Absolutism

Absolutism. What is it?

Absolute Monarchs• Kings or queens who

held all of the power within their state’s boundaries.

• Goal was to control every aspect of society.

Believed in…

• Divine right: idea that God created the monarchy and therefore he or she acted as God’s representative on earth.

• An Absolute Monarch Answered to Nobody Except God.

Growth of Monarchs

• Decline in feudalism.

• Rise of cities.

• Growth of national kingdoms

All resulted in centralized authority.

Rise of Absolutism

• Religious and territorial conflicts between states led to almost continuous warfare.

• This caused governments to build huge armies and raise taxes.

• Peasants already suffering-can’t afford taxes.

• Leads to revolt.

In Response…

• Leaders tried to increase own power by…

-regulating religion and social gatherings

-created new government roles

The Age of Absolutism

Who Are These Absolute Rulers?

King Philip II

• King of Spain and its colonies in the Americas

• Shy, serious, religious, hard working, didn’t like people to help him, suspicious

King Philip II• El Escorial, Spain:The palace of King Philip IIDescribe this palace.

King Louis XIV

• The “Boy King”

• Became king at age 7, but the throne was held for him until he came of age.

• Mazarin watched throne, but nobility led riots and threatened the young king. They wanted power too.

Louis XIV

• Took throne at age 22.

• Weakened power of nobility for threatening him when he was younger.

• He excluded them from his councils.

Louis XIV

• The “Sun King”

• Spent a fortune to surround himself in luxury.

The Grand Style of Louis XIV

• Awoken at 8:30

• 100 of the “luckiest” nobles were there to help him dress.

• However, only four were chosen to help him do so. This was a great honor.

Grand Style Cont.

• Outside bedchamber, lesser nobles waited in the halls, hoping to be noticed.

• If you were absent from this, it was not good.

More Grand Style

• Keeping nobles in the palace increased royal authority in two ways:

• Made nobles dependent on king

• Increased power of intendants (collected taxes and administered justice)

Palace of Versailles

2,000 acres of grounds 12 miles of roads

27 miles of trellises 200,000 trees

210,000 flowers planted every year 80 miles of rows of trees

55 acres surface area of the Grand Canal 12 miles of enclosing walls

50 fountains and 620 fountain nozzles 21 miles of water conduits

3,600 cubic meters per hour: water consumed 26 acres of roof

51,210 square meters of floors 2,153 windows

700 rooms 67 staircases

6,000 paintings 1,500 drawings and 15,000 engravings

2,100 sculptures 5,000 items of furniture and objects d'art

150 varieties of apple and peach trees in the Vegetable Garden

Versailles StatisticsVersailles Statistics

How Much Did This Cost?

• Only a ruler with total control over his country’s economy could afford such a lavish palace.

• How much do you think it cost in today’s money?

• 2.5 billion dollars in today’s money!

What Was He Like?

• Patron of the arts

• Party

• Life of excess

Legacy of Louis XIV

• Louis XIV fought many wars to expand France’s boundaries.

• France was weakened by poor harvests.

• People are starving, but Louis raises taxes to fund wars.

Positive and Negative

• France above all others in arts and literature.

• Military leader of Europe.

• Power allowed development of colonies overseas

• France in staggering debt because of spending.

• Abused power and left tax burden on people

• This would plague his heirs

Questions

• What are the benefits of having an absolute ruler?

• What are the drawbacks of having an absolute ruler?