POWER AND PRIVILEGE: Ancient Regime Political Regime

POLITICAL REGIME

    Absolutism is a term used to describe a form of monarchical power that is uncontrolled by all other institutions, such as churches, legislatures, or social elites. Monarchs described as absolute can especially be found in the 16th century through the 19th century, during the transition from feudalism to capitalism.

    Absolutism is characterized by:

·        The ending of feudal segmentation.

·        Consolidation of the monarchical power.

·        Rise of state power

·        Unification of the state laws.

·        Decrease in the influence of the Church and the nobility.

·        The rise of professional standing armies.

·        Professional bureaucracies.

·        The codification of state laws.

·        The rise of ideologies that justify the absolutist monarchy.

·        Absolutist monarchs typically were considered to have the divine right of kings as a cornerstone of the philosophy that justified their power.

    Absolute monarchs spent considerable sums on extravagant houses for themselves and their nobles. In an absolutist state, monarchs often required nobles to live in the royal palace, while state officials ruled the noble lands in their absence. This was designed to reduce the effective power of the nobility.

TASKS:

1.      What is the absolutism?

2.      Write the characteristics of the absolutism.

3.      Why did monarchs require nobles to live in the palace?