Form Of Government In The 17th And 18th Century

Absolutism created a time of prosperity throughout the 1500s and the 1600s. At this point of history, absolutism was an efficient way of running a government. Absolutist leaders were vigorous, assertive and a potent symbol of authority. The amount of growth in countries such as Russia was both efficient and effective because the power of authority was concentrated into one person’s hands. Absolutism enabled Peter the Great to modernize and adapt Russia for war, commerce and industrial growth. Additionally, absolutism gave people a powerful leader they needed to trust in and depend on for their country's sake. This type of regnant is most evident King James I of England and King Louis XIV of France. For example, King James I of England

Compare and contrast the theories and practice of absolutism and constitutional monarchy during the 17th century.

During the 1500s and the 1600s, European Absolutism had flourished, producing a time period known as the Age of Absolutism. The kings during this time believed that they had been given their power by God (or so they said), and the people had just assumed that they meant they would incorporate God’s will into their rulings, but instead the kings abused the power, becoming tyrannical rulers. Tyranny is defined as “a cruel and oppressive government or rule” or “cruel, unreasonable, or arbitrary use of power or control,” and it impacts many people, especially the people without power or money. Although some monarchs, like Peter the Great, managed to use their power for good, absolutism is mostly tyrannical because the rulers decide everything without having to converse with others, and would do anything to

Throughout the pass of time, human history has seen different forms of governments, from the tribal leader, to the Roman Republic, to the absolutist monarchies of Europe. Yet, few of them had centered their main ideals in freedom and sovereignty. Actually, sovereignty is a fairly recent term, grasped among Europeans when they finally decided to stop intervening so much in each other’s affairs. For many centuries, monarchies, especially those with an absolute ruler, had been the top choice for European governments, and, as it should have been expected, they had brought the same governing style to the American colonies. Thus, it was not a surprise to observe European governments where an absolute leader had control over everything and everyone,

During 1650-1750, a new political system known as absolutism emerged and became popular amongst many countries in central and Eastern Europe. Absolutism is a political system in which a divine-right monarch enjoys absolute power over all affairs of state. Supposedly, the “divine-right monarch” receives his power directly from God, meaning that he is only responsible to God and that no one can question his authority. In the 1600’s, taxes and famine began to rise in many European states, which resulted in dangerous and uncontrolled riots. Many countries began to adopt absolutism as a political system that could be a solution to these issues. As absolutism became a solution to these issues and gained popularity in France, Prussia, and Russia,

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.

     Absolutism became the primary form of government for many Europeans in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. It appealed to so many for reasons the same as other governments. “Absolutists contended that social and political harmony would result when subjects obeyed their divinely sanctioned rulers in all aspects“ (Text 594). Absolutists rulers felt God gave them their ability to teach the masses the proper ways to live.

During the late 17th and early 18th century, many European nations such as France and Russia were absolute monarchies. Even countries such as England had kings who at least attempted to implement absolutism. Indeed the concept of absolutism, where the monarch is the unquestionably highest authority and absolute ruler of every element in the realm, is certainly appealing to any sovereign. However, this unrestricted power was abused, and by the end of the 18th century, absolutism was gone. Absolutism failed because the monarchs' mistreatment of the population caused the people to revolt against their rule and policies. There are many factors which caused this discontent. For one, there was a great loss of human lives. Louis XIV of France

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.

From the mid-1600s to the end of the eighteenth century, absolutism had grown strong in several European states, and as the cognizance of people threaten to weaken the system, influential

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.

The 17th and 18th centuries were a period in Europe where the country was driven by agriculture. New ideas and technologies were invented which led to an increase in crops leading to The British Agricultural Revolution. As a direct result of the crop yields, small landowners weren’t able to profit therefore leaving their farms and migrating to smaller cities where they mostly worked in factories. This led to the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in Europe. Although there are many changes that took place during the 17th and 18th centuries, the increased crop yields came about in part because of new advances such as the Northfolk Crop Rotation, The Rotherham Plow, the seed drill, and enclosure which negatively affected small farmers by increasing production which meant less farmers were needed to supply the population. However, positive effects such as less competition and increased profits benefited large landowners and ultimately led to the industrial revolution.

Many different forms of government have existed throughout civilization. Theocracy, dictatorships, democracy, and many others have all had periods of time where they reigned as the government of choice. Arguments could be made in favor of each form of government. The key to finding the most viable form of government is to consider this: which form of government provides the most stability for the state?

“In a democracy the poor will have more power than the rich, because there are more of them, and the will of the majority is supreme” - Aristotle. This quote lays out the main idea behind Democracy. The idea that the people deserve equality and freedom. Equality in race, colour and religion, and freedom of speech, and will, unless it is against the will of the majority of the people. Democracy endeavors to achieve a balance in freedom of an individual, whilst not violating the majority's will. Democracy was developed in Ancient Greece. The word itself comes from the greek term ‘demokratia’ (‘demos - the people’ and ‘kratos - rule’. Democracy was first used in the Greek state, Athens. Athens used a direct form of Democracy, as people knew each other. Nowadays, there are an abundant amount of countries that are ruled under democracy, such as New Zealand, Switzerland, Ireland, and Austria.

A form of government ruled by one person whose authority is not restricted by law or governing bodies is absolutism. It is arguable if this form of government can truly be successful due to its impression left throughout the course of history. Justification of absolutism by Thomas Hobbes, Jacques Benigne Bossuet, and analysis of Louis XIV rule reveal why absolutism in ineffective. Due to its removal of self-authority, vulnerability to a power, and the possibility of weakening a country make absolutism inefficient.