixteenth century political theorists believed that sovereign power consisted of the authority to make laws, tax, administer justice, control the state's administrative system, and determine foreign policy. These powers made a ruler sovereign.
One of the chief theorists of divine-right monarchy in the seventeenth century was the French theologian and court preacher Bishop Jacques Bossuet (1627-1704), who expressed his ideas in a book entitled Politics Drawn from the Very Words of Holy Scripture. Bossuet argued first that govemment was divinely ordained so that humans could live in an organized society. Of all forms of gov ernment, monarchy, he averred, was the most general, most ancient, most natural, and the best, since God established kings and through them reigned over all the peoples of the world. Since kings received their power from God, their authority was absolute. They were re sponsible to no one (including parliaments) except God. Nevertheless, Bossuet cautioned, although a king's au thority was absolute, his power was not since he was limited by the law of God. Bossuet believed there was a difference between absolute monarchy and arbitrary monarchy. The latter contradicted the rule of law and the sanctity of property and was simply lawless tyranny. Bossuet's distinction between absolute and arbitrary gov emment was not always easy to maintain. There was also a large gulf between the theory of absolutism as ex pressed by Bossuet and the practice of absolutism. As we shall ...
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... then a noble. These governors were required to spend a large amount of time at Louis’ extensive palace of Versailles, which allowed Louis to monitor the generalités very closely. Religiously, Louis revoked the Edict of Nantes and declared France a Catholic state. Louis hoped that religious unity and centralization would lead to stronger unity in the country as a whole. He expelled or executed any Protestants who refused to convert, and the Catholics supported most of his actions. Although he delegated most of the power in France to himself, Louis did acknowledge the power and authority of the Parlement of Paris, which helped to regulate local administration and taxes, but overall, Louis stripped the nobles and aristocracy of most of their powers. Louis XIV long rule gave France the time it needed to transform from a divided nation to a centralized and powerful one.
Louis XIV, also known as the Sun King, was an absolutist monarch of France who sought to heavily suppress the power of novels while simultaneously promoting the ideals of a “divine right monarchy”. A man notorious for his incredible spending on various personal ventures, such as the extremely costly construction of a new palace at Versailles, Louis XIV was often the subject of criticism and mockery, especially from the nobles who hoped to discredit him and his absolutist regime. Overall, Louis XIV did predominantly act in a manner with his own personal agenda in mind, as seen through his Revocation of the Edict of Nantes, occurring as a result of his desire to have his country fall in line with his own beliefs, his unrelenting expenditures
Absolutism was a period of tyranny in Europe during the 16th and 17th centuries because monarchs had complete power to do whatever they pleased. Since absolutism is a "monarchical form of government in which the monarch's powers are not limited by a constitution or by the law" essentially there are no boundaries for actions the monarch can and cannot take. The absolutists did not focus on the people under their rule, they ruled by fear and punishment, and believed they were equal to God.
A Comparison of the Characteristics of the Absolutist Rule of Charles I of England and Louis XIV of France
In order to gain the power he desired as an absolute monarch, Louis used a few key techniques that were very successful. His first and most necessary step to get all control was to take all of the nobles’ power, and make it so they were completely under his control. He first did this by taking the nobles’ positions of power, and either getting rid of them by doing it himself, or giving the jobs to loyal middleclass or some nobles who were completely loyal and under his control. Louis had very simple reasoning for doing this, which was that if the nobles had any power or control, they would have a better chance of overthrowing him, and that since there can only be so much total power, the more they had, the less ...
Divine right was a widespread idea under absolutist government: the concept that a king’s power was derived from God, and that kings therefore had the power to act as God on Earth. In 1609, James I of England spoke on this idea, proclaiming that kings were God’s lieutenants on Earth and likewise deserved the unquestioned authority of Gods
... move, defunding any revolts they might plan, and preoccupying their time with petty social matters instead of matters of the state. If Louis’ reign was not supported by the enabling qualities of the Palace of Versailles, his reign would certainly not be as absolute as it was.
The government within the monarchical society was populated by the aristocracy. It was they who were depended upon for directing the course of governmental affairs. The controls of all co...
Louis XIV was one of France’s most powerful leaders. He was born on September 5, 1638, at Saint Germain-en-Laye. His father, Louis XIII died when Louis was young. He had it better than many other young French rulers did. “His father’s death spared Louis XIV the beatings and abuse usually given to French princes” (Buranelli 23). His mother and Marzarin, the cardinal, raised him. He had tutors who gave him an education. Marzarin taught him everything he would need to know about court ceremony, war, and the craft of kingship. It is obvious that Louis has been brought up very different than other young kings. That is what might account for his unique style of ruling. When Marzarin died in 1661, France was shocked to find out that Louis refused to select a first minister (Michael 73). He wanted to rule alone. He chose Jean Baptiste Colbert as his financial advisor. Louis had many goals. His main one was to weaken the power of the nobles. Louis feared the nobles. He felt they were a threat to his reign. So he did all he could to make sure they would not stand in his way. He also wanted France to achieve economic, political, and cultural brilliance (Buranelli 121). As a king, Louis was very dedicated to his country. He wanted to be ruling France during its glory. He did accomplish his goal. During the high point of his reign, France was the most powerful country in Europe. Louis also gained France some new territory. He was a very extravagant ruler. Louis had a huge palace constructed for him to live in. Many other rulers were jealous of the power and luxury that he had. All of his subjects were very impressed with his rule. His life came to a sudden stop when he died during his sleep in 1715.
When Louis the XIV began his rule in 1643, his actions immediately began to suggest and absolute dictatorship. Because of the misery he had previously suffered, one of the first things he did was to decrease the power of the nobility. He withdrew himself from the rich upper class, doing everything secretly. The wealth had no connection to Louis, and therefore all power they previously had was gone. He had complete control over the nobles, spying, going through mail, and a secret police force made sure that Louis had absolute power. Louis appointed all of his officials, middle class men who served him without wanting any power. Louis wanted it clear that none of his power would be shared. He wanted "people to know by the rank of the men who served him that he had no intention of sharing power with them." If Louis XIV appointed advisors from the upper classes, they would expect to gain power, and Louis was not willing to give it to them. The way Louis XIV ruled, the sole powerful leader, made him an absolute ruler. He had divine rule, and did not want to give any power to anyone other than himself. These beliefs made him an absolute ruler.
During this time, the Magna Carta was written and signed. This limited the power of the king and he had to earn approval by the lords before he could make a decision. It also made it so a law can only be passed if it doesn’t go against the Magna Carta. It also implies religion by helping with giving the Church full rights that allows
People like King James I thought that the kings had the same power of God (James I). King James believed that that the kings could judge anyone and do anything without being held accountable for it. Just like God, they could create and destroy anything, they could kill or grant life to anyone. If they are not followed, if the members of the government do not follow their leaders’ orders, then they are worthy of death (Bossuet). The monarchs believed that whatever they did was right. They did not treat people with the respect they deserved. People at that time did not have the right to change anything in the government. Louis XIV made it possible for some of the nobles to have a voice in the government by building the Palace of Versailles where he would be able to control more of the
The French citizens were correct in overthrowing the French monarchy because King Louis XVI was a poor leader. One of the qualities that made King Louis XVI a poor leader was that he was not interested in ruling the country. According to the World History Textbook, “He was easily bored with affairs of state and much preferred to spend his time in physical activities.” (Beck Roger, Black Linda, Krieger, Larry, Naylor Phillip, Shabaka Dahia, 653) It is obvious that King Louis XVI was more interested in personal enjoyment then the livelihood of his country. He would rather be noble having fun rather than being a leader making decisions for his country. When King Louis XVI was removed from power, he was given what he wanted, the escape from the affairs of state. Another example why King L...
An Analysis of the Absolute Monarchy of France in the 17th Century This historical study will define the absolute monarchy as it was defied through the French government in the 17th century. The term ‘absolute” is defined I the monarchy through the absolute control over the people through the king and the royal family. All matters of civic, financial, and political governance was controlled through the king’s sole power as the monarchical ruler of the French people. In France, Louis XIII is an important example of the absolute monarchy, which controlled all facts of military and economic power through a single ruler. Udder Louis XIII’s reign, the consolidation of power away from the Edicts of Nantes to dominant local politics and sovereignty
As mentioned earlier, Louis made some grand changes within the French government such as parliaments’ abilities, the judicial system, and the changes made to the economic industry (Steingrad). While Louis did have some advisors, he made many of the decisions on his own, “The king thereafter controlled his own government until his death, acting through his high state council (conseil d'en haut) and a few select ministers, whom he called or dismissed at will.”(Steingrad). Therefore, one could conclude that Louis had if not absolute but almost absolute control over ever choice the government made and every law that was implemented. Louis XIV himself summed it when he said, "It is legal because I wish it."(“King Louis
Austin asserts in his Command Theory of Law that that the law is the command of the sovereign, which is also backed by a threat of sanction in the event of non-compliance. As a noun, the sovereign is usually defined as a person who holds supreme ruler, like an absolute monarch. The use of ‘sovereign’ as an adjective also refers to a group of