The History Learning Site, 17 Mar 2015. 13 Dec 2021. Absolutism within France was a political system associated with kings such as Louis XIII and, more particularly, Louis XIV. Absolutism or absolute monarchical rule was developing across Europe during the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries.
Prior to absolute rule, a king of France worked with the Estates. He was still a powerful ruler but in one sense he shared his authority with them. When this system broke down, a country could descend into civil war. In a French absolute society, the king’s word was law. He had access to a standing royal army that was loyal only to him.
Richelieu and absolutism. The first major conspiracy Richelieu had to deal with was in 1626 and was known as the Chalais Conspiracy. This involved the Princes of the Blood (the Vendômes, Louis XIII’s two bastard half-brothers, his cousins Condé and Soissons, and his wife, Anne of Austria) and court magnates (the widow of Luynes,...
French Classicism under Louis XIV:The artists and writers of late seventeenth century France deliberately imitated the subject matter and style of classical antiquity. Their work resembled that of Renaissance Italy and contained the classical qualities of discipline, balance, and restraint.
Throughout his life, Hobbes believed that the only true and correct form of government was the absolute monarchy. Hobbes believed firmly in a monarch's absolutism, or the belief in the king's right to wield supreme and unchecked power over his subjects.
As an offshoot of divine right, the church, sometimes against the will of its clergy, came to support the absolute monarchy as a matter of self-preservation. In his classic 1651 book Leviathan, English philosopher Thomas Hobbes unequivocally defended absolutism.
of Louis XIV1638 – 1715. The reign of Louis XIV is often referred to as “Le Grand Siècle” (the Great Century), forever associated with the image of an absolute monarch and a strong, centralised state. Coming to the throne at a tender age, tutored by Cardinal Mazarin, the Sun King embodied the principles of absolutism.
Louis enacted absolutist ideas through domination of the central bureaucracy which had greater control of state finances, the execution of laws and the use of armed force. Increased royal control over the local parlements.
Political absolutism, Locke contends, gives rulers ownership rights in their subjects' lives (as well as in their liberties and estates). Citizens cannot consensually institute arbitrary government over themselves since it amounts to giving away something that belongs not to them, but to God.
The earliest arguments in favor of absolute monarchy were expressed by English political philosopher Thomas Hobbes, who in his seminal 1651 book Leviathan, asserted that absolute universal obedience to a single ruler was necessary to maintain civil order and security.
Louis XIV. "The Sun King". He meant "I am the state", signifying that he was the absolute ruler.
With his skillful Prime Minister Richelieu, who vowed "to make the royal power supreme in France and France supreme in Europe." (source: Cardinal Richelieu's Political Testament), Louis XIII established Absolute Monarchy in France during his reign.
An absolute monarchy is one in which the king is God's representative on Earth, giving him absolute power that's free from all restraints. He created a centralized state that gave him complete power over the French government. King Louis XIV was an absolute monarch because he answered only to God.
King Louis XIV of FranceKing Louis XIV of France was considered the best example of absolute monarchy. Immediately after he was declared king, he started consolidating his own power and restricting the power of the state officials.
Absolutism: the sovereign power of ultimate authority in the state rests in the hands of a king who claimed rule by divine right- power from God- and were responsible to no one (including parliaments) except God.
King Louis XIV (1643–1715) of France furnished the most familiar assertion of absolutism when he said, “L'état, c'est moi” (“I am the state”).
Absolute rule replaced a system whereby the monarch worked with others. Prior to absolute rule, a king of France worked with the Estates. He was still a powerful ruler but in one sense he shared his authority with them. When this system broke down, a country could descend into civil war. In a French absolute society, the king’s word was law.
Important politicians such as Cardinal Richilieu were staunch supporters of absolutism. Absolute rule meant that the power of the monarch was, in theory, unlimited except by divine law or by what was called ‘natural law’.
When this system broke down, a country could descend into civil war. In a French absolute society, the king’s word was law. He had access to a standing royal army that was loyal only to him. A career in the military appeared to be one worth pursuing for someone with a noble background.
As an example, Brandenburg-Prussia under the Great Elector, Frederick William, became a much sort after ally which brought money to Brandenburg-Prussia. Also, in France, there were memories of the chronic dislocation caused by the French Wars of Religion where weak monarchical rule triggered off a noble rebellion.
The first major conspiracy Richelieu had to deal with was in 1626 and was known as the Chalais Conspiracy. This involved the Princes of the Blood (the Vendômes, ...
Cardinal Richelieu. Cardinal Richelieu was born in 1585 and died in 1642. Richelieu dominated the history of France from 1624 to his death as Louis XIII’s chief….
Richelieu also used his relationship with Louis to bring some form of reconciliation between the king and Anne. To show the nobility who was in charge , Richelieu also ordered the beheading of the Count of Bouteville for dueling. This had been banned by Richelieu and Bouteville had deliberately challenged Richelieu decision.
This created resentment and the senior nobility gathered around the Duke of Orleans, the king’s uncle, and the Queen Mother, Marie de Medici. Both of these people wanted Richelieu removed from office. Curiously, Anne of Austria, the wife of Louis, blamed Richelieu for her unhappy marriage and also wanted him out ...
Cardinal Richelieu was a strong believer in the power of the crown – as had been his predecessor the Duke de Luynes. Richelieu served his master – Louis XIII – well and did much to make Seventeenth Century France a classic example of the expansion of royal absolutism at the expense of noble power.
Curiously, Anne of Austria, the wife of Louis, blamed Richelieu for her unhappy marriage and also wanted him out (even though she had married in 1615 when Richelieu had no political power!). However, Richelieu had one huge advantage over all his enemies – the support of Louis XIII.
Bouteville was executed outside of Richelieu’s window in 1627 having rejected all pleas for clemency. A far greater challenge came with the so-called Day of Dupes (1630) and the Montmorency Affair (1632).
One such was the Edict of Nantes of 1598, which conceded to the Huguenots not only freedom of worship but also their own schools, law courts, and fortified towns. From the start the Edict constituted a challenge to monarchy and a test of its ability to govern.
The strength of the representative institution was proportionate to that of the crown, which depended largely on the conditions of accession.
The scale and expertise of diplomacy grew with the pretensions of sovereignty. The professional diplomat and permanent embassy, the regular soldier and standing army, served princes still generally free to act in their traditional spheres.
Appeal to God justified the valuable rights that the kings of France and Spain enjoyed over their churches and added sanction to hereditary right and constitutional authority. Henry VIII moved further when he broke with Rome and took to himself complete sovereignty. Rebellion was always a threat.
Among European states of the High Renaissance, the republic of Venice provided the only important exception to princely rule. Following the court of Burgundy, where chivalric ideals vied with the self-indulgence of feast, joust, and hunt, Charles V, Francis I, and Henry VIII acted out the rites of kingship in sumptuous courts.
With respect to the other provinces ( pays d’élection ), the crown had enjoyed the crucial advantage of an annual tax since 1439, when Charles VII successfully asserted the right to levy the personal taille without consent.