How Did Monarchs Gain Power During The Age Of Absolutism

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

Peter the Great led Russia to its modern and powerful time, at the same time Louis XIV also made his people see the rise of a stronger France which under the rule of him. They suffered their people but also bring them new life so that is hard to judge who is better, but as a leader, Louis XIV created the grandest court in history of France and made France became the leading cultural and military power of Europe. Peter the Great was successfully involved in every part of Russians’ life such as what people wore and read. Louis XIV made his country become much more powerful and respectful in the world stage so he was considered better than Peter the Great.

As a conclusion Peter the Great of Russia should receive the title of “Most Absolute Monarch” because he was wise, yet cruel. He created Russia's navy, but required an education before the men could join. He was fond of physical labor and didn't mind putting his men through it. Peter also westernized the entire country of Russia. Since beards were not a fashion in westernization, Peter made it mandatory for all of his nobleman to shave their beards off. He wanted Russia to be westernized completely. Peter was very strong and was not afraid of anyone's criticism. When his people tried to overthrow him (which was multiple times), it usually ended with mass executions. Peter had to let everyone know who was boss. He even interrogated his own son because of faulty reasoning. He also was a very strong Protestant Christian and made everyone follow him as a Christian. To get down to it, if things didn't go Peter's way, it all ended

     Peter the Great had many strengths, but his best was he modernized Russia. By seeing Europe, he changed many things. He changed the calendar so the New Year would be January 1. He increased agriculture by growing new crops and increased the number of factories in Russia. He also started the first Russian newspaper and enlarged their army to 200,000 men. He also got a warm water port for his “window on the sea.”

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

During the XVII century, most of the European countries were ruled by more or less absolute Monarchy. Born in 1638, Louis XIV will have the longest reign out of all French ruler ( 72 years). A few years later, while Louis XIV’s reign was at his apogee, another important ruler of this era get to the throne: Peter the Great. Both of these rulers, known for being an absolute monarch, have been influenced by the traumatic event of their childhood. For Louis XIV, it was the insurrection of the nobility against the royal power, known as the Fronde; Forced to flee Paris, he will hold a grudge against this feudal power . As for Peter The Great, it was the rebellion led by his step-sister, after the death of his brother with whom he ruled as Tsar, that will influence his way of ruling the kingdom.

A European monarch that heavily enforced absolutism throughout his reign is Louis XIV. He is known as the Sun King and for his statement “I am the State.” Louis had no tolerance toward Protestants, and believed in the motto "one king, one law, one faith." Due to this, he revoked the Edict of Nantes. Following with the Edict of Fontainebleau, Louis ordered the destruction of Protestant churches, closure of Protestant schools, and expulsion of Protestant clergy. After this, a great number of Protestants fled, resulting in France’s loss of much of its labor force. It led to the decline of his reign and the country itself. Throughout his reign, Louis was able to enrich the French

Many rulers used absolutism in their countries. They believed rulers should have complete control over the country. Prince Machiavelli believed the best way to rule was to be feared and thought that the only way people would listen to him was if he was mean and scary. He thought if he was nice and loved then they would not fear him and end up taking advantage of him. (doc1) King James also believed absolutism was the way to go. He believed in divine right and that it was the only way to keep the country

During the 16th century to the 18th century, Monarchs in Europe used absolutism. Monarchs such as King Louis and Peter The Great used absolute tactics because they wanted to consolidate power from the nobility. They wanted to consolidate power from the nobility because they wanted to take the power they lost during the middle ages. King Louis and Peter the Great used all multiple means to reclaim power. They used their power to glorify themselves and their country. The practice of absolutism can be argued to have both positive and negative effects.

Prior to Peter taking reign, the Russian society was in a rough condition. The economy was failing and the country's standing army was extremely weak. Russia was also in the midst of a war against the Ottoman Turkish Empire, with a goal to secure a Russian port on the northern coast of the Black Sea. Peter the Great ruled over Russia from 1682-1752.He tried to form warm water ports so they had the ability to trade in the in the winter. He also tried to improve Russia and modernize the culture. As an effect of these things, Peter the Great had an overall positive impact on Russia during his rule.

Absolutism affected the power + status of the European nobility depending on the country in which they lived. In England the power of the nobility increases due to a victory in the English Civil War and the Glorious Revolution of 1658. However, in France, Louis XIV¡¯s absolutist regime decreased the powers of the noble but heightened their material status. In Russia and in Prussia, the absolutist leaders of those countries modernized their nations + the nobility underwent a change, but it retained prestige + power.

According to the text book, an absolute monarch is a king or queen who has unlimited power and seeks to control all aspects of society (McDougall little, 1045). In more simple terms, it is a ruler who can do just about anything without having to get permission from anyone, or having to worry about the repercussions. This was a trend that started in the 1600’s by European leaders who were rich, and didn’t

The 1600s and 1700s were times of change. The Reformation of the previous century had shaken the foundations of society in Europe, while the Age of Exploration had introduced Europe to lands, peoples, and resources that brought new wealth to individuals and countries. Building off of this wealth, monarchs in Europe began to centralize their power using methods of taxation and claims of divine right. These monarchs, including Louis XIV of France, Peter the Great of Russia, and James I of England, eventually created a governmental system, known as absolutism, that revolved entirely around themselves and their desires. Because of their claims to such extreme power, absolutism had wide reaching effects on many parts of their countries. The effects of absolutism were the Nobles got treated like servants, the king's power increased a lot, and the military improved.

The royal government is dominant and ruling over its own aristocrats and all of the other authorities. Basically, in absolutism, there are no other powers that can hold more ground than the monarchy itself. There are many absolute monarchs that are present in our society and even to this day, However, I firmly believe that Peter the Great is the epitome of the various absolute monarchs who ruled from 1682 - 1725. Prior to Peter the Great, Russia was disorganized and did not hold a major influence or power globally. Peter the Great used methods

Meanwhile, Louis XIV of France would engage in four wars at the end of his reign from 1667 to 1713. None of these wars provided any gains for France, however they were extremely costly. These wars also effectively shattered the power and splendor of the state, and caused the disillusioned people of France to threaten revolt. In addition, Peter the Great of Russia was infamous for ruthlessly slaying any opposition to his rule. An example of this is when a conspiracy by the musketeer regiment to overthrow him was uncovered, and Peter retaliated by torturing, killing, and publically displaying over 1000 musketeer bodies. Clearly the amount of people who died due to absolute monarchs did not bode well with the general populace, hence causing much unrest.