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AGE OF ABSOLUTE MONARCHS 1500-1800. Characteristics of Absolutism. Empire expansion Centralization of power Establishment of elaborate administrative institutions Control of church/religion Monument construction Claim of Divine Right. Long-Term Causes of Absolutism.
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Characteristics of Absolutism • Empire expansion • Centralization of power • Establishment of elaborate administrative institutions • Control of church/religion • Monument construction • Claim of Divine Right
Long-Term Causes of Absolutism • Decline of feudalism • Rise of cities and growth of middle class • Growth of national kingdoms • Loss of Church authority
Immediate Causes of Absolutism • Religious and territorial conflicts • Buildup of armies • Need for increased taxes • Revolts by peasants or nobles
Western Europe • Absolutism easier here – why? • Divine right easier here – why? • Crises in Europe fuel the growth of absolute rule – why? • Examples: Spain, France
Central and Eastern Europe • More slowly than in western Europe – why? • Nobles hold down serfs and block the development of strong kings • Holy Roman Empire loses strength, but Austria remains powerful • Enlightened despots
Russia • Czars try to strengthen the state and reduce the power of the boyars (nobles) • Russia is still a land of nobles and serfs, isolated and backward. • Some czars want to westernize Russia so it can compete with western Europe.
England • English kings clash with Parliament over money and power. • English Civil War • Cromwell’s Commonwealth & Dictatorship • Restoration of the Monarchy • Glorious Revolution brings political changes to England
Immediate Effects of Absolutism • Regulation of religion and society • Larger courts • Huge building projects • New government bureaucracies • Loss of power by nobility and legislatures
Long-Term Effects of Absolutism • Revolution in France • Western European influence on Russia • English political reforms that influence U.S. democracy
Something to think about… • "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men.“ • This is a quotation from Lord Acton, in a letter to Bishop Mandell Creighton, 1887: