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Michael Paulk

Mr. Annarelli

AP Euro, Period 3

9 November 2010

Eastern European Absolutism vs. French Absolutism

Eastern European absolutism was modeled upon the model of French absolutism;

however, there were several key differences that set them apart. Though the differences were

quite clear, similarities existed between the French and their Eastern European counterparts. The

rise of absolute monarchies dates back to the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, when several

monarchs in western and Eastern Europe increased the power of their central governments. In

doing so, these kings, emperors, or sultans secured their position as the supreme ruler and

possessor of all power. They formed inner circles from their countries’ nobility who comprised

advisory roles and were strong advocates of royal absolutism.

In several countries an absolute monarchy appeared to be the only viable solution to

dealing with the problems that plagued it. France, for example, had been torn apart from

religious wars, the citizens had no respect for law and order, the feudal nobility had seized

control and the finances of the central government were in chaos. French absolutism was the

doctrine that the monarch of a nation was all-powerful. He or she made the laws executed the

laws, and judged those who violated the laws. It was a form of dictatorship or tyranny combined

with the medieval trappings of monarchy.

Although quite different from Western Europe, this same pattern became evident in

Eastern Europe. During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, most of the countries in

Eastern Europe were economically less developed than their western counterparts. The landed
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aristocracy was the dominant power, serfdom was harsher than ever, and most areas lacked the

strong central governments that were prevalent throughout much of Western Europe by this time.

All of this made the idea of an absolute monarchy even more favorable, especially in countries

such as Prussia, Austria, and Russia. These countries strengthened their standing armies, gained

new territories, improved commerce, dealt accordingly with religious problems, and made

important compromises with the nobility and aristocracy. This was all made possible after the

development of a strong national government and powerful monarchy in each of these countries.

The lack of serfdom in France sets Eastern Europe apart. The revival of serfdom in

Eastern Europe was not necessarily economically motivated, as it would have been in France.

France’s increasing serfdom was detrimental because higher taxes rendered the third estate

unable to produce crops. In Eastern Europe, however, the lords had more power than those in

the west. The monarchs needed the support of the nobility. For much of Eastern Europe’s

history, the monarchs were relatively weak and were challenged by the increasing power of the

nobility.

Monarchs like Peter the Great and France’s King Louis were similar because they had

gone above the nobility. Peter the Great turned a number of practices on their ear, such as

outlawing the beard, a traditional part of Russian custom, and changing the style of women’s

clothing to a less cumbersome western one. Meanwhile, Louis XIV pursued a more practical

reform, overhauling the method of taxing with the intending system, designed to cut nobles out

of the collection with risen commoners entirely loyal to him given high positions, and moving

the country to mercantilism, effectively placing the country in a position just good enough to

keep them out of treacherous waters. Peasants were also drafted into a month of work on a

countrywide project each year as a show of how directly he controlled all aspects of his empire.
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Both Peter and Louis died leaving an uncertain future. In Russia, Peter's second wife, Catherine,

ruled with the help of advisors. Following her death, Russia experienced a brief second "time of

troubles." In France, regency oversaw the interests of the infant king left behind. Perhaps an

absolute monarchy, unless providing an heir purposely tutored on how to handle and protect this

amount of power, is always bound to leave a period of unsettlement when this authority

disappears.