Absolutism in the 17th century Essay

It is said that Louis fourteen proclaimed I am the earth Whether or non he really said it is debatable, still the meaning of much(prenominal) a sound outment is clear. Through the trend of the seventeenth one C various regimes crossways europium began to model their states of off the actually theme of I am the state, that is, the milkweed just nowterfly personified and had arrogant control all over his nation. earlier to the 17th Century such arrogant control precluded this one-man rule. By the time of the 17th Century, however, the conditions were in enter for monarchs to take exacting control to shape their nations. The conditions and forces that made despotism a preferred diversity of presidency were the urgency of centralized control, the policy-making unstableness of the time, and the rise of oneness sovereignty over a country.Before one goes into what causes states to dupe absolutism, one must understand it. tyranny is defined as a form of governme nt where sovereignty is embodied in the person of the linguistic rule. The crowned head felt that he had a overlord Right, that is he was responsible to only God, and though he may respect the natural law of where he governed, mostly the milkweed butterfly attempted to place his realm under imperious control. Measures include elimination of certain freedoms, centralization of power, and the substructure of a bureaucracy loyal to the Monarch to help oversee the country. Through these measures, the Monarch was able to control the nobility that eer threatened. The Monarch became more than and more strong as he or she began to blaspheme power and institute absolutism.The first reasonableness why absolutism come outed to be a desirable government form was the necessity of centralized power. War was a continual threat to a nation and its good deal. In a country dissever into fagdoms and realms ruled by individual nobles and dukes, mobilisation for war was a difficult a nd lengthened task. To better prepare a state for war a country mandatory a single ruler with the haughty power. Another cause was the need for efficiently raising revenue. A monarch mandatory absolute control to effectively harass revenue for the cost of maintaining the state. The nation-state became more and more expensive to run during this time repayable to the change magnitude frequency of wars, the costs of trade wind and exploration, and to support the burgeoning bureaucracy.A country separate and ruled by many polar people would beunable to push sufficient revenue. On the other hand, a country ruled a by a single strong ruler could more easily control and tell apart finances. In growth, because of the nature of the time, warfare and government became very personal. Monarchs considered countries an extension of themselves, as exemplified by Louis XIVs supposed gloss I am the state To carry out this, Monarchs effectively eliminated all competition to their power, that is the nobles and the church. In the era of the Post-Reformation, it was all too booming for Monarchs to seize power from church and nobility, and this hike contributed to their power.Another force at diddle that made absolutism seem desirable was the political asymmetry of the time, both native and external. France is a paragon example for this. in that location were many fry revolts between 1624 and 1648, and Nobles and Parlements took prefer of tike revolts and the Regency to protest their loss of past privileges and levels of taxation. Barricades set up in capital of France and the mob burst into the Kings bedroom. King Louis XIII was powerless to break short these insurrections against his rule. Louis XIV soon came to power, and began to assert his royal spot. He put down these peasant revolts, reorganized government, and placed himself at its head. hard-core advisors were installed, and a deal with nobility which surrendered their authority in relation to the Crown in return for authority over their lands.In addition, the size of the military increased, and France began to engage in wars to help solve domestic problems. These wars were generally successful and contributed to an even higher harvest-festival in Royal authority. The successes of Louis XIV support other atomic number 63an Monarchs to follow his example. The problems of dissymmetry seemed to be only able to immovable with a steady, but iron fist. authoritarianism seemed to offer this, as the king would nourish authority to maintain control without incumbrance from a constitution or a law making body. Finally, the political instability forced Monarchs to take measures that otherwise they would not wanted to take, i.e. levying heavy taxes. When the benefits of these measures came in, Monarchs often looked beyond their ideals to permanently install absolutism. To sum up, the grassroots political instability of the 17th Century, i.e. wars, peasant revolts, etc. paved the way for Monarchs seizing absolute control to stabilize their nations.The lowest cause for absolutism was the rise of single sovereignty over a country. In the times of feudal system, more than one person could have sovereignty over an part of a country. Dukes, Counts, and others may claim surname to a land in addition to the Monarchs. However the decline of feudalism brought an end to this. Kings began to assert that there could be only one sovereign to a land, and that was the King. Many new political and juristic theories supported the Monarchs absolute control over land. Jacques-Benigne Bossuet (1627-1704) adapted the medieval concept of kingship in his theory of the Divine Right of Kings, which argued that the king ruled dead by will of God, and that to oppose the king in effect constituted insubordination against God.Although people should be excluded from power, Gods purpose in instituting absolute monarchy was to cling to and guide society. Coming from a moralis ticistic approach, Thomas Hobbes argued that a strong ruler could best control and protect a society. Further justifying absolutism, Monarchs pointed out that it seemed to end Europes religious wars and had brought social and political peace. King Louis XIV believed that such absolute rule over a people was the duty of a Monarch, and anything else was failing the people. Essentially, Monarchs found their absolute sovereignty on moral and political justifications.In conclusion, the conditions of the 17th Century made Absolutism seem to be a desirable choice for government, and rightly so. Following the example of France, many countries essay to centralize power. Yet, not all were to be as successful as France. For example, Oliver Cromwell instituted a dictatorship with many absolutist qualities, but this failed as soon as he died. But it is difficult to deny that absolutism was a powerful force in the 17th Century. Absolutism may seem harsh to people of the 21st Century, but for t he many of those who experienced it, it was at to the lowest degree beneficial. The political instability of the time, the need to centralize, and the increasing sovereignty of Monarchs all were driving forces in making Absolutism popular and helpful. disrespect its problems, absolutism eventually led Europe down the right path.