The seventeenth century marked a turning point for absolutism in Western Europe. The earlier part of the century was spent battling religious wars known today as the Thirty Years’ War, which spanned from 1618-1648. Cardinal Richelieu, first minister to King Louis XIII, was able to uphold absolute authority over France during the war. Unlike Richelieu, King Charles I of England was not as successful and struggled with his parliament. While France continued to thrive under this absolute monarchy, England slowly began to transition towards constitutionalism. The fear of population growth within religious groups initiated a very long war throughout Europe, primarily throughout modern day Germany. The Thirty Years’ War, which began in 1618, can be broken down into four phases. The first phase began in Bohemia between the Catholic League and the Protestant Union. The Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II was determined to eliminate Protestants from Bohemia, causing them to rebel against the Catholics. The Protestants were unsuccessful and were defeated in 1620 at the battle of the White Mountain. Subsequently, King Christian IV of Denmark combined forces with England and France in defense of the Protestants. His allied force invaded Germany during the second phase of the war, but was defeated twice in 1626, at the battle of Dessau Bridge and the battle of Lutter. The Treaty of Lubeck, signed in 1629, dissolved the relationship between the Danish and the Protestants, ending the second phase of the war. In fear of growing power within the Catholic Habsburgs, King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden took matters into his own hands, initiating the third phase. He defeated the Catholics at the Battle of Breitenfeld in 1631 and died duri... ... middle of paper ... ... France and Parliament concluded that his departure was a relinquishment of the thrown. Parliament then invited Mary to become Queen of England and she accepted with the stipulation that William of Orange would also be King. This brief series of events ended in 1689 with little bloodshed and began the necessary changes towards Constitutionalism, thus considered to be the Glorious Revolution. After the Glorious Revolution, Parliament formed the English Bill of Rights, marking the end of Absolute Monarchy. The Bill of Rights set limitations on the authority of the crown and outlined the rights of Parliament. It allowed for freedom of speech, voting to administrative positions, and gave Parliament the right to appeal the ruler’s decisions. John Locke’s Second Treatise of Civil Government had a tremendous influence on the creation of the English Bill of Rights.
The Bill of Rights was crafted in 1791 by James Madison. It was put in place to protect the rights of all people within the borders of the United States when it is applied by the government. It is a very important document that means a lot in the hearts of Americans.
The bill of Rights restricts, guarantes and establishes. It restricts unauthorised taxing without the Parliments approvial, gaurantees that the people will have rights and liberties and establishes england as a monarchy. Both events are crutial to the devolopment of democray. During the Age of reason European thinkers were confident humans could help make a better world, this was from mid-1600s to late 1700s. Also in this time period theres a time known as the scientific revolution. For example there was a man named Galileo in Italy and he corroborated the findings an astronomer named copernicus found by usings a telescope . another example is of a man named Issac Newton and he descovered the laws of planetary motion, invented calculus and explained gravity. Some of a few enlightnment thinkers are John Locke, Baron de Montesquieu and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. John Locke believed in natural law and this is something that is timeless and was here before any king had power. natural law is discovered by using reason for example theft and murder is naturally wrong and people know this and thats why its called natural
Absolute monarchy (Absolutism), it is a form of monarchy in which a single ruler has supreme authority and it is not restricted by any written laws or customs. An example of absolutism monarchy is French King Louis XIV, Russian Tsar Peter the Great, or English King Henry VIII. Democracy is a system of government by elected representatives or officials. Example of democracy is the United States. These type of government exist in the 17th and 18th century in Europe. So the question is, which type of government was considered the most effective in Europe? In my opinion, I believe that absolutism was the most effective in Europe.
This the main concern for most people because in England they were controlled by the central government an people did not have many rights to protect them. In the end the Bill of rights were inspired by Jefferson and drafted by James Madison in
The Bill of Rights was created as a listing of the rights granted to citizens, the Bill of Rights serves to protect the people from a powerful government. These civil rights granted to U.S. Citizens are included in the first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution. Additionally, Locke’s ideas about checks and balances and the division of church and state were later embodied in the U.S. Constitution as well. The Constitution replaced a more weakly organized system of government as outlined under the Articles of Confederation. John Locke was an English philosopher who lived during 1632-1704.
The Rise in Political Power of 17th Century England and France In the seventeenth century, the political power of the Parliament in England, and the Monarchy in France increased greatly. These conditions were inspired by three major changes: the aftermath of the reformation, the need for an increased governmental financing, and the reorganizing of central governments. These three points were each resolved in a different way in both England and in France. The first major point which eventually increased political power was
The Bill of Rights and Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen are based on the same principles of natural rights; therefore each document is similar in protecting the people's natural rights. However, despite their similarities, their differences are apparent due to the social situations in which they were adopted. The Bill of Rights stood to protect the freedoms of each individual by establishing a democratic government. The French Revolution eliminated the hierarchy of class and established equality among men with the Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen. Several influences from past philosophers and documents assisted the frame work of the Bill of Rights and Declaration of Rights and Citizen.
The Bill of Rights derives from the Magna Carta, the English Bill of Rights, the colonial struggle against king and Parliament, and a gradually broadening concept of equality among the American people. The bill of rights is what the people are entitled to against every government on earth, general or particular, and what no just government should refuse. The absence of a "bill of rights" turned out to be an obstacle to the Constitution's ratification by the states. It would take four more years of intense debate before the new government's form would be resolved. The Federalists opposed including a bill of rights on the ground that it was unnecessary. In the end, popular sentiment was decisive. Recently freed from the despotic English monarchy, the American people wanted strong guarantees that the new government would not trample upon their newly won freedoms of speech, press and religion, nor upon their right to be free from warrant less searches and seizures. So, the Constitution's framers heeded Thomas Jefferson who argued: "A bill of rights is what the people are entitled to against every government on earth, general or particular, and what no just government should refuse, or rest on inference." The American Bill of Rights, inspired by Jefferson and drafted by James Madison, was adopted, and in 1791 the Constitution's first ten amendments became the law of the land. Early American mistrust of government power came from the colonial experience itself. Most historians believe that the pivotal event was the Stamp Act, passed by the English Parliament in 1765. Taxes were imposed on every legal and business document.
Absolutism is a political theory giving rulers complete sovereignty. Louis XIV was one of the most popular successful absolute monarchs. He exercised absolute paternal rights of a father on France and his powers were unlimited by church, legislature, or elites. Calling himself the "Sun King" after the God Apollo, he worked to banish feudalism and create a unified state under his absolute power. To illustrate this power he built the Palace at Versailles and created an elaborate, theatrical royal lifestyle. His reign of 72 years, from 1638 to 1715, it is the longest documented reign of any European monarch. To establish absolutism in France Louis XIV used divers strategies including the centralization of the French state, diminishing the nobles' power and oppressing the third estate.
John Beckett mentions that the Glorious Revolution has been considered a historical event related to the political issues. The main target of this historical event was to create a commercial freedom in Europe. After this revolution was done, trade relations in Europe went up, and the Bill of Rights was also created in 1689. Today, the Bill of Rights is shown and known that it was the first building stone for the British constitution because it limited the monarchic power. During the eighteenth century, the period of the Age of Enlightenment is considered between 1713 and 1789 because Anthony Pagden states that Europe was like a republic of states, and it was like a union acting together and talking with one voice. The Age of Enlightenment
During the late 17th and early 18th century, many European nations such as France and Russia were absolute monarchies. Even countries such as England had kings who at least attempted to implement absolutism. Indeed the concept of absolutism, where the monarch is the unquestionably highest authority and absolute ruler of every element in the realm, is certainly appealing to any sovereign. However, this unrestricted power was abused, and by the end of the 18th century, absolutism was gone. Absolutism failed because the monarchs' mistreatment of the population caused the people to revolt against their rule and policies. There are many factors which caused this discontent. For one, there was a great loss of human lives. Louis XIV of France participated in four wars, while Peter of Russia ruthlessly executed anyone who stood against his will. Secondly, monarchs attempted to change religious beliefs. This was notable in England where rulers such as James II desired to convert the Anglican nation into Catholicism. Finally, the burden of taxation was more than the population could support. France was brought into huge foreign debt, English kings constantly attempted to raise money, and Peter of Russia increased taxes by 550 percent. These are some of the key reasons why absolutism failed in Europe.
The Hundred Years War was a battle between the French and English in hopes for possession over the French kingdom. The war started when the English King, Edward III, claimed the French throne. At first, England's new weapon, the longbow, and its stronger, more centralized government were enough to overcome the larger yet disorganized French population. But as France gained a national identity, the English began to suffer defeats.
The Thirty Years war was caused mainly by the protestant reformation, a process caused by the split of the Catholic Church. It was all because of the lack of tolerance and the extremist ways of thought of people. In this area for example, the play is not as deep an as informative as desired, it stays only in the basics and mentioning Catholics and Protestants as rivals but it does not go deeper. “The Catholics! Surprise attack!.” “And the war is a war of religion.” It does mention Religion as a point of disagreement, but it fails to really explain that this entire situation is mainly caused by religious differences. As the world is right now, with all the polemic issues started by Iraq’s invasion by the United States and the terrorist attacks perpetrated by Islam extremists, more described facts would be very useful.
The Thirty Years War is an international conflict that began as a religious civil war and later became a fight for the balance of power between Catholics, Protestants, and the nations of Sweden, France, Spain, Denmark, and the Holy Roman Empire (particularly the Habsburgs) in 1618 to 1648. The war concluded with the signing of the Treaty of Westphalia, newfound Swedish control of the Baltic, France’s recognition as the foremost Western power, and the Holy Roman emperor’s loss of power (“Thirty Years' War (1618–1648)”). During this time, the common ‘little wars’ of the past became of a grander scale, or a total war. As such, more men were required on the battlefield and the sizes of armies grew, leading to two innovations that solved two obstacles.
Before 1815, Europe was left devastated and unbalanced because of the french revolution. The French revolution was a movement towards a liberal based government. The french revolutions purposes were defeated when Napoleon became emperor of France. Napoleon Bonaparte, lead many successes of the french revolution. However soon after the victory, Napoleon became emperor of France , defeating the purpose of the French Revolution,rendering it useless. Conservatism was the idea that government should be traditional. It was the belief that tradition was the basis of any human institution, and that it is the only way to keep a proper society.Liberals believed in a representative government system, they believed the government should have less power when it comes to people's individual lives..Conservatives and Liberals different views on how government should be.