Absolutism

“Absolute Power, Corrupts Absolutely” – What does that

mean?

Absolutism

• Is a political belief that one ruler should hold all the power within the boundaries of a country. (unlimited power)

• This became a very popular belief in the 16th – 18th centuries.

Louis XIV of France- example of Absolute monarch

Causes of Absolutism

• Religious and territorial conflicts created fear and uncertainty.

• Growth of armies to deal with conflicts caused ruler to raise taxes.

• Heavy taxes led to unrest and revolts

• Answer was Absolute Power

Source: King Louis XIV of France, 1638-1715I am the state.

Absolute Monarchs

• King or queens that held all the power in their states’ boundaries.

• Believed in “Divine Right” – the idea tat God created the monarchy and that the monarch acted as God’s representative on earth.

• The absolute monarch answered only to God, not to his or her subjects.

Absolute monarch – Catharine the Great - Russia

Who were the most famous absolute monarchs?

• Phillip II (1556-1598, Spain)

• Elizabeth (1558-1603, Britain)

• Louis XIV (1643-1715, France)

• Peter the Great (1682-1725, Russia)

• Ieyasu (1600-1616, Japan)

• Frederick the Great (1740-1786, Prussia)

• Catherine the Great (1762-1796, Russia)

Effects of Absolutism

• Rulers regulated religious worship and social gathering to control the spread of ideas.

• Increased the size of their courts to appear more powerful

• Created bureaucracies to control the economies.

Absolute Monarch – Peter the Great – Russia

What did absolute monarchs do to achieve unlimited power ?

• They controlled the nobles.

• They controlled the peasants.

• They controlled the military.

• They controlled religion.

• They controlled taxes and government spending.

• They controlled the legal and court systems.

How did absolute monarchs try to achieve unlimited power?

• Some had talented advisors Richelieu and Colbert.

• Some adopted unique means to solidify their rule P the G’s Westernization, Louis’ Versailles, Wars (especially of Religion).

What kind of philosophy supported YOUR total control of absolute monarchs?

Divine Right of Kings

• Power to rule comes from God

• Idea developed by James VI/I of Britain

Can you pick out the characteristics of an absolute ruler?

• This is a story of a ruler of the animal kingdom• Lions are often thought of a the most powerful • In the story there are competing forces• The current king has a child, an heir, who will be

king. • The King’s brother, now shut out of a royal

position by the childe, tries a way to become king.

Your Task: Figure out how this story shows a clear-cut case of

absolutism. • Listen one time with lyrics • Move into groups of three to find in the

song clear statements that show absolutism in the form of rule Scar wishes to have. List them.

• Watch the video segment with the song.– In your group add to your list of

characteristics. What did you see that shows absolute power?

Absolutism

“Absolute Power, Corrupts Absolutely” – What does that

mean?

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall who is the most absolute monarch of

them all?