Absolute Kings

Chapter 21

• Absolutism: the political belief that one ruler should hold all of the power within the boundaries of a country. Practiced in Europe during the 16th through 18th centuries.

• Why? – Divine Right theory: God created the monarchy

and the monarch acts as God’s representative on Earth.

– Constant warfare in Europe: constant unrest and fighting leads to building large armies, leads to increased taxes, leads to peasant revolts, leads to kings taking more power to maintain order.

• Examples: – Peter the Great: Peter ruled Russia from 1696-1721.

He wanted to westernize Russia, make it more European. He ordered men to wear western clothes (pants) and to shave their beards. He built a 200,000 man army, he took control of the Russian Church, built a new capital city (St. Petersburg), introduced newspapers and potatoes to the society. (Nearly 100,000 died building St. Petersburg. He then ordered the noble families to move there from Moscow). He forced people to travel and learn and bring the new knowledge home to reteach.

• Louis XIV: the Sun King– Reigned in France from 1643-1715– Had a wildly lavish and expensive lifestyle– Built the enormous palace at Versailles– Patronized the arts– Fought long, expensive, and ultimately disastrous

wars. – He built France into a world power, yet the

country fell into staggering debt.