The end of the Middle Ages marked the beginning of the end of the majority of dominance and influence on European ruling for the noble classes and the Roman Catholic Church. The power previously held by the two upper groups decreased as their support and authority declined. The centralization of European states such as France, Austria, Prussia, and Russia also contributed to the decline of the two former powers, and to the rise of stable monarchies. These monarchies were able to gain full control over the regions they ruled through different successful techniques, such as eliminating the power of the nobles and opposing sides within their borders, instituting and improving armies and bureaucracies, and switching loyal supporters of their
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The French first began to weaken the strength of Protestant groups in their nation during this period. This began with Henry Bourbon (IV)’s issuing of the Edict of Nantes in 1598, which granted religious tolerance for the Protestant religion in Catholic France. However, later French kings continued their attempts to undermine this religious tolerance and remove the little freedoms that the Protestant minorities had. One of these kings, Louis XIII, along with his chief minister, Cardinal Richelieu, eliminated the power that Protestants had in independent cities and towns, while also increasing the central bureaucracy and power of the French monarch by sending out intendants to rule the provinces in the name of Louis XIII. When Louis XIV took the throne, this power continued to increase, which heightened until the point of the central government becoming the main source of power in France. This was caused due to his expansion of the French army, levying of taxes, and asserting his control over both the Protestants and the nobles. Louis XIV issued the Edict of Fontainebleau in 1685, which revoked Henry IV’s Edict of Nantes, and …show more content…
However, his attempts failed, and it was not until the succeeding Romanov dynasty that Russia began to emerge as absolute. Tsar Peter the Great, who ruled from 1682 to 1725, recognized how backwards Russia was compared to the rest of Europe, and travelled throughout the continent in order to study the political systems and technology of the other courts. Peter came back with the idea to westernize Russia, and started to reform the army and other institutions such as schools and the Church, which he placed under his control. During this process of Westernization, taxes increased in order to pay for the reformations, and peasants remained serfs under the control of the nobles that they worked for. The nobles that owned land were required by Peter to either join the army or work in a government office, so that way he could watch over them. While the upper classes embraced Peter’s westernization and his absolute control, the working peasant classes had the burden of the process placed on them, which eventually led to them distrusting the Western
The French first began to weaken the strength of Protestant groups in their nation during this period. This began with Henry Bourbon (IV)’s issuing of the Edict of Nantes in 1598, which granted religious tolerance for the Protestant religion in Catholic France. However, later French kings continued their attempts to undermine this religious tolerance and remove the little freedoms that the Protestant minorities had. One of these kings, Louis XIII, along with his chief minister, Cardinal Richelieu, eliminated the power that Protestants had in independent cities and towns, while also increasing the central bureaucracy and power of the French monarch by sending out intendants to rule the provinces in the name of Louis XIII. When Louis XIV took the throne, this power continued to increase, which heightened until the point of the central government becoming the main source of power in France. This was caused due to his expansion of the French army, levying of taxes, and asserting his control over both the Protestants and the nobles. Louis XIV issued the Edict of Fontainebleau in 1685, which revoked Henry IV’s Edict of Nantes, and …show more content…
However, his attempts failed, and it was not until the succeeding Romanov dynasty that Russia began to emerge as absolute. Tsar Peter the Great, who ruled from 1682 to 1725, recognized how backwards Russia was compared to the rest of Europe, and travelled throughout the continent in order to study the political systems and technology of the other courts. Peter came back with the idea to westernize Russia, and started to reform the army and other institutions such as schools and the Church, which he placed under his control. During this process of Westernization, taxes increased in order to pay for the reformations, and peasants remained serfs under the control of the nobles that they worked for. The nobles that owned land were required by Peter to either join the army or work in a government office, so that way he could watch over them. While the upper classes embraced Peter’s westernization and his absolute control, the working peasant classes had the burden of the process placed on them, which eventually led to them distrusting the Western