Absolutist French Monarchs And The English Parliament

Abryl Navarro DBQ Essay During the 1500s and 1600s, Western Europe experienced a period of governments ruled by ab-solute monarchs. Absolute monarchies are forms of government in which the monarch has abso-lute power over the people. The absolutism was caused by religious and territorial conflicts which was crated fear and uncertainty. Rulers/ Kings abused their power of absolutism over their sub-jects.

The 17th century of European history, colloquially known as the “Age of Crisis”, gave rise to a new form of government: absolutism. Religious wars, economic troubles, inflation, and new agricultural challenges such as the Little Ice Age wracked the nations of Europe and caused tremendous fear and uncertainty among the masses. Thus, as many felt that life itself was endangered, they were willing to accept the rise of a strong, independent ruler who might lead them from the darkness. In this way, absolutism emerged- a new form of monarchy based on a hereditary ruler with complete authority. Perhaps the most well known example of an absolute monarch in European history is Louis XIV, the ruler of France from 1643 to 1715.

The parliamentary system allowed kings to be more aware of the different regions and customs of the population, therefore allowing them to have more freedoms. Also, the gentry could advise the king on issues such as war and taxes so he would know what is unfair to the population, where if he was absolute, he could make whatever tax he wanted. Parliament also allowed for the separation of power into judicial and legislative branches, further strengthening the government because the two areas would not be headed solely by the monarch. Structures such as the Bill of Rights and the system of checks allowed constitutional monarchies to rule more efficiently at the end of the 17th century and on to the

A Comparison of the Characteristics of the Absolutist Rule of Charles I of England and Louis XIV of France

Louis XIV, the ruler of France from the late seventeenth century to the early eighteenth century, claimed, “I am the state.” He considered this to be absolutism. His goal, also acquainted with absolutism, was, “one king, one law, one faith;” Furthermore, Louis wanted to promote religious unity, royal dignity, and security of the state. In order to achieve this goal, he had to rule with a firm hand, laying down the law for all to see. Louis XIV’s absolutism fostered in four major parts: the building of Versailles to control the nobility, the breeding of a strong military, the improvement of France’s economy, and, while quite harsh, the brutal extinction of religious toleration.

There were many forms of government through the 17th and 18th century. Two forms of government that were used a lot were democracy and absolutism. The form of government during these centuries that was most effective was democracy.

By the close of the 17th century, England had developed into a Constitutional Monarchy and France had developed into an Absolutist, centralized form of monarchy.

The English had been under the combined rule of both the king and the assembly for so long that they were not ready to give all the power of government to a single person. The least influential, Charles I, was born in 1600 and died 1649 when he inherited the throne parliament was very upset with the monarchy and sought to lessen the power of the monarchy. Charles I tried to rule without consenting Parliament, but Parliament had so much control at the time that he failed to decrease its power. However, Charles believed in the divine rights of kings. Charles went on to oppress his people by levying taxes without the consent of the parliament. Many of his subjects saw him as a tyrannically oppressive leader. He created

Charles I tried to rule without the Parliament, which made him lose a major source of money. This caused him to issue taxes without the consent of the Parliament or the House of Commons. These actions caused the people of the Parliament to not trust the king, so they created a Long Parliament. The Long Parliament “enacted legislation that limited the power of the monarch and made government without Parliament impossible” (McKay, 508). The Long Parliament decreased the power of the ruler, which clashed with the idea in absolutism that the ruler has complete power over

The society at that time was divided into two, the nobles and the clergy on one hand, and the working class on the other hand. Literature at that time was very restrained and steady. All the literature works and materials that are found or to be found are only focusing on the upper classes lives. Also, arts and literature at that time in France only represents on side of the reality, while all the huge working class remained ignored and

England’s lengthy history of hereditary monarchs and abusive absolutists has led to the system of constitutionalism in 17th century English government. The encouragement of these absolutism practices triggered the need to search for a new way to govern. The reigns of the Stuart monarchy led to the shift from absolutism to constitutionalism during 17th century England. After witnessing the success of Louis XIV's of France establishment of absolutism, England would soon see that James I, and his son Charles I, will fail at establishing absolutism in England and see a constitutional government established.

European monarchs did not simply emerge on the scene as absolute rulers but slowly acquired supreme power over a long period of time. This interest in becoming absolute rulers infected the European monarchs, becoming particularly acute during the religious wars of the 16th century. As a result of the chaos and destruction, the kings of Europe began to consolidate power into a centralized system with the monarch at the top. By the beginning of the 17th century a number of European countries had monarchs who exercised absolute power over their kingdoms. One of the largest and most populated countries in Western Europe during this time was France, which slowly centralized governmental power in the hands of a single monarch. France has often been considered to be one of the best examples of how a monarchy assumed centralized and absolute power; ushering in the Age of Absolutism.

During the 16th Century there was a rise in absolutism power throughout European monarchs. “Absolutism, the political doctrine and practice of unlimited, centralized authority and absolute sovereignty, as vested especially in a monarch or dictator. The essence of an absolutist system is that the ruling power is not subject to regularized challenge or check by any other agency, be it judicial, legislative, religious, economic, or electoral” (The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica). Thomas Hobbes and Jacques Benigne Bossuet were two theorist of the 16th century that wrote books and articles justifying absolute rule and the benefits of this form of government. Absolutism is an effective form of government as shown through the reign of Louis XIV in France between 1638-1715. Louis XIV’s ability to have successful internal affairs, foreign affairs, and financial stability made him a successful ruler.

Absolutism, where there is a person who has full political power over a country, rose in the 17th century due to the increase in surplus, mercantilism and the standing armies. Due to the increase in surplus in these countries, the government had more money to spend. Mercantilism also contributed to the economic growth of countries that adopted it. The increased money from these meant increased funding for standing armies. The standing armies gave the king an army without needing to call on the nobles, thereby lessening their importance and power, and heightening the king’s.

During the time, England had established a constitutional monarchy. A constitutional monarchy is a political system in which a monarch acts as an official of a sovereign state with finite powers limited by a “written (i.e., codified), unwritten (i.e., uncodified) or blended constitution” (Edgecombe par. 1). The monarch is the Head of State and is “to make and pass legislation” (“The Role of the Monarchy” par. 1). This political system also included a governing party to coincide with the monarch. This body limited the monarch’s power by the process of approving laws, taxes, reforms, and acts; each law, tax, reform, and act which needed to be ratified by the governing party, therefore representing a