Absolutism

Louis XIV of France

Absolutism

• What are the Key characteristics of Absolutism?

• How does Absolutism differ from earlier rule by Kings?

• Is Absolutism similar to Totalitarianism?

Where the power of Kings comes from

• In the Middle Ages the law held that as a consequences of their coronation and anointment with sacred oil, Kings ruled by the grace of God.– Law was given by God,

Kings had the law revealed to them, and Kings obeyed the law

• In the Absolutist State, Kings claimed to rule by “Divine Right” meaning that hey made the law and were responsible only to God for the law.– Kings became legislators,

made laws, and because they made the law sovereignty was embodied in the person of the King.

How did the Absolutes Rule

• They tried to control competing interest, institutions, or interest groups in their lands.– They regulated religion– They abolished civil liberties– They secured the cooperation of the nobility, which was

historically the greatest threat to the Monarchy, and the rising Middle Class by appointing them to important positions in the new bureaucracies which directed economic life in the powerful new states.

– They established permanent armies, recruited and paid by the Monarchy, which could be deployed inside or outside of the country to protect their interest.

– They used secret police forces to monitor the private lives of their subjects

How does Absolutism fit into the development of Government

• The Word Absolutism was not coined until the 1830’s and was used to describe the stage of governmental evolution from the Feudal State to Modern Governments.– Many scholars prefer to use the term administrative

monarchy to describe this type of government.• They say that because the bureaucracy greatly expanded

and power became centralized in the Capital cities, such as Paris, there is an appearance of the Kings power becoming absolute.

• They say that while this administrative monarchy may have interfered with peoples daily lives, did not have the consent of the governed, and lacked the idea of the rule of law it was still held in check by traditional interpretations of a Kings power.

• The Rule of Absolute Monarchs was not all powerful because it lacked the ability to become totalitarian.– It could not control or shape the entire culture

of a country or regulate every aspect of life• Reasons for this included:

– The need for technologies that could shape public opinion

– The need for control of the money supply

What were the ambitions of Absolute Monarchs

• Each sought to exalt himself or herself as the embodiment of the state “(I am the state, said Louis XIV)”

France

• In 1589 Henry IV came to power in France– France had been ruined by Civil War for 20

years– The French peasants were close to starvation– Bands of soldiers raided villages– Commercial activity (business) had fallen to

1/3 of its pre civil war level.– Everyone looked to the new King for peace

and stability

Henry IV of France

What did Henry IV do?

• He truly cared about the people and his actions led to a remarkable recovery– He converted to Catholicism to form better relations

with the Pope– He worked to gain Protestant confidence with the

Edict of Nantes– Henry kept France at Peace and had very limited

military action– He appointed a Protestant as his chief advisor– He lowered the taxes on the peasants– He had the nobility pay an annual fee for their offices– His tax policies led to an increase in trade and more

revenue for the government

Henry IV

• In 12 years he restored public order, improved the trade and laid the foundation for economic success.

• He was progressive

• In 1610 he was assassinated (murdered) by a crazy fanatic– His death led to a severe crisis

Cardinal Richelieu

• Henry IV’s son Louis XIII, a child, becomes King and his mother Marie de’ Medici had Cardinal Richelieu to the council of ministers.– Richelieu became the President of the Council and

after 1628 he became the first minister to the crown.– He used his influence over the child king Louis XIII to

exalt the French Monarch as the embodiment of the French state.

• He set the cornerstone for French Absolutism

– Richelieu’s policy was to have total control (subordination) of all groups and institutions to the King

France

• Problems (from about 1600)– Religious– Economic– Weak kings (Louis XIII)

• Cardinal Richelieu– De facto ruler– Manipulated foreign affairs– Suppressed the Huguenots– Established central taxation– Three Musketeers

Louis XIII

Marie de’ Medici

Richelieu

How Richelieu dealt with the Nobility

• In 1624 he reshuffled the royal council, eliminating those nobles he though threatened the Monarchy

• He destroyed castles which he saw as symbols of Feudal independence

• Nobles who were thought to be conspiring against the king were quickly executed

Richelieu sets up a new central government

• Administratively he establishes a system of royal commissioners called intendants, each of which is given one of the 32 general districts which France is divided into.

• These intendants perform duties like– Collecting local taxes– Appointing judges and holding trial in their district– Passing information from their districts to the Capital– Transmitting orders from the Capital “Paris” to the districts they ran– They recruited men for the army– They regulated commerce and trade in their district

These intendants were almost always recruited from loyal nobles and appointed directly by the King

– They could not be born in the district they ran and had no vested interest in the districts

– They were to weaken the power of local nobles

The Political Division of France

The Beginning of the end for the Edict of Nantes

• In 1627 Louis XIII with the consent of the council, decided to end the Protestant Military and Political independence, because he said it constituted a state within a state.– This resulted in military action against the Port City of

La Rochelle, which had strong ties with the Protestant Countries of Holland and England, to block outside intervention.

– With the fall of La Rochelle the influence of Calvinism was weakened and Louis and Richelieu were one step closer to creating a unified French State

Other Groups that had to be dealt with

• There was urban protest in France over issues of:– Unemployment– High food prices– Grain shortages– Taxes

• Major insurrections (riots) occurred in Dijon, Bordeaux, Montpellier, Lyon, and Amiens between 1630 and 1711.– In every case these riots were characterized by deep popular

anger.• The way these riots were dealt with was to let them burn

themselves out, as long as they did not do to much damage

• By 1700 though better cooperation between local and national authorities led to quick and severe punishment for those who opposed the government.

“What is done for the state is done for God, who is the basis and foundation of it......Where the interests of the state are concerned, God absolves actions which, if privately committed, would be a crime.”

— Cardinal Richelieu

"If you give me six lines writtenby the most honest man, I will findsomething in them to hang him."                                    —Cardinal Richelieu

Question 1 and 2

• In what way does Cardinal Richelieu symbolize absolutism?

• Identify the achievements of Richelieu

Events Before the Reign of Louis XIV

• Henry IV• Henry IV’s advisor Sully• Louis XIII• Louis XIII’s advisor Cardinal Richelieu• The Fronde• Cardinal Mazarin• Louis XIV• Louis XIV finance minister Colbert

France

• Louis XIV– Boy king– Assumed total

authority when Cardinal Mazarin, successor to Richelieu, died

– Influenced by his mistresses

– Wars, destabilization

Louis the XIV

• The reign of Louis XIV was the longest in European History (1643 – 1715)– Louis XIV in the first few years of his reign

had to deal with a series of Civil Wars known as the Fronde

• These civil wars originated in the provincial areas not Paris and arose from discontent with the policies of the government

– Many of the royal appointees (intendants) and members of the nobility started to think their role had been diminished and their positions manipulated by the government

• Cardinal Mazarin, Richelieu’s successor could not control the nobility as Richelieu had.

• The Financial Condition of France was weakened because entire regions of the country refused to pay taxes.

• War with Spain led to new taxes which people saw as unnecessary because France was winning and peace was at hand.

• The Conflicts of the Fronde had three significant results– 1. The government was forced to compromise with the

bureaucrats and nobility that controlled local institutions and were largely tax exempt

– 2. The French economy would take years to rebuild

– 3. The Fronde had a significant effect on the Young King Louis XIV who was often threatened and sometimes treated like a prisoner. It created in his mind the idea that the sole alternative to this form of anarchy was absolute monarchy

Cardinal Mazarin

Absolutism

Louis XIV

• Louis XIV dominated his age– His reign falls in the “Grand Century” or “Age

of Magnificence• He was a devout Catholic as was his mother Anne

of Austria• He attended Mass daily and said his rosary• His mother and Cardinal Mazarin taught him that

God had established rulers on earth.• He learned his politics from experience and never

forgot his experiences during the Fronde at the hands of the nobility

• Louis XIV instituted many inovations in government– The greatest of these was “the complete

domestication of the nobility”• Louis exercised complete control over the noble social class

because he worked to find ways to cooperate with them.• He understood that with cooperation he could achieve his

goals.• The Noble’s were enticed with privileges and social status

within the Kings Court and given access to the patronage of the King

• The government of France rested on its social structure as the political structure followed its organization

France

• Louis XIV– Golden Age

• The Sun King• L'état c'est moi• Versailles• French culture =

prestige

– Mercantilism – Repeal of the

Edict of Nantes

Versailles

• The former hunting lodge of Louis XIII was turned into a lavish palace– It became a symbol of the power of absolute

kings– It was a model of rational order– The king used the magnificent setting of the

palace to awe his subjects and foreign visitors alike

• Peter the Great of Russia used it as a model for his palace in St Petersburg

Court Life

• All Louis XIV critics agree that the king used court ceremonials to undermine the power of the great nobles. – By excluding the highest nobles from his

council, he weakened their ancient rights to advise the king and participate in government

– He used opera’s, balls, gossip, and trivia to occupy the nobles time

The French Language

• During the reign of Louis XIV French became the language of the court, polite society, and diplomacy.

• French slowly replaced Latin as the language of scholarship and learning.

• Other European rulers began to require French to be spoken in their courts

Questions 3, 4, and 5

• Why can it be said that the Palace of Versailles was used as a device to ruin the nobility of France?

• Was Versailles a prison?

• How does Louis XIV use Versailles as a tool of foreign policy and personal prestige?

French Mercantilism and the policies of Colbert

• Jean Baptiste Colbert was his brilliant financial advisor Louis was able to raise and collect taxes with little issues thanks to Colbert. Colbert made France into a mercantile state (England and the Dutch were moving to free market). Created the French East India trade CO. a Monopoly (Failed) –levied protective tariffs- created factories for exporting goods- improved roads and canals it all made France rich however Louis’s greatest weakness was SPENDING. He Louis XV and XVI would drain the royal coffers and eventually cause the French Revolution.

Questions 6 and 7

• What is Mercantilism?

• What were the mercantilist policies of Louis IV's minister Colbert?

Revocation of the Edict of Nantes by Louis XIV

Question 7, and 8

• What were Louis IV's motivations for rescinding the Edict of Nantes?

• Was the policy of revocation good or bad for the French economy?

Louis IV's Wars

• His Grand Strategy Contain the two Habsburgs by initiating several wars.

• 1667 –1668 War of Devolution

• 1672-1678 The Dutch War

• 1668-1697 The Nine Years War

• 1701-1714 The War of Spanish Succession

Spain

• Decline– Spanish armada defeat– Economic difficulties

• Effects of Thirty Years War• War of Spanish Succession

– Alliance with France but both possessions

• Hudson Bay basin• Portugal, Naples & Sicily,

Netherlands

War of Spanish Succession• At the death of Charles II of Spain the throne was left open both Louis XIV and

Leopold I Austrian Habsburg claimed the throne of Spain by bloodline. • Charles II had left it to Louis’s grandson Philip of Anjou, as his mother was a Spanish

princess Maria Theresa provided that Philip give up the right to rule France (third in line and Louis would not allow this). Leopold challenged it for his son Charles – the victor would get all of Spain and Spanish America. Europe saw France as a threat to the balance of power in Europe and in global trade.

• 1701 the Dutch and English sided with Leopold I in the Great Alliance. England wanted neither the Habsburgs nor the French to win as England sought to control the growth of both powers. The war was fought on land and sea and France once again held their own. Two peace treaties resulted

• Peace of Utrecht 1713 and Peace of Baden and Rastaat. • Gave the throne to Philip became Philip V of Spain with no claim to the French throne

– Austrian Habsburgs got the Spanish Netherlands – British got French territory in Canada and the Caribbean. This gave England dominance over the Atlantic trade and America. French expansion was contained and stopped. Louis XIV died in 1715 leaving France on the Verge of Bankruptcy 40,000 sold political offices with no obligation to pay future taxes were given to Frenchmen to finance Louis wars. England came out on top.

Question 9

• Why did the Spanish fail?

Question 10 and 11

• Where the foreign policies of Louis XIV successful?

• What was the impact of Louis IV's wars on the French economy and French Society?

Absolutism with Limitations

in the 1600’s

Constitutionalism

• How does Constitutionalism differ from absolutism?

• Is constitutionalism democratic?

• Is Constitutionalism a form of republicanism?

England

• James I– Son of Mary Queen of

Scots– Raised by Scottish

leaders– “Divine right of kings”– Royal monopolies – Dissolved Parliament– Lost favor of the people– Puritans' opposition

Questions• What were the attitudes and policies of

James I that made him unpopular with:

• Parliament

• The Puritans

England• Charles I

– Son of James I– Revolt in Scotland

• Scottish people did not feel fairly treated

• Imposition of bishops versus presbyters

– War with France• Unable to raise taxes

without Parliament• Long Parliament

– Civil War• Death of the king• Roundheads vs

Cavaliers

English Civil War

Questions

• What were the causes of the English Civil War?

• What was the outcome of the English Civil War?

England

• The Commonwealth – Rule by Parliament

• Excluded Episcopalians and Presbyterian dissenters

– Cromwell dissolved Parliament

• “The protectorate”

– Levellers’s revolt• Right to vote for all

– Richard Cromwell succeeds his father

England• The Restoration

– Charles II made king• Restored Anglicanism• Respected rights of Parliament• Short reign• Secret Catholic

– James II• Open Catholic• Had 8 children, 2 girls survived

(including Mary, wife of William of Orange) and wife died

• Remarried• Protestants revolted when new son

was baptized a Catholic

England

• The Glorious Revolution– Parliament invited Mary and William III of Orange

to invade England (bloodless)– Jacobites (from Latin Jacobus) and the Battle of

the Boyne– William III gained favor by sacrificing royal

power• English Bill of Rights

– Bank of England– Free press

• Succeeded by Queen Anne– Last of the Stuarts

Questions

• What were the outcomes of the Glorious Revolution of 1688

• How does John Locke’s Treatise on Government justify the Glorious Revolution?

Elizabeth I (Tudor)

James I (Stuart)

Charles I (Stuart)

Charles II (Stuart)

William III (Orange) and Mary (Stuart)

Anne (Stuart)

George I (Hanover)

James II (Stuart)

English Civil War

Cousin

Seventeenth Century English Rulers

Oliver Cromwell (Lord Protector)

Richard Cromwell (Lord Protector)The Restoration

The Glorious Revolution

Relationship

Nephew

Son

Son

Brother

Sister

Daughter

Events

"If there were only one religion in England there would be danger of despotism, if there were two, they would cut each other's throats, but there are thirty, and they live in peace and happiness."

– Voltaire

Netherlands• Religious and

independence wars– Dutch Republic

• Economic power of the Dutch– Trade-based– Foreign colonies– Embarrassment of Riches

• Wars with England• Religious toleration• William III of Orange

– Stadtholder of the Dutch– Became king of England

Restraints on absolutism (abstracted):1. The States should give assent to any marriage proposed for

a ruler or potential ruler (thus giving the States power to rule in disputed succession).

2. Only natives of the Fatherland appointed to high government positions.

3. The States were free to assemble, regardless of summoning by the ruler.

4. No new taxes without consent of the States.5. All acts of war must be approved by the States.6. Rulers were obliged to use the Dutch language.7. Coinage to be minted only as the States authorized.8. No part of the realm could enter a treaty with foreigners.9. States were never to convene outside of the Netherlands.10. Gifts to the ruler were prohibited.11. Justice to be administered only by regular judiciary.12. Old customs and laws are to remain unbreakable, even for

the ruler.

– Simon Schama, The Embarrassment of Riches, Vintage Books, 1997, pp. 80-81.

Questions

• Illustrate the organization of the Dutch government

• How did the Dutch government differ from the other Western European states?

• What were the attitudes of the Dutch toward religion and did those attitudes help or hinder the progress of the Netherlands?