How Did Absolutism Occur In Europe

They had to rely on the nobles in the areas to act in the interest of

Peter the Great was born to Tsar Alexis and grew up differently than many people of his time. “Peter proved a healthy child, lively and inquisitive. It is probably significant to his development that his mother’s former guardian, Artamon Sergeyevich Matveyev, had raised her in an atmosphere open to progressive influences from the West” (Britannica Academica). The fact that he grew up with a significant figure in his life who favored the west shaped his views in a major. Later in his reign, he focused on western civilization and how they thrived. Peter tried to implicate the same influences in Russia to further try and modernize and advance the culture, society, and government. Peter was a very lively and energetic child. “When Alexis died in 1676 Peter was only four years old. His elder half-brother, a sickly youth, then succeeded to the throne as Fyodor III” (Britannica

(document 5) . To prove he was an autocrat Peter also declared war on Sweden to open a road from Russia to the west by taking over the coastal region . He raised new armies after being defeated by Charles XII of Sweden and worked to create a good military and to construct ships to gain

Absolute monarchies helped to make Europe prosperous during this period. This type of government gave the king complete power over his state, leaving the people of the state with little to no influence in the government. This helped to control and keep peace within the country. In The Prince, by Machiavelli, it is stated that,"... fear is accompanied by the dread of punishment, which never relaxes"(Document A). A leader that provoked fear of punishment in his people was, in turn, a strong and powerful leader. The fear of breaking the laws and rules of the state kept the people in line, and, therefore, kept the country in a

Over the period of the late sixteenth century to the late eighteenth century nobility changed its influences on the public and the royal court this led to arguments such as the difference of the sword and robe nobles to the idea of not having nobles at all. This controversy will continue as the struggle for power continues in the higher classes in European governments or when the idea of monarchy ends

Peter recognized that his country was falling behind the European countries in knowledge, technology, trade, and governing ability. Using his absolute power as a czar, he brought in foreign advisers to help him modernize, westernize and educate his people. Peter had a great respect for Europe, and his reforms had a lasting influence in Russia, though there was of course opposition from the more conservative nobles.

During the 16th and 17th centuries in Europe, absolutist leaders, mostly monarchs, controlled all aspects of a country as well as its citizens. This absolutist control would come to have a mostly negative effect on Europe as a whole, but some monarchs were not tyrants. Most monarchs were seen as gods in the eyes of their citizens, absolutist leaders were given reasons to be cruel from writings, but some monarchs were prosperous leaders and led their countries well.

Peter the Great was an absolute leader, he was the sole leader of the Russian empire, and his word was his law, and believed himself to be divine. He believed in absolute principles in political, philosophical, ethical or theological matters. Peter the Great was an absolute ruler of all Russia from 1682-1725. Peter the Great prolonged a standing army, which displays an absolute ruler. Peter the Great is considered one of the most effective transformational leaders in Russian history. He also created a brutal foreign policy centralizing in the government. However, the reform of expansion of Russia was what Peter was primarily known for. Peters military reforms profoundly modernized Russia’s Army and Navy.

Peter the Great led Russia to its modern and powerful time, at the same time Louis XIV also made his people see the rise of a stronger France which under the rule of him. They suffered their people but also bring them new life so that is hard to judge who is better, but as a leader, Louis XIV created the grandest court in history of France and made France became the leading cultural and military power of Europe. Peter the Great was successfully involved in every part of Russians’ life such as what people wore and read. Louis XIV made his country become much more powerful and respectful in the world stage so he was considered better than Peter the Great.

“L’état, c’est moi.” I am the state, as quoted by Louis XIV. This is a great example of the meaning of absolutism. The kingdoms of France, Russia and Brandenburg-Prussia are ample evidence to prove that absolutism worked and was a commonality compared to constitutionalism. This issue then falls to whether the differences or the similarities of these kingdoms are more important in European and World History. The following will provide an argument to support that the similarities of the kingdoms should be more heavily stressed.

Nobles favored certain privileges like no taxes, having power and freedom, and so on. Another cause was the fact that Louis XVI was an inefficient and weak leader. He was viewed by many to be quite immature and did not take his duties seriously. Whatever decision that he would make, eventually led to both political and civil convulsion.

During the era of the late 16th and 17th centuries, a new idea of political thought was sweeping France: the idea of centralization of power and Absolutism. These ideas gave the vast majority of, if not all, of the political power and authority of government to the reigning monarch of France. Absolutism was brought to fruition by the likes of monarchs and noblemen such as Louis XIV and was backed by the idea of the right to rule by divine intervention. The theoretical basis for the idea of absolute royal authority in France was the idea of the right to rule by divine intervention.

During the reign of Louis XIV, France's stability and success was threatened by the power of the nobility. When Louis looked back at the Fronde, a nobility revolt that occurred during his childhood, he realized the thirst for power the nobility held, and as a result limited their power. To begin with, Louis forced the nobles to move to Versailles where they could cause less trouble, and Louis could keep a close eye on them. Louis achieved this by threatening to deny them their pensions if they didn't move. Louis also instituted heavy taxing for the nobles, in the form of a 10% income tax as well as a head tax. These measures prevented a Noble uprising during Louis' reign as king, and allowed France to develop positively as a country.

As a conclusion Peter the Great of Russia should receive the title of “Most Absolute Monarch” because he was wise, yet cruel. He created Russia's navy, but required an education before the men could join. He was fond of physical labor and didn't mind putting his men through it. Peter also westernized the entire country of Russia. Since beards were not a fashion in westernization, Peter made it mandatory for all of his nobleman to shave their beards off. He wanted Russia to be westernized completely. Peter was very strong and was not afraid of anyone's criticism. When his people tried to overthrow him (which was multiple times), it usually ended with mass executions. Peter had to let everyone know who was boss. He even interrogated his own son because of faulty reasoning. He also was a very strong Protestant Christian and made everyone follow him as a Christian. To get down to it, if things didn't go Peter's way, it all ended

Meanwhile, Louis XIV of France would engage in four wars at the end of his reign from 1667 to 1713. None of these wars provided any gains for France, however they were extremely costly. These wars also effectively shattered the power and splendor of the state, and caused the disillusioned people of France to threaten revolt. In addition, Peter the Great of Russia was infamous for ruthlessly slaying any opposition to his rule. An example of this is when a conspiracy by the musketeer regiment to overthrow him was uncovered, and Peter retaliated by torturing, killing, and publically displaying over 1000 musketeer bodies. Clearly the amount of people who died due to absolute monarchs did not bode well with the general populace, hence causing much unrest.