please help homework:Absolute Monarchy?

Question

Awnser these riddles of the Absolute Monarchy
1.I visited western europe in order to copy it back home
2.I built a great palace in order to house all the nobles.that i can keep an eye on them
3.I set the characteristics of an absolute monarch. I was king of spain as well as emperor of the holy roman empire.
4I was not a monarch at all but ruled england for ten years as lord protector. I am very conservative and dont allow dancing or singing
5 I was king of scotland and reorganized the bible into one of its modern forms
6 In my nation so much gold and silver was brought from america that inflation was a big problem
7 I began the reorganization of the church in england because of my desire for a heir
8 I am considered the role model of an absolute monarch I ruled for 70 years
9 I increased the size of russia to its largest extent even though im a german and not a russian

Answer 1

1. Peter the Great
2.?
3.Charles V
4. Probably Oliver Cromwell
5. King James/ same guy from England
6. ?
7. Henry the 8th
8.?
9. Cathrine the great

Answer 2

1 A Russian king ..... the Great
2 Louis the 14
3 Emperor Charles of Spain
4Oliver Cromwell
5 King James
6King Ferdinand or
7Henry the 8th
8Queen Elizabeth
9Queen Anne Of Prussia

I love European History

Answer 3

you're right, in reality, good human beings don't be in a position to attain at that height in politics the position they could sit down on the chair of PM, yet Nehru Gandhi relations continues to be more effective perfect than others so human beings don't have a decision ,,yet this Monarchy is likewise democratically being allowed so do not problem,,

Answer 4

Thank you to all those who donated from the Wikimedia Foundation!

Tax-deductibility of donations | FAQ | Financial statements | Live list of donations


Absolute monarchy
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
This does not cite its references or sources.
Please help improve this article by introducing appropriate citations. (help, get involved!)
This article has been tagged since June 2006.Forms of government

This series is part of
the Politics series

List of forms of government

Anarchism
Aristocracy
Autocracy
Communism
Democracy
Direct democracy
Representative democracy
Despotism
Dictatorship
Fascism
Feudalism
Kleptocracy
Krytocracy
Monarchy
Absolute monarchy
Constitutional monarchy
Ochlocracy
Oligarchy
Plutocracy
Republic
Single-party state
Theocracy
Tyranny

Politics Portal · edit
Absolute monarchy is a monarchical form of government where the monarch has the power to rule his or her land or country and its citizens freely, with no laws or legally-organised direct opposition in force. Although some religious authority may be able to discourage the monarch from some acts and the sovereign is expected to act according to custom, in an absolute monarchy there is no constitution or body of law above what is decreed by the sovereign (king or queen). As a theory of civics, absolute monarchy puts total trust in well-bred and well-trained monarchs raised for the role from birth.

In theory, an absolute monarch has total power over his or her people and land, including the aristocracy and sometimes the clergy (see caesaropapism). In practice, absolute monarchs have often found their power limited.

Some monarchies have powerless or symbolic parliaments and other governmental bodies that the monarch can alter or dissolve at will. Despite effectively being absolute monarchies, they are technically constitutional monarchies due to the existence of a constitution and national canon of law.

Although five absolute monarchies still exist (Vatican City, Saudi Arabia, Swaziland, Brunei and Bhutan), the popularity of the notion of absolute monarchy declined substantially after the French Revolution and American Revolution, which promoted theories of government based on popular sovereignty. Most absolute monarchies were limited or overthrown after these revolutions.

Contents [hide]
1 Theories and history
1.1 Divine rights
1.2 Thomas Hobbes
1.3 Enlightened despotism
2 Historical examples
3 Social mechanisms leading to absolute monarchies
4 See also



[edit] Theories and history
The theory of absolute monarchy developed in the late Middle Ages from feudalism during which monarchs were still very much first among equals among the nobility. With the creation of centralized administrations and standing armies backed by expensive artillery, the power of the monarch gradually increased relative to the nobles, and from this was created the theory of absolute monarchy.


[edit] Divine rights
Early Absolutists advocated the theory of Divine Right of Kings to justify their position. In the 16th century, monarchs took advantage of the clergy's weakness during the Reformation to impose their will. They declared to have the ability to decide the religion of their subjects. Henry VIII of England seized the property of the Catholic church while France claimed "Gallican liberties". These new monarchs claimed to be responsible solely to God. In response to the political chaos of the Reformation, political and theorists such as Jean Bodin, developed a sophisticated theory of sovereignty, which recognised that the king alone could arbitrate power. They attempted to eliminate or marginalize customs, institutions, and laws that held their predecessors in check. They believed that God gave them the right to supreme rule and sovereignty over their land. Those that claimed to have the divine right of kings often ruled in an unfair and egotistical manner, much like a modern dictator, and some were overthrown. One of the most famous examples of a monarch claiming his divine right to rule was Louis XIV of France.


[edit] Thomas Hobbes
Hobbes theorized that all the people should invest their power and rights in a "sovereign", in what was a seminal work of social contract theory, Leviathan. Without a sovereign, man lived in a state of nature which was governed by the passions of man, which manifested themselves in an all-against-all state of war; life in this state of nature was, for Hobbes, "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short". Through contract, each individual would give up his natural rights in order to be under the protection of the sovereign, who would secure the peace and defense of each individual. By surrendering one's rights to the sovereign, one gave up any right to rebel, and indeed, could not logically rebel, as the individual was a constituent part of the sovereign, and one's rights could not be separated from it. The sovereign, thus, by definition only acted in the interest of the subject. The contract could only be broken when the sovereign could no longer provide for the peace and defense of the subject; without its raison d'être, the sovereign simply ceased to exist; man reverted to the state of nature until a new contract could be made.

While the "sovereign" is assumed to always be a monarch, it merely indicates an absolute government, which could take the form of a republic or even a democracy. Hobbes himself favored a hereditary monarch for reasons of stability.

The leviathan state, and most importantly the absolute monarchy, would later be criticized by John Locke in the Two Treatises of Government. Locke's conception of the state of nature vastly differed from Hobbes, as did his conclusion on the rights of the governed. Despite these differences, both works were later viewed by some scholars (most notably C. B. Macpherson) as seminal examples of possessive individualism, with the function of the state being to provide a secure environment in which individuals can enjoy property rights.


[edit] Enlightened despotism
During the Enlightenment, the theory of absolute monarchy was supported by many French philosophes as a form of enlightened despotism. The philosophers argued that only an enlightened monarch can introduce progressive reforms to curtail feudalism and reactionary clergy. However, it must be pointed out that while Louis XV and Louis XVI were absolute monarchs in theory, they had to contend with many private interests, some of which opposed reforms, such as the great nobility and the parlements. Enlightened despotism was discredited with the fall of Napoleon.





[edit] Historical examples
One of the best-known historical examples of an absolute monarch was Louis XIV of France (as stated above - see "divine rights"). His famous statement, L'état, c'est moi (I am the state), summarises the fundamental principle of absolute monarchy (sovereignty being vested in one individual). Although often criticised for his extravagance (his great legacy is the huge Palace of Versailles), he reigned over France for a long period, and some historians consider him a successful absolute monarch. More recently, revisionist historians have questioned whether Louis' reign should be considered 'absolute', given the reality of the balance of power between the monarch and the nobility.[1]

Until 1905, the Tsars of Russia also governed as absolute monarchs. Peter the Great reduced the power of the nobility and strengthened the central power of the Tsar, establishing a bureaucracy and a police state. This tradition of absolutism was built on by Catherine the Great and other later Tsars. Although Alexander II made some reforms and established an independent judicial system, Russia did not have a representative assembly or a constitution until the 1905 Revolution.

Throughout much of history, the Divine Right of Kings was the theological justification for absolute monarchy. Many European kings, such as the Tsars of Russia, claimed that they held supreme autocratic power by divine right, and that their subjects had no right to limit their power. James I and Charles I of England tried to import this principle into England; fears that Charles I was attempting to establish absolutist government along European lines was a major cause of the English Civil War. By the 19th century, the Divine Right was regarded as an obsolete theory in most countries, except in Russia where it was still given credence as the official justification for the Tsar's power.

In Denmark-Norway the system was underpinned by the 1665 Lex Regia whose § 2 stipulates that the monarch shall from this day forth be revered and considered the most perfect and supreme person on the Earth by all his subjects, standing above all human laws and having no judge above his person, neither in spiritual nor temporal matters, except God alone. [1] This law consequently authorized the king to abolish all other centres of power. Most important was the abolition of the Council of the Realm.


[edit] Social mechanisms leading to absolute monarchies
This section is a stub. You can help by expanding it.

According to Norbert Elias's The Civilizing Process, the reason why monarchs like Louis XIV could enjoy such great power is to be found in the layout of the societies of that time, more precisely in the fact that they could play off against each other two rivaling groups within society, namely the rising bourgeoisie, who received growing wealth from commerce and industrial production, and the nobility, who lived off the land and administrative functions.


[edit] See also
Constitutional Monarchy
Thomas Hobbes
Democracy



Forms of Government and Methods of Rule: Autocratic and Authoritarian Autocratic: Despotism | Dictatorship | Tyranny | Absolute monarchy (Caliphate | Despotate | Emirate | Empire | Imamate | Khanate | Sultanate | Other monarchical titles) | Enlightened absolutism
Other Authoritarian: Military dictatorship (often a Junta) | Oligarchy | Single-party state (Communist state | Fascist(oid) state) | de facto: Illiberal democracy



Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absolute_monarchy"
Categories: Articles lacking sources from June 2006 | All articles lacking sources | Articles with sections needing expansion | Forms of government | Monarchy
ViewsArticle Discussion Edit this page History Personal toolsSign in / create account Navigation
Main page
Community portal
Featured content
Current events
Recent changes
Random article
Help
Contact Wikipedia
Donations
Search
Toolbox
What links here
Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Printable version
Permanent link
Cite this article
In other languages
Български
Català
Español
Esperanto
한국어
Bahasa Indonesia
Íslenska
Lietuvių
Bahasa Melayu
Nederlands
日本語
Norsk (bokmål)
Norsk (nynorsk)
Polski
Português
Русский
Srpskohrvatski / Српскохрватски
Svenska
ไทย
Українська
中文

This page was last modified 17:20, 16 January 2007. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. (See Copyrights for details.)
Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a US-registered 501(c)(3) tax-deductible nonprofit charity.
Privacy policy About Wikipedia Disclaimers