absolutism

A detailed Summary of absolutism

Louis XIV gained power for himself and his national government through absolutism. Absolutism is unlimited power in government and society. In government to be an absolutist the king would have unlimited power in all forms of the government such as the legislative, judicial, executive, and revenues. As an absolutist Louis would have unlimited power in the society by controlling the economy and church. To control the church he would follow the divine right of kings, which goes along with absolutism, and be a figure to the people that is spoken through by God. That way the people would follow the king, believe what he says, and consider him sacred. Thomas Hobbes worded best what would happen if absolutism did not come into effect in his book ‘The Leviation'. Louis perfected the machinery of government of which he imposed his will on France and made himself the subject of his subjects' loyalty. To accomplish this he organized civil services, reorganized the military, improv!

ed the economy, and greatly expressed his power. Louis' first step was to expand the civil services. He staffed his government with men who would obey him w/out question. Instead of filling the position with nobles, he appointed advisors drawn largely from

s surrounded with an impenetrable ring of fortresses. The army would have continued to thrive if they had sufficient funds for it, and the men were fighting for a cause that they were personally committed to. Another one of the most significant features of the new order was the coordination of the French economy. Jean Baptiste Colbert was totally devoted to this cause. He operated to a clear and precise economic doctrine, mercantilism. His goal was to foster industry and industrial exports. Colbert began by setting the King's own affairs in order. He instituted a regular system of bookkeeping and audits, so that the government would have accurate records of its income and expenditures. He ferreted out corrupt officials, especially dishonest tax collectors, so that all the money collected would in fact end up in the royal treasury. He established a bureaucracy of clerks and a corps of intendants to carry out these tasks, placing them under the close supervision of a supreme cou!

ncil on finance. With this apparatus, he set out to give France a thriving national economy. Every new order built upon an old order involves destruction as well as creation--and so it was with Colbert's work. He destroyed internal tariff barriers in order to free internal commerce, and built a great system of roads and canals to facilitate the movement of goods and people. He disrupted local commercial practices by giving the kingdom a single, uniform commercial

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Approximate Word count = 975
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: History