Absolutism
Britain vs. France by 1715 English Monarchy Limited monarchy Free trade Strong parliament Stable government down to the present Seeds of American Revolution French Monarchy Absolute monarchy On the way to a REVOLUTION in 1789 that rocks Europe
Absolutism: Thomas Hobbes Absolute monarchy is the best. Violence and chaos normal for humans Leviathan (1651) life without government = nasty, brutish, short Social contract = give up your freedom and live obediently under ruler Ppl have no right to rebel no matter how unjust is gov.
Divine Right Theory: Jacques Benigne-Bossouet
Bossuet says...... Finally, gather together all that we have said, so great and so august, about royal authority. You have seen a great nation united under one man: you have seen his sacred power, paternal and absolute: you have seen that secret reason which directs the body politic, enclosed in one head: you have seen the image of God in kings, and you will have the idea of majesty of kingship. God is holiness itself, goodness itself, power itself, reason itself. In these things consists the divine majesty. In their reflection consists the majesty of the prince.... Jacques-Benigne Bossuet
and he says...... The power of God can be felt in a moment from one end of the world to the other: the royal power acts simultaneously throughout the kingdom. It holds the whole kingdom in position just as God holds the whole world. If God were to withdraw his hand, the entire world would return to nothing: if authority ceases in the kingdom, all lapses into confusion.... Bishop Jacques-Benigne Bossuet
John Locke Social contract = Ppl in state of nature are reasonable, moral, and have rights (life, liberty, property) Two Treatises on Government = ppl created gov t to protect natural rights Gov t functions best when power limited and accepted by most citizens If gov fails in protecting natural rights, ppl have right to overthrow it
Louis XIV Roi soleil L Etat, c est moi Gov. jobs for bourgeois persecuting Huguenots Revoked Edit de Nantes Paid standing army Loyal to himself Territorial expansion
Louis XIV Longest documented reigning European monarch (72 yrs) Divine right theory Worked to eliminate feudalism Bring nobles to heel by depending on him Centralized state Versailles nobles in residence
Louis XIV Increase revenue through efficient taxation Mercantilism Consolidate legal codes which varied around France Revoke Edict of Nantes
Louis XIV debt international tensions another royal minority under guidance of Regents
Copycats
Struggle with different laws, customs, bureaucracies in each region Debt wasted wealth from Americas on luxury and war Defender of the Faith Controversial figure in history Mixed success rate Most powerful ruler of his time Philip II, Spain
Spain's Militant Catholicism Philip II "The Most Catholic" effort to consolidate power militantly anti- Protestant
Russia: Ivan IV Grand Prince of Moscow, 16th cen. Huge territorial expansion Conquest Marriage Alliance First Czar Law code Standing army (streltsy) Assembly (zemsky sobor) St. Basil s Cathedral
Ivan Grozny 1565 Oprichnina Northeast Directly ruled by Czar Oprichniki Like Gestapo of Germany 30s Reign ends with territorial war draining economy and mental illness
Peter I The Great, Russia Modernization Army Navy Western advisors Forced where necessary! Grand Embassy Incognito! St. Petersburg
Catherine the Great 1729-96 Long reign Golden Age of Russian Aristocracy Continued modernization program of Peter I Enlightened Despot Absolutist!
Frederick William II Prussia 1786-1797 Strict! Absolutist But Protestant! Protestant inquisition Commissariat Censorship Total control!
So how did the whole absolute divine right king thing work out for 'em?
Method achieved stability through absolutism achieved absolutism through Ruthlessness when necessary strong standing tax-funded army well-designed government bureaucracy Standardized / revised law code bring the nobles to heel exercised control of powers taxation Church often militant and intolerant foreign policy
Assessment... Descendants could not maintain absolutism Often left nation indebted Often left instability through territorial expansion Laid groundwork for future conflicts