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Rise of Absolutism in Europe (1500-1700)

In the 1500s and 1600s, monarchs in Europe and Asia sought to centralize their power.The word centralize means to put all governmental power in

one person or a few people. This trend of putting power into

the hands of one person became known as absolutism. In anabsolute government, the king had complete control of the

government, the people, and their country.

Monarchs made the case they had the right to have

absolute power because they were given the power ofdivineright. Divine right is when God has chosen one person to

rule the many. Under the power ofdivine right, kingsbelieved they were Gods, and thus, were entitled to

everything. The various different absolute rulers in Europe

did different things to demonstrate theirabsolute power.

In India, absolute rulerAkbar the Great, got rid of all elections held in his country. He

believed people did not have a say who ruled them, because God had given him thepower ofdivine right. In addition, divine right was proof that he was the best choice

to run the government. Divine right and absolute rulers were also entitled to rule until

the day they died. Akbar created one of the first forms of a secret police force, in which

soldiers dressed as ordinary citizens. While under cover, if they heard anything bad aboutAkbar, they would arrest that person on the spot.

Anotherabsolute ruler was Phillip II in Spain. Phillip II used force to get his way.Anybody who dared to question him, or rebel against him, or even looked suspicious was

imprisoned. Freedom of speech was outlawed (not allowed)by Phillip.Phillip II alsocontrolled what went into newspapers and other pieces of literature. This is called

censorship. Censorship is when the government decides what can be put in the news or

in books. Through censorship, Phillip II was able to prevent any news stories that made

himself look bad, or that criticized his leadership from being published.

King Louis XIV

of France was an

absolute ruler.

He decided to

live the life of

luxury instead ofhelping his

people. Louistaxed the Frenchpeople often.

Most French

people were

starving,

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homeless, and sick. Instead of using the tax money to help the suffering French citizens,

Louisbuilt himself a grand (large) palace called the Palace of Versailles. Louiss

life in the palace was great. Life for his French people wasnt. Louis worsened life for theFrench people when he banned (got rid of) freedom of religion. He forced people to

become Catholic. If they chose not to, they were removed from the country or executed.

In Russia, absolute ruler Peter the Great used his absolute power to help his Russian

people. First, he took power away from the rich. Secondly, he taxed the rich heavily, and

gave the tax money to the poor Russian people in need. He also used tax money to buildroads, rebuild churches, and create farms to grow more food. Peter wanted to see his

country improve. Thus, Peter went to countries like France, Britain, and Austria, and

learned their technology, customs, and practices. He brought what he found useful back

to Russia and implemented it. Under the absolute rulerPeter, Russia flourished.