The Rise of Absolute Monarchs and National States

The Rise of Absolute Monarchs
and National States

Rise of the Absolute Monarch
1. From Weak Medieval King to Absolute
Monarch.
Near the end of the Middle Ages, the King –
particularly in England, France, Spain, Russia,
and Austria – began to extend his rule at the
expense of the nobles. By the 17th century, the
king had become an autocrat, or absolute
monarch. His supremacy was acknowledged by
commoners and lords.
Exceptions to National Unity: Germany
and Italy
Rise of the Absolute Monarchs
Factors Strengthening Royal Power.
a. The Crusades and other wars killed many feudal lords.
b. The rising middle class supported the monarch to
assure protection of property and trade.
c. The introduction of gunpowder equipped the
monarch with a powerful weapon that could destroy
castles of feudal lords.
d. The Reformation provided the monarch with some
powers formerly held by the Catholic Church.
e. The awakening spirit of nationalism made the
monarch the symbol of national unity.
Divine Right of Kings
This theory attempted to justify unlimited royal

power with these arguments:
a. The king ruled by God’s authority as God’s
earthly representative;
b. Obedience to the king was obedience to God.
c. A mutually supportive and reinforcing
relationship between monarch and Church;
Developments in France
Background:
Hundred Years War
Religious Civil wars
__________________________
Cardinal Richelieu Guides France (1624-1642)
A cardinal of the Church and minister to King Louis
XIII, skillfully directed French affairs to attain
supremacy for the king and world power for France.
Cardinal Richelieu
• Supremacy for the King Louis XIII. Richelieu
1. Destroyed the nobles’ fortified castles,
2. Transferred local government functions from the
noble to royal officials, the intendants,
3. Levied taxes without consent of the French
lawmaking body, the Estates General.
• World Power for France
Richelieu led France into the 30 Years’ War in support of
the Protestant cause(even though France is officially
Catholic) France defeated its Catholic Hapsburg rivals in
Austria.
Louis XIV: The Grand Monarch
a. The Absolute Monarch.
Louis XIV represented the height of absolutism.
Proclaiming that he ruled by Divine Right, Louis
considered himself the Sun King.
Near Paris he built the magnificent Palace of Versailles,
where he maintained an extravagant court. At Versailles,
the nobility fawningly waited upon him and courted his
favor. (Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.)
Louis exercised unlimited political powers. Not once
during his long reign did he convene the Estates-General.
To illustrate his attitude, tradition ascribes to Louis the
statement, “L’etat, c’est moi,” meaning “I am the state.”
Louis XIV The Sun King
• L
Palace of Versailles
Versailles
Versailles
Versailles
Versailles
Roslyn Connection
Louis XIV
b. Economic Affairs:
Louis entrusted economic matters to his able finance minister,
Jean Baptiste Colbert. To further prosperity, Colbert
promoted good farming methods, built roads and canals,
protected industries with tariffs, aided new industries with
subsidies, and helped establish French trading posts in India
and colonies in North America. Key to prosperity.
In 1685, to compel Catholic religious uniformity, Louis
revoked the Edict of Nantes. This action damaged the
economy because thousands of Protestant Huguenots (mostly
skilled workers and enterprising business people) fled France.
Many settled in England, Holland and America.
French Court a Center of Culture
• Concerts
• Theater performances
• Dances
• Plays – Moliere
_______________________________
This attention to the arts at court was imitated
by the nobility and later the rising middle class.
Louis XIV as Patron
Foreign Affairs
Louis pursued an ambitious, aggressive foreign
policy. He sought for France its “natural
boundaries,” especially the Rhine River. Fighting
three major wars, he acquired some territory
but failed to achieve the Rhine boundary. In a
fourth major war, Louis lost some overseas
possessions but place a Bourbon relative on the
Spanish throne.
Wars of Louis XIV
Legacy
At Louis XIV’s death France was the leading
nation on the European continent. But the
French people had wearies of wars, taxes,
famine and despotism. France was exhausted
and bankrupt.
Louis XVI, a descendant of the Grand Monarch,
was to experience the people’s extreme reaction
in the 1789 French Revolution.

The Rise of Absolute Monarchs and National States

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

The Rise of Absolute Monarchs and National States

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

The Rise of Absolute Monarchs and National States

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

The Rise of Absolute Monarchs

and National States

This theory attempted to justify unlimited royal

You might also like