Absolutism:
autocracy, or rule by a single person. This person was not to be questioned or disobeyed; this became known as "absolutism," since the monarch ruled w/ "absolute" power, that is, unshared power.
Began in England
France and England Absolutism:
The English had been under the combined rule of both the king and the assembly for so long that they weren't ready to give all the power of government to a single person. The merchants and land-owning nobles supported Parliament, where members could be elected and changed in necessary, rather than an absolute monarch with no restraints.
*James I & Charles I tried ruling without consenting Parliament
*Parliament so in control, neither successfully decreased it's role in the government
*1642, differences between Charles I & Parliament sparked England's civil war
*Royal stubbornness to share control of the country, Parliament's refusal to give up their power in government.
*This was the major turning point for absolutism in England
*Monarchies, beginning with Charles II, realized how much power Parliament had & knew that they had to work with, not against, each other.
*Because Parliament was so strongly ingrained into the English process of government, & was so centralized (only one parliament-type assembly in all of England) that Parliament survived while absolute government died miserably.
*Parliament continued to gain power over the King through the end of the 1600's, & would eventually become the leading governmental body of England
*France, around mid. 17th century, revolution against the current monarch, Cardinal Mazarin, by various & scattered parliaments & nobility
*Parliaments wanted right to claim royal edicts unconstitutional
*Nobility hoped to gain power by sanctioning the monarch or removing him from office,
*threw France into disarray.
*Nobles led bands of fighters around country, pillaging & terrorizing lower classes at will in an attempt...
Absolutism...
These are thorough notes. Informative and brief. Good Job.
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