Constitutional Monarchies Throughout The Enlightenment Era

The Age of Enlightenment saw many great changes in Western Europe. It was an age of reason and philosophes. During this age, changes the likes of which had not been seen since ancient times took place. Such change affected evert pore of Western European society. Many might argue that the Enlightenment really did not bring any real change, however, there exists and overwhelming amount of facts which prove, without question, that the spirit of the Enlightenment was one of change-specifically change which went against the previous teachings of the Catholic Church. Such change is apparent in the ideas, questions, and philosophies of the time, in the study of science, and throughout the monarchial system.

For centuries the comfort of traditions was how humans lived. The teachings of the church and the system of the monarchy was the way the cities and countries were ruled and people would not question it because it was the way that they must be follow or else there would be consequences. Although there were those who constantly reinforced the old customs, change is inventible in history. People stopped listening to the church and started to learn for themselves. The enlightenment period was born and the old world was a talk of the past. It completely reinvented the ideas and beliefs of olden days and brought on a new look for the world that they’ve been accustomed to. Thus pushing away the church supremacy and bringing forward the age of reasoning, the period of enlightenment is the most profound event in history because of the increase of social interactions between people, the exploration of nature and the change in political views.

During the Age of Absolutism, views of how government should have been run were drastically different that the views of Enlightenment thinkers. The fundamental difference between these two views of government – absolutism and Enlightenment – was that, in an absolute view of government, it stated that it should be run by a monarch – such as a king or a queen – and that he or she should have complete and unquestionable authority over everything, whereas the Enlightenment resulted in the development of new ideas, many of which criticized absolute monarchies, such as the idea that the fundamental function of government was to protect it's people's rights. The Enlightenment thinkers all had different ideas, and all to varying degrees, but the

The nobles from military decent (the sword) have an extensive lineage that allows them to perform certain tasks as described by Jean de La Taille in the poem “The Retired Courtier,” the words speak of the need to be a noble, to be a pure

There has been many type of monarchies all throughout Europe's history that each had their own ideas of a good social structure. Usually, the lowest class is treated poorly by the higher classes. The monarchs would make certain actions to fulfill his needs or those of the higher classes even if it causes the lower classes to suffer. Political rule during the 18th century denied the people of some if not most of their natural human rights. This would lead to enlightened thinkers challenging the traditional rule of monarchy.

Upon reading and reviewing the text, I began to understand the Jeffersonian Era, and how it was different from the Early Republic Period. Also, why Jefferson was an important president during this era, and some of his problems. This highlights the troubles and triumphs the young country had as it began to shape its identity and place as a nation.

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.

During the 16th and 17th centuries it is clear and evident that the centralization of power, or the absolutism in and hierarchy, does in fact induce stability in society, however, it is also evident via the given readings that absolutism also had its flaws which were later proved to be its downfall. It essentially all boils down a single concept of the people versus government. This is evident in the history of the French prior and leading up to the Révolution. In addition to, the monarchy of the English under King James VI and I’s rule. As complicated as the nature of government is, when power or authority is concentrated excessively into a single point, the society will crack by that very same point if a healthy relationship between citizen and ruler is not established. One cannot expect to bully and undermine one’s citizens without considering the possibility that one day they will rise up against him or her and “religious” masks can only be worn for so long before people recognize the hypocrisies present within them. Both of these truths are evident as seen in the given texts. Specifically, with The Great Cat Massacre, On The Social Order and Absolute Monarchy, by Jean Domat, and Trew Law of Free Monarchies, King James VI & I.

The time of the Enlightenment was a time of great change, reform, and the emergence of great minds such as Isaac Newton, Johannes Kepler, Galileo Galilei, and even Copernicus. These men cleared the path to thinking in a new way and brought about the change necessary for the Scientific Revolution. The Enlightenment allowed people to think more critically and even was the time in which the “Experimental Method” was consolidated by Galileo Galilei (1564-1642, Buckler, J., Crowston, p.592 para. 6). It allowed people to begin to think “out of the box” if you will. Monarchies and the power of the king before this time ruled over the general population unthreatened and very rarely did opposition come to stand. Quite often if opposition did stand

It all began with the enlightenment of absolutism, a time period where leaders shared power with people which gave people more freedom and strengthed power of leaders. During the 18th century philosophers, as a result of enlightened absolutisn began to question ways to improve the society. Thinkers believed that enlightened absolutism was inconsitent with the society. The age of enlightenment was a time of new ideas, that disagreed with common beliefs. As thinkers found ways to improve the society they were dependent on reason and naturals laws. They believed if they used natural laws they could discover patterns in nature which can apply human activities like government and economics. Most philospherd wanted to shift their society with more

The establishment of the Magna Carta has been limiting the power of the king, and it is now said to be the end of absolutism and the beginning of constitutional monarchy. Monarchy is a form of government in which the head of state is a monarch. There are mainly two types of monarchies. They are the Absolute Monarchy and Constitutional Monarchy. An absolute monarchy is a form of government where the monarch has the power to rule his or her land or state and its citizens freely.

The period of enlightened absolutism across all of Europe revealed a significant change in the processes and objectives of rulers during this time period. The great philosopher, Machiavelli, approached the reason that a ruler should present two qualities in order to drive a successful community. A ruler needed to behave both “like a lion” and “like a fox” he believed. These two traits can be seen clearly in two foremost rulers during this time period. Catherine the Great of Russia and Elizabeth I of England had clearly fulfilled the suggestion made by Machiavelli. These two iconic rulers met the proposition made by Machiavelli by enforcing both aggressive, but yet clever procedures against other countries and the poor in order to create a better country for themselves.

Enlightenment in Europe was a period in which ideas were legitimately from one country to another. It is also known as civilization time where traditional authority was put to the question while embracing the notion of humanity to improve human change. The French revolution was directly in motivation by Enlightenment ideals which marked a peak of its influence and a beginning of its fall. The Enlightenment 's imperative of the seventeenth-century forerunners incorporated the Englishmen Francis Bacon and Thomas Hobbes, the Frenchman Renee Descartes and the important characteristic logicians of the Scientific Revolution, including Galileo, Kepler, and Leibniz. The civilization called for changes in different parts of Europe and America than

In all age rulers always wanted to be absolute monarchs, not only the kings but also the queens. Their goal was to control every aspect of society. Throughout the 16th and 17th Century the rise of many absolute monarchies become a common phenomenon in many European countries. The power controlling under one people’s hand makes economic development rapid, allows for long-term goals to be planned and met and allows for quicker decisions to be made. Among all the leaders, Peter the Great, Maria Theresa, and Louis XIV can regard as the main representative.

The current British government is a constitutional monarchy, where the monarch is the Head of State, but only Parliament has the ability to make laws. This distribution of power originated during the reign of the Stuarts. While absolute monarchs ruled the rest of Europe, the English Parliament slowly forced the kings and queens to relinquish much of their power. However, limits on the power of the monarchy were in place far before the Stuart dynasty. In 1215, King John signed the Magna Carta and agreed to consult the Great Council, which later became Parliament, before raising taxes, effectively giving Parliament the power of the purse. The conditions of the Magna Carta came into conflict during the Stuart monarchy.