Absolute monarchs in the seventeenth and eighteenth century made sure to increase their power in order to have absolute authority. These monarchs all had several similar methods to control, consolidate, and increase power. Methods in these centuries included constructing grand buildings, controlling the nobles, and stimulating economic revenue. Constructing grand buildings for absolute monarchs was a symbol of wealth, glory, importance, and power. Louis XIV of France spent an enormous amount of money to construct the Palace of Versailles. Construction began in 1660, and it was not until almost 30 years later that the palace was complete. The Palace of Versailles served as many different functions, ranging from the residence of the king …show more content…
These show Philip II’s deeply religious aspect. The rulers of Louis XIV, Peter the Great, and Philip II all built magnificent buildings to consolidate and grow their power by their dominating influences. In Europe, absolute monarchs knew that controlling the nobles was key to power. Louis XIV exemplified this by removing nobles from the royal council and transferring them to his court of Versailles. Once they were at his court, Louis XIV discretely controlled the nobles by cleverly occupying them with numerous activities of life in Versailles, none of which included politics. As a result, the nobles’ influence over politics diminished, allowing Louis XIV to gain more power. Another absolute monarch was Peter the Great of Russia. Peter the Great also agreed to the idea of controlling the aristocracy. However, his way differed from Louis XIV. Peter the Great compelled nobles to shave their beards and cut their coats at the knees in a bid to “Westernize” them. Not only that, Peter demanded that nobles that held land either serve in the military or civil offices. These actions from Peter show the increase of monarchial power over the landed nobility. To add on, in the eighteenth century, Peter the Great created the Table of Ranks, which allowed non-nobles to become nobles through a serious of levels. This increased Peter’s power since this new nobility was dependent on him, and they
This absolutist leader is portrayed by both King James I of England and King Louis XIV of France. King James I of England provided his people with a religious affiliation of himself and God. Through the divine right of kings, King James I believed he granted himself power from the authority of God. By means of this given right, King James I convinced his people was equal in power to God. Although this statement is false, many people, specifically the poor and illiterate, believed him. King James I used people’s relationships with God to create his own relationship amongst the people. In England there needed to be order when religious affiliation was breaking between the people and God. So rather than people looking up to God, they would look up to King James I. “The state of monarchy is the supreme thing upon earth; for kings are not only God’s lieutenants on earth and sit upon God’s throne, but even by God Himself they are called gods.”- Document B. Since King James was believed to be in connection and as powerful as God, no one could disobey or disagree with him. King James I granted himself the power to create and destroy, give life or sentence death and to determine the status of people. By making himself known as a god, King James I was able to fulfill several religious aspects in people’s lives and rule under a well-organized secure state of monarchy. Additionally,
During the XVII century, most of the European countries were ruled by more or less absolute Monarchy. Born in 1638, Louis XIV will have the longest reign out of all French ruler ( 72 years). A few years later, while Louis XIV’s reign was at his apogee, another important ruler of this era get to the throne: Peter the Great. Both of these rulers, known for being an absolute monarch, have been influenced by the traumatic event of their childhood. For Louis XIV, it was the insurrection of the nobility against the royal power, known as the Fronde; Forced to flee Paris, he will hold a grudge against this feudal power . As for Peter The Great, it was the rebellion led by his step-sister, after the death of his brother with whom he ruled as Tsar, that will influence his way of ruling the kingdom.
Still, the negative aspects of France’s rule under King Louis XIV far outweigh the positive ones. His reign can best be described by the statement “L’état, c’est moi,” (I am the state) that is attributed to him. King Louis XIV spent state money to pay for his own luxuries and monuments that glorified his image. It was also customary for the artists King Louis XIV sponsored to include direct or indirect allusions to him in their productions thus creating a god-like image of him. The Palace of Versailles alone used 5% of France’s income. This liberal
According to the text book, an absolute monarch is a king or queen who has unlimited power and seeks to control all aspects of society (McDougall little, 1045). In more simple terms, it is a ruler who can do just about anything without having to get permission from anyone, or having to worry about the repercussions. This was a trend that started in the 1600’s by European leaders who were rich, and didn’t
The 16th and 17th centuries brought up the proposition of an absolute monarch, this is a ruler with total power over a country or territory. The idea of kings being chosen by God, or the divine right of kings, lead to absolutism, which was seen throughout Europe. Monarchs could be tyrants, they could take away the rights of their citizens. Monarchs could also be prosperous, improving their country economically, military, or gaining foreign alliances. Europe's absolute monarchs left the 16th and 17th centuries prosperous due to the fewer conflicts, the morals of monarchs, and everybody had an equal chance at upward-mobility.
The 1600s and 1700s were times of change. The Reformation of the previous century had shaken the foundations of society in Europe, while the Age of Exploration had introduced Europe to lands, peoples, and resources that brought new wealth to individuals and countries. Building off of this wealth, monarchs in Europe began to centralize their power using methods of taxation and claims of divine right. These monarchs, including Louis XIV of France, Peter the Great of Russia, and James I of England, eventually created a governmental system, known as absolutism, that revolved entirely around themselves and their desires. Because of their claims to such extreme power, absolutism had wide reaching effects on many parts of their countries. The effects of absolutism were the Nobles got treated like servants, the king's power increased a lot, and the military improved.
In 17th-18th century Europe, the age of absolutism, absolute monarchs ruled most of Europe. Absolute monarchs are rulers that have complete control over the government and its people. They claimed to rule by “divine right,” where their authority comes from God and they were above the law. The views of being a proper role as an absolute monarch differed very much between rulers and their subjects. Certain rulers had ideas that both the people and ruler should be united, some abused their power with no sympathy towards the people they rule, and the subjects that suffered from the rulings of the monarch had a completely different perspective than the rulers that were in power.
Lastly Absolute rulers maintained their powers socially through the people. Socially they showed that they were higher up than the people. They socially maintained power by suppressing the peasants with high taxes. Absolute rulers maintained their power socially as seen in documents 7,9,3, and 10. One example of this in document 3, is what Peter the Great did in Russia.
Tristan Maracha Mr. McKinney Global 10 December 18, 2014 Peter the Great What is an absolute monarch? This is a form of government in which the ruling monarch has absolute power amongst the people.
An absolute monarch is a ruler by divine right who has control over every portion of his kingdom. The most famous absolute monarch, Louis XIV, had the longest reign of any of the French kings. Louis achieved this as a result of his reformed laws, foreign policy, a smart economic advisor, and his decision to deny power to the nobility. Although some of these ideas could be viewed as having a negative impacting on France, overall Louis XIV's absolute government was beneficial to the development of his country.
The imperial palaces were built on a grand scale, sparing no expense to display the majesty and dignity of the imperial power of the time. Each successive emperor contributed grandeur to the structures, and today, these palaces stand for all to enjoy. Each imperial palace is a testament to the history and glory of Chinese culture. These glorious structures clearly demonstrate the creative essence and imperial traditions of the Chinese
Louis XIV had a passion for glory and used it to fight four wars because he was motivated by personal and dynastic considerations.
The Palace of Versailles was built in 1624 as a modest hunting lodge and private residence for Louis XIII. Louis XIV spent time his here as a child during the civil war and grew fond of the site (Allen, 35). When Louis XIV came to power, he moved France’s capital in Paris to Versailles because he wanted to keep the royal court in one central place away from the gossip and business of Paris (Ropeik). By keeping the royal court together, he was able to centralize the French government in to an absolute monarchy and prevent any of his nobles from developing their own regional power. 1669, he expanded the existing small hunting lodge to 67,000 square meters, the equivalent to 12 football fields (Ropeik). The palace expansion was designed by Louis le Vau, the architect to the aristocracy, and took 21 years to complete. The 700 room building allowed Louis and his friends, family, courtiers, servants and soldiers to live in close proximity (Ropeik).
Another thing that Louis changed was the appearance and way of life of France. These great towns of France went under a sort of "metamorphosis". The landscape was altered and monuments were built everywhere. Louis decided that he wanted to isolate the center of government from the city of Paris, so he constructed the palace of Versailles. It was an object of universal admiration and enhanced French prestige. It became Louis’ permanent address in 1682 and was also the home to thousands of the more important nobles, royal officials, and
Louis XIV, France’s Sun King, had the longest reign in European history (1643-1715). During this time he brought absolute monarchy to its height, established a glittering court at Versailles, and fought most of the other European countries in four wars. Although his reign had some negative aspects; on balance, Louis’ reign was primarily a benefit to France.