Absolutism in 17th Century Europe

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that the growth of the absolute monarchy, referred to as the Age of Absolutism, beginning during the reign of Louis XIV and ending with the French Revolution, was the origin of the modern state. The author points out that absolutism was largely motivated as a solution to the crises of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, such as the Reformation that led to a series of violent and cruel religious and civil wars, leaving thousands of innocents died. The paper relates that, during the seventeenth century, monarchs attained power and authority that were unprecedented, leading historians to use the term "absolutism" to describe these political systems; however, other historians argue that the term is misleading because neither the ambitions of the monarchs nor the results constituted political absolutism.

From the Paper:

"From appearance of nation-states in Europe during the middle of the millennium until the latter half of the twentieth century is, it seemed probably that some form of absolutism would be the dominant pattern for the most powerful and successful of those states. The triumph of societies based upon limited forms of government over their absolutist rivals is one of the most surprising and significant developments of the millennium. By 1715, Paris had become one of the greatest cities in Europe, whereas a century before, it was still very much a medieval town."

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