Absolutism and the Old Order/Ancien Regime

"In the sway he holds over his people, he surpasses all the monarchs of the whole world...He uses his authority as much over ecclesiastics as laymen, and holds unlimited control over the lives and property of all his subjects; not one of his counselors has sufficient authority to dare to oppose him, or even differ from him, on any subject. They openly confess that the will of the prince is the will of God, and that whatever the prince does he does by the will of God."

Define the term “nation.”

Would you rather have a democratic leader who follows the will of the people (lots of polls, votes, etc.) or a strong leader who follows his or her conscience and reason?

“When the leaders choose to make themselves bidders at an auction of popularity, their talents, in the construction of the state, will be of no service. They will become flatterers instead of legislators; the instruments, not the guides, of the people.”
Edmund Burke

I.Absolutism Defined:
(Sovereign but not totalitarian)

1. Divine Right:
How do they justify that belief?

Proverbs 8.15-16:
"By me kings reign, and princes decree justice. By me princes rule, and nobles, even all the judges of the earth."
Romans 13.1-2:
"Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation."

2. There must be one sovereign in every state
3. The sovereign holds all legitimate power and should never be actively resisted.
4. If the sovereign commands a contravention of God's law, disobey, but accept the punishment.

--Jean Bodin (1530-1596)


Leviathan
(1651)
Thomas Hobbes:

Life is "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short."
Therefore, to avoid rebellion and chaos nations need ____________.

II. Absolutism in Action: FRANCE
Louis XIII (The Bourbon Family)
Cardinal Richelieu (1585-1642)
The Fronde: 1648-1653
Louis the XIV

a. Mother Anne of Austria (regent)
b. Cardinal Mazarin(died 1661)
c. Womanizing
Wife: Maria Theresa
Mistresses: (too many to name)

LOUIS AS LEADER: The Sun King
“L'Etat, c'est moi”
(I am the State!)

Le Louvre


LOUIS AT WAR:
1. Dutch: 1672-1678
2. League of Augsburg: 1688-1697
3. War of Spanish Succession: 1702-1713


III. Absolutism in Action: RUSSIA
Peter the Great
(The Romanov Family)


IV. Constitutionalism

V. Average People:


Jan Steen



VI. Significance