Comparing Absolutism In King James I And King Louis XIV

There were many forms of government during the seventeenth and eighteenth century in Europe. Although two forms that were used the most were democracy and absolutism. A democracy puts power in the hands of the people, whereas absolutism gave complete authority and unlimited power to a ruler. Both of these forms of government were effective in their own way. Absolutism, however, was most effective at the time. Many rulers had a democracy government but it was difficult usually since the people found ways to overthrow the rulers. With absolutism many decisions involving the government were made quickly. King James I and King Louis XIV are just two examples of absolute monarchs that were able rule an entire empire effectively. Empires with absolute monarchs were very efficient. Various things were able to get done much faster. Since it was …show more content…
During that time period, consequences for certain things were very crucial. Niccolò Machiavelli, author of The Prince, knew this already. In his book he wrote, “Men have less hesitation in offending a man who is loved than one who is feared”. What he is trying to say is that if people are afraid of you, they have more hesitation into trying to hurt you. King James I of England expressed more his ideas about divine rule, which was the belief that the authority of a ruler came from directly from God. “For kings are not only God’s lieutenants upon earth, and sit upon God’s throne, but even by God Himself they are called gods…And the like powers have kings” expressed James I. Numerous absolute monarchs believed in a divine right to rule. Especially since they had all the same power as God. This was effective because if anyone were to go against a monarch it would be like going against God. Most people honored and respected absolute monarch rulers because they knew the positive aspects that would come out of