Absolutism Vs Constitutional Monarchy

During the seventeenth century, conflict arose over the way people should be governed. In this time there were two main forms of government, absolutist and constitutional monarchies. In an absolutist monarchy, such as those in France, Spain, Central Europe, and Russia, the monarchs exerted dominance over the people by collecting all power for themselves. In a constitutional monarchy, such as those in England and the Dutch Republic, the rulers did not have complete power, they abided by the laws made by representative organizations.

Throughout this time the government in these countries continued to develop. In France absolutism reached its high point during the reign of Louis XIV. However, this absolutism had long standing roots. Louis XIV's grandfather, …show more content…
His tactics let the monarchy maintain power within Europe and its own borders despite the chaos of the Thirty Years War. Unlike his predecessor Henry IV, Richelieu moved to contain Protestanism.

During the rule of Louis XIV the French government met the zenith of its absolutist progress. King Louis XIV's rule was the longest rule in the history of Europe. He believed that God made kings his earthly rulers and that they were to obey only God. Although they experienced sacred anointing they could not act as they liked, they must respect the law of God and act in the best interest of those they ruled over.

King Louis gave tremendous effort into the business of government. He ruled through councils although he was personally involved in many of the councils. He chose his councilors from the upper levels of society because he wanted “people to know by the rank of men who served him that he had no intention of sharing power with them.” Although the government faced growing financial problems Louis never gathered a meeting of the Estates General. He stayed free of worry over the inordinate power of