Index
- absolutism in europe
- Nicolas Machiavelli (1469-1527)
- Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679)
- Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet (1627-1704)
absolutism in europe
In the Middle Ages, the figure of kings was practically symbolic, their power was restricted and was submitted to the authority of the clergy. The church in this period concentrated great power, its influence was not limited only to spiritual matters, the clerics controlled politics, the economy, education, and the popes were even responsible for the coronation of kings or emperors.
From the 10th century onwards, during the Low Middle Ages, kings would gain notoriety and gradually gain more power than other social groups, a strategy for to increase its domain would be to establish alliances with the bourgeoisie, a social class that would be born in the towns, small towns that sprang up around the fiefs that were dedicated to transactions. commercials.
With the commercial expansion, the bourgeoisie yearned more and more for the increase in the generation of profits, however the church condemned usury, the practice of collecting exorbitant profits through the exploitation of others individuals. To continue their business, the bourgeois realized the need to receive support and protection from someone, in this way a partnership with the monarchs would be born. The bourgeois would financially support the kings and in return would receive the help they needed to expand their commercial activities.
After the Protestant Reformation the power of the Catholic Church was challenged, accusations and scandals involving the clergy would shake Christianity in Europe, the pope would no longer be recognized as a universal authority, this fact would contribute to the strengthening of kings, in countries where Catholicism was the official religion, the Church is now subject to power of Kings. The leadership of the nations was now in the hands of the kings, thus the Absolutism, also known as Old Regime.
The term old regime was created in the 19th century by the historian Alexis de Tocqueville, it referred to the sociopolitical system and which originated in France and which would later spread to other European nations and colonies dominated by they. Absolutism was the predominant form of government between the 16th and 18th centuries in Europe, characterized by the concentration of powers in the hands of a single person: the king.
The monarch would control not only politics, but also the economic system in the absence of the total separation of powers. The Enlightenment philosopher Montesquieu would explain that in order to avoid tyranny, the division of powers would be essential, but that was not what happened in the government of the absolutist monarchs.
The authority of the absolutist kings was unlimited, which made them rule for their own benefit and to the detriment of the more classes. underprivileged, during this period there was an increase in tax collection and all accumulated wealth was destined to sustain the high expenses of the monarchy. While the population suffered, the royalty flaunted luxury and power, their personal possessions merged with that of the nation, king and state would become one.
The monarchs had the support of a large number of officials to govern, the "Council of State" formed by magistrate who met to discuss matters of more importance was one of the bodies that helped to sustain the regime. The economy was based on mercantilism, an economic system that aimed at the accumulation of wealth as a strategy to increase power, metalism was one of the most common practices of the absolutist economy.
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One of the most important kings of this period was Louis XIV, known as King Sol he nurtured the cult of his image. He ruled France from 1661 to 1715, his authoritarian form would perfectly illustrate the absolutist model, his arbitrary posture could be defined through his words: “The State is I”. Of Catholic origin, Louis XIV saw his power as a divine mission, an entry in his diary would demonstrate that he truly believed in this. power instituted by God: “Exercising an all-divine task here on earth, we must appear incapable of disturbances that might commit it”.
Parallel to the increase in royal domination was the commercial expansion of the bourgeoisie. As the king controlled all areas of the nation, with the economy this would be no different, however this rigid control exercised by them in the system would start to annoy the bourgeoisie, who felt the need to gain more autonomy to carry out their business without the control of the State. Predicting a rebellion, the kings would seek to justify their excess of power in the most different theories, based on faith and reason. In this way the theorists of absolutism would gain prominence.
Some Theorists of Absolutism
Nicolas Machiavelli (1469-1527)
In his most important work “The Prince”, Machiavelli defended the idea that the State needed a strong and cunning monarch to watch over the well-being of the people, for him it was the king's responsibility to control the economy and take care of the nation's security at any cost, no matter the strategies for this to be Reached. For him, the State was more important than the citizens, and the leader should spare no effort to maintain power, even if for this it was necessary to use violence, crimes, lies and hypocrisy.
Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679)
One of the greatest defenders of Absolutism, author of Leviathan, Hobbes believed that the dominance of the strongest over the weakest was something natural, defended the idea that "man is the wolf of man" and only a strong state ruled by an absolutist monarch would be able to regulate the relationships between individuals, so that everyone lives in peace and harmony, the subjects should be subject to the domain of King.
Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet (1627-1704)
Author of politics according to Sacred Scripture mixing politics and religion in his theories, he defended the theory that the real power was of divine origin. According to Bossuet, power was given by God to the monarch and the latter should not be challenged. Anyone who dared to go against the king would be rebelling against God.
We can see an important difference between the theories of Machiavelli, Hobbes and Bossuet. While the former two based their theories on reason, the latter's theory was founded on faith. Absolutism would come to an end in Europe in 1789 with the French Revolution, the discontent of a marginalized population without the right to participate in politics and a bourgeoisie desirous of more power and autonomy would be the trigger for the emergence of one of the greatest revolutionary movements in our history and the end of a regime marked by authoritarianism and oppression.
Lorena Castro Alves
Graduated in History and Pedagogy
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