Absolutism

Seventeenth century

In August of 1572, during the French wars of Religion, the Catholic party Decided to kill Protestants leaders gathered in Paris. One Protestant Described the scene:

Absolutism

One response to the crisis of the seventeenth century was to seek more stability by increasing the power of the monarch. The result was called absolutism.

Absolutism
It is a system in which a ruler holds total power. It was tied to the idea of the divine right of kings. It was thought that rulers received their power from God and were responsible to no on except God. Absolute monarchs had tremendous power.

They had the ability to make laws, levy taxes, administer justice, control the states officials, and determine foreign policy.

The objective of the kings was to guarantee the order and religious unity. Most of the European monarchies imposed one creed and subdued under control to the catholic or protestant churches, annulated parliaments and created an administrative system in charge of taxation and transmitting and to see that the central power dispositions were fulfilled.

France

It was the best example of the practice of absolutism.

Louis XIV

French culture, language, and manners reached into all levels of European society. French diplomacy dominated political affairs in western and central Europe.

Louis XIII and Louis XIV were boys when they

came to the throne. Royal ministers

Cardinal Richelieu. (Louis XIII) The Huguenots were seen as a treat to the kings powers ,and he took away their political and military rights while preserving their religious rights. He crushed the conspiracies of the nobles.

Cardinal Mazarin. ( Louis XIV). He crushed also the revolts of the nobles, and the French people concluded that the best hope for stability in France lay with a strong monarch.

Louis XIV.. The Sun King..

One of the keys to his power was his control of the central policy-making machinery. The royal court was established in Versailles.( personal household, the chief offices and the place where powerful subjects came to find favors). Louis avoided the danger that represented the nobles and princes by removing them form the royal council ( administrative body of the king), and by keeping them entraining with the court life.

Although Louis had absolute power over Frances nation wide policy making, his power was limited to local level. The king bribed important people in the provinces to see that his polices were carried out. To maintain religious harmony Louis pursued anti protestant policy aimed to convert Huguenots to Catholicism. Jean Baptiste Colbert , controller general of finances, sought to increase wealth and power of France by following the ideas of mercantilism. To achieve military glory, Louis, waged four wars between 1667 and 1713, and added some territory to Frances northeastern frontier and set a member of his own dynasty on the throne.

After the Thirty Year's war, there was no German State, but over three hundred Germanies. Of these states, two- Prussia and Austria emerged in the seventeenth centruires as great European powers.

Absolutism in Central and Eastern Europe.

The emergence of Prussia. Frederick William the Great Elector. He built a large and efficient army, and to maintain it ,he set up the General Commissariat to levy taxes for the army and oversee growth.

In 1701, Frederick Williams son officially gained the title of king. Elector Frederick III became King Frederick I

The new Austrian Empire. The empire remained a collection of territories held together by the Hapsburg emperor, who was the archduke of Austria. It never became a highly centralized, absolutist state, because it was made up of so many national group. In present- day: Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary , Transylvania, Croatia, and Slovenia.

Russia ..

Ivan IV became the first ruler to take the title of CZAR, the Russian word for Caesar. He expanded territories of Russia eastward. He crushed the power of Russian nobility known as the boyras. He was known as Ivan the Terrible.

The Romanov dynasty lasted until 1917.

Michael Romanov in 1613. Prominent member was Peter The Great in 1689. He claimed the divine right to rule. Under Peter Russia became a great military power. Peter divided Russia into provinces to impose a more effective government. He began to introduce Western customs and practices and manners into Russia. ( beards and women role in society). On marshland on the Baltic in 1703, Peter began the construction of a new city San Petersburg, his window to the West.

Peter The Great