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The Practice of Absolutism: Western Europe:
__ was the sovereign power or ultimate authority in the state resting in the hands of a king who claimed to rule by divine right. __ said sovereign power consisted of the authority to __, __, __, __, and __.
- Absolute monarchy
- Jean Bodin
- make laws, tax, administer justice, control the state’s administrative system, and determine foreign policy
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One chief theorists of divine-right monarchy in the 17th century was French theologian and court preacher __, who wrote __. He argued that government was__
- Bishop Jacque Bossuet
- Politics Drawn from the Very Words of Holy Scripture
- divinely ordained so that humans could live in an organized society.
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cont.
God established kings and through them reigned over all the peoples of the world. Since kings received power from God, they had __ and only answered to God. Because God holds a king accountable for his actions, Bossuet believed that kings faced serious __as well as __ on their power. There was a large gulf between the __ and __.
- absolute power
- responsibilities
- real limits
- theory and practice of absolutism
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I. Absolute Monarchy in France
a. Louis XIV and French culture, language, and manners influenced European society, while its diplomacy and wars shaped political affairs of western and central Europe. His court was imitated everywhere. Before him, there was instability.
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I. Absolute Monarchy in France
Foundations
- a. Foundations of French Absolutism: Cardinal Richelieu
- i. Before Louis XIV, there was struggles to avoid breakdown of state; division of order and anarchy narrow
- 1. Louis XIII (1610) and Louis XIV (1643) were boys when they succeeded to throne= government depended on royal ministers
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I. Absolute Monarchy in France
Richelieu
- a. Cardinal Richelieu, Louis XIII’s chief minister form 1624 to 1642 made policies= strengthened monarchy
- i. Eliminated politics and military rights of Huguenots while preserving religious ones= Huguenots more reliable subjects
- ii. For nobles, he understood their role in state
- 1. Dangerous ones asserted their territorial independence when excluded from participating in central government
- a. Richeliue slowly developed network of spies to uncover noble plots and crushed the conspiracies and executed conspirators, thereby eliminating a major threat to royal authority
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I. Absolute Monarchy in France
- i. To reform and strengthen central administration, first for financial reasons, Richeliue sent out royal officials called intendants to the provinces to execute the orders of the central government
- 1. Functions grewà conflicts with provincial governors
- a. Indentants victoriousà strengthened crown’s power
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I. Absolute Monarchy in France
Unsuccessful
- i. In terms of finance, he wasn’t successful
- 1. Basic system of state corrupt, but people benefited and resitstend reform
- a. Taille increased in 1643 (2.5 times that of 1610) and crown lands mortgaged
- b. Foreign policy goal of confronting growing power of the Habsburgs in the Thirty Years’ War led to increasing expenditures, which outstripped the additional revenues
- 2. French debt continued under him
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I. Absolute Monarchy in France
Cardinal Mazarin
- i. Richelieu and Louis XIII died in 1642à Louis XIV (4 years old)
- 1. Necessitated regency under Anne of Austria, wife od dead kingà allowed Cardinal Mazarin, Richelieu’s trained successor, to dominate government, who tried to continue Rich’s policies
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I. Absolute Monarchy in France
revolt called Fronde
- i. Important event during rule= revolt called Fronde
- 1. He was disliked
- a. Nobles resented centralized administrative power being built up at expense of provincial nobility, allied with Parlement of Paris, who opposed new taxes to pay for Thirty Years’ War, and masses of Paris, angry at taxes
- i. Parlement most important court of France with jurisdiction over half of the kingdom
- ii. Its members= nobles of the robe, the service nobility of layers and administrators
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I. Absolute Monarchy in France
Nobles and First Fronde
- 1. Nobles led first Fronde in Parisà compromise ended it
- 2. Second Fronde led by nobles of the sword, whose ancestors were medieval nobles, who wanted to overthrow Mazarin for their own purposes: to secure positions and increase their own power
- a. Crushed by 1652, a task made easier when nobles began fighting each other
- i. France agreed stability lied with crown
- ii. Died in 1661 and Louis XIV came to power
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