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The Palace Of Versailles As A Symbol Of Wealth, Glory, Importance, And Power

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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

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