The Absolutism was a political system that, in general, defended the absolute power of the monarch over the State and was very common from the 16th century until the middle of the 19th century in several parts of Europe. This form of government was directly linked to the process of formation of National States (modern nations) and the rise of the mercantile class known as the bourgeoisie, as well as to a series of other transformations that had taken place in Europe since the Late Middle Ages.
Emergence
As the State National it was consolidating its borders and demands and with the emergence of a strong mercantile class, there was a need for a representative to defend its interests and, thus, power began to be concentrated in the figure of the monarch. Unlike what happened during the Middle Ages, when the power of the royal was not unanimous and, therefore, the help of the nobles was necessary for the composition of the army, for example, in Absolutism, the monarch controlled all the power in the decision-making of the nation.
Thus, the organization of laws, the creation of taxes, the delimitation and implementation of justice, etc., were determined by the king. In this period, the bureaucracy also emerged, a whole structure of government that was responsible for the execution of the administrative work of the nation, in order to assist the king in the administration of the newly created State.
With the delimitation of national borders, Absolutism contributed to the reduction of local cultural differences, that is, there was a standardization. Thus, a single currency was implemented and a single language was chosen for the entire nation. With the strengthening of trade, a series of taxes were created for its regulation, in addition to customs taxes for the defense of the internal economy.
From these taxes, the king was able to assemble a standing army that was at his service in internal defense, in case of rebellion, and in external defense, in case of conflict. Furthermore, from a religious point of view, royal power was seen as a direct choice of God, therefore, indisputable.
Absolutism did not have, however, homogeneous characteristics and also presented its particularities in different places. Thus, three models of this political system stood out:French, English and Spanish. The French King Louis XIV was the best example of the application of Absolutism power.
Defense of royal power
The Englishman Thomas Hobbes was one of the theorists who defended royal power
As real power was strengthened, a number of theorists wrote about the justification of absolute power. Among them, stood out Nicolau Machiavelli , Thomas Hobbes , Jacques Bossuet .
Nicholas Machiavelli, in his O Prince , justified the use of violence to maintain control over the population, as he defended the idea that “the ends would justify the means” and stated that it was more valuable for the king to be feared than loved. In O Leviathan , Thomas Hobbes argued that real power was needed to bring order to the world. This theorist defended the theory that, before the absolute power of the king, Europe lived in a state of chaos in which violence predominated, because, according to Hobbes, man was evil by nature, so only the absolute power of the king would be able to put everything in order. Jacques Bossuet, in his Politics taken from Holy Scripture, justified that the king's power came from God, so contesting the royal power would be the same as contesting God himself.
End of Absolutism
Absolutism ceased to exist as a form of government around the 19th century, as it was already contested by Enlightenment ideals. The French Revolution and the changes that emerged from it contributed to the demise of this form of government across Europe. Such changes sought the decentralization of power, that is, the opposite of what was defended until then, as well as questioning the theory of the divine will of real power, since the Enlightenment defended the rationalization of human thought.
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