7.8: Introduction

“Absolutism” is a concept used to describe a shift in the governments of the major monarchies of Europe in the early modern period. In other words, while 17th and 18th Century monarchs knew they were doing something different than their predecessors, the term “absolutism” did not exist. In absolutism, the king or queen was the holder of (theoretically) absolute political power within the kingdom. Secondly, the monarch would preserve and guarantee the rights and privileges of his or her subjects, occasionally even including the peasants.

Absolutism was in contrast to medieval and Renaissance-era forms of monarchy in which the king was merely first among equals. They might hold formal feudal authority over elite nobles, but often had unequal or inferior authority and power. The French Wars of Religion is an excellent example, with numerous small states and territories rivaling larger ones in power.

This approach started changing in the early 17th Century, primarily in France. What emerged was a stronger, centralized form of monarchy in which more power was held by the monarch than the noblemen. Royal bureaucracies were strengthened, often at the expense of the decision-making power and influence of the nobility, as non-noble officials were appointed to positions of real power in the government. Armies grew as did taxation, both in sheer volume and more efficiency in collection techniques. In short, more real power and money flowed to the central monarch-based government than ever before. The expansion of military and colonial power, as well as a dazzling cultural show of that power exemplified by the French “sun king,” Louis XIV, forever left its mark on the era.

Source: StudyLib