Absolutism In The 17th Century
Absolutism in the Seventeenth Century
In the second half of the 1600's, monarchial systems of both England and France were changing. In England, the move was away from an absolute monarch, and toward a more powerful Parliament. In France, the opposite was happening as Louis XIV strengthened his own office while weakening the general assembly of France, the Estates
General. Absolutism, the political situation in which a monarch controls all aspects of government with no checks or balances, had been introduced in England by James I and Charles I, but never quite took hold. In France, on the other hand, Louis XIV took absolutism to extremes, claiming to be a servant of God (the "divine right ...
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time that neither James nor Charles successfully decreased the role of Parliament in English government. The English had been under the combined rule of both the king and the assembly for so long that they weren't ready to give all the power of government to a single person. The merchants and land-owning nobles
supported Parliament, where members could be elected and changed in necessary, rather than an absolute monarch with no restraints. In 1642, differences between Charles I and Parliament sparked England's civil war, which was caused partly by royal stubbornness to share control of the country, and partly by Parliament's refusal to give up their power in government (internet 2). This was the major turning point for absolutism in England. Monarches, beginning with Charles II, realized how much power Parliament had and knew that they had to work with, not against, each other. It is because Parliament was so
strongly ingrained into the English process of government, and was so ...
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"Absolutism In The 17th Century." Essayworld.com. December 3, 2008. Accessed March 29, 2025. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Absolutism-In-The-17th-Century/94041.
"Absolutism In The 17th Century." Essayworld.com. December 3, 2008. Accessed March 29, 2025. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Absolutism-In-The-17th-Century/94041.
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