Louis XIV: An Absolute Monarch

As soon as Peter took the throne in 1682, and just after the death of his first minister the Cardinal Mazarin in1661 for Louis XIV, they both decided to rule alone and to establish an Absolute Monarchy. Defined by William Beik as being the fact that “ (…) the King derived his power from God and could exercise it without other constituted bodies having the rights to challenge them (…)”. If one applies this definition to both Louis’s XIV and Peter’s reign, without more research, it could indeed be said that both reigns were absolute. However, there is a difference of terminology between the two monarchs: Louis XIV was an absolute monarch but his sovereign power was limited by unwritten

It is often debated whether or not the reign of King Louis XIV had a positive or negative effect on France. Although there were improvements during his reign in transportation, culture, and national defense, there were far more negative aspects. He depleted the national treasury with his liberal spending on personal luxuries and massive monuments. His extreme fear of the loss of power led to poor decision making, which caused the court to be of lower quality. King Louis XIV’s disastrous rule brought about a series of effects that influenced the French Revolution in the following century.

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 seventeenth century saw the evolution of two new types of government mainly because of the instability that was caused by religious wars. One type of government was a constitutional monarchy in which rulers were confined to the laws of the state, giving the people some liberties, best exemplified by William and Mary during the Stuart monarchial rule. Constitutional monarchy was successful in mainly in England because of the Magna Carta, which kept the king’s power in check. The other type was absolute monarchy, in which the king has power over everything, shown by the French under Louis XIV. Although these two

An absolute monarchy is a form of government in which there is one leader who holds complete and unlimited power. King Louis XIV is considered a perfect example of an autocratic ruler. Two actions he took were building the Palace of Versailles and trying to impose uniformity in religious affairs. In the end he left his country in a bad economical and political state. King Louis XIV was a leader that used absolute power to hurt his country and people.

King Louis XIV was one of the best cases of absolute monarchs, he was leader of France for a lengthy time. Additionally, Michael Gibson wrote about how insignificant Russia was until Peter turned it into a “great power feared by all” in document 8. He desired leaders to read his work so they had the ability to learn and flourish from his writings. Gibson decided to display both sides of a leader thought to be great. This, in turn, made him unbiased and more trusted by other respected bodies in his field.

My monarch, King Louis XIV, deserves the title of most absolute monarch more than any monarch because of his many superior accomplishments. King Louis was the catalyst for economic growth in France during his 72 year reign. With the help of Jean Baptiste Colbert, he was able to make France self-sufficient. France was able to make anything it needed, which kept more money in their economy. He supported the economy even more by giving French companies tax benefits while putting tariffs on any imported products. At the same time, he encouraged his citizens to move to Canada, which was a French territory, to jump start the fur trading market.

Louis XIV and Peter the Great were two of the most famous absolutism monarchs in Europe. In my point of view Louis XIV did a better job as a leader. In the 17th century the Europe world entered the age of absolutism. After the religious wars, most European people put their attentions back from the wars and more focused on their own life. At that time, nobles and kings of European countries get more power in managing people. And monarchs’ power and rights reached to the top stage as they claimed to rule by divine will.

In 17th-18th century Europe, the age of absolutism, absolute monarchs ruled most of Europe. Absolute monarchs are rulers that have complete control over the government and its people. They claimed to rule by “divine right,” where their authority comes from God and they were above the law. The views of being a proper role as an absolute monarch differed very much between rulers and their subjects. Certain rulers had ideas that both the people and ruler should be united, some abused their power with no sympathy towards the people they rule, and the subjects that suffered from the rulings of the monarch had a completely different perspective than the rulers that were in power.

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.

An absolute monarch is a ruler by divine right who has control over every portion of his kingdom. The most famous absolute monarch, Louis XIV, had the longest reign of any of the French kings. Louis achieved this as a result of his reformed laws, foreign policy, a smart economic advisor, and his decision to deny power to the nobility. Although some of these ideas could be viewed as having a negative impacting on France, overall Louis XIV's absolute government was beneficial to the development of his country.

Louis XIV and Ivan the terrible were both memorable absolutist monarchs however they reigned their countries differently. They both had the same goals, to centralize power and become dominant countries in europe. Although, they achieved

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

During the second half of the 17th century, there were many similarities and differences between the monarchy in England and France. These similarities and differences were seen in the theory and practice of the monarchies. In England, there was a Constitutional monarchy, while in France, there was an Absolutist monarchy. In the second half of the 17th century, absolute monarchs such as Louis XIV ruled in France, and William and Mary shared their power with Parliament in England. These two monarchies had differences theories and government, but they shared a similarity through the practice of mercantilism.

He reigned in France for 72 years, and during 54 of them he personally controlled the French government. The 17th century is labeled as the age of Louis XIV. Since then his rule has been hailed as the supreme example of absolutism government. He epitomized the ideal of kingship. During his reign France stabilized and became one of the strongest powers in Europe.