For understanding entirely the emergence of modern European states in the fifteen and sixteen centuries it is central to study the trend of representative assemblies to disappear at the same time that centralized monarchies gained power. There is extensive literature on parliament and political institutions of the period, explaining the decline but also the role they played in the government. This paper describes the issues that determined the development of these institutions using on secondary sources. For the actual answer for the causes of the decline of the parliament is more complex than a swipe of power, the circumstances of the rise of the modern state will have to be examined. This essay seeks to examine the general patterns in European political developments and at the same time avoid deterring assumptions. The diversity of existing assemblies had aspects as community representation, social class separation and jurisdiction/power of decision that influenced their permanence. It will be shown that broadly speaking, although some institutions were deemed a constrain for monarchical organization, some functions that the parliaments performed were central for the government of the state, such as taxation. And thus, they were maintained and played a vital role later on in the Age of the Revolutions. Prior to the analysis of the presence of representative institutions and their relevance to the emergence of modern states, lets present briefly what is meant by the term ‘representative institutions’. Michael Graves describes: “As meetings between the ruler and his socio-political elite, representative assemblies were not only political fora, in which he sought advice and his subjects aired grievances, but also occasions on w... ... middle of paper ... ...appear, around 1600, to be in any danger of withering away. They met frequently, and defended their interests vigorously. Some of their members even produced what sounds remarkably like a doctrine of the Ancient Constitution” It is suggested that in France the constitution of the States General of Tours in the conjunction of bringing together the three estates and the representatives of all the provinces and different princely factions made agreement in the assembly very difficult and nullified their capability of real opposition to central power’s policy-making. France at such did not exist in late medieval times, it was one of the most segregated kingdoms and monarch did not exercise much power, Even if in early modern period the provinces were aggregated, sometimes in form of pays d’etats, the regional differences were aggravated by the religious conflicts.
The Austrian, Habsburg Empire and England faced issues common to many European nations of the time. Religion and leadership were at the forefront of these crises. What set the two nations apart and ensured England’s survival was that England, not necessarily consciously, made improvements to their government while they addressed their smaller individual problems. With each growing pain came compromise. Through compromise, the English developed into a Constitutional Monarchy; this representative type of government, guided by a Bill of Rights, established checks and balances that inherently support a strong, unified nation as opposed to the self interests of individual factions.
The government within the monarchical society was populated by the aristocracy. It was they who were depended upon for directing the course of governmental affairs. The controls of all co...
Social studies are usually a subject students find boring. The lesson created is meant to get every student excited and wanting to learn more. This lesson plan is about the Middle Ages or the Medieval Times. This was a time where things were different. People dressed and spoke in a different way. There were lords, ladies, and knights; castles, moats, and fighting. What student could be bored learning about this era?
With the decline of the Western Roman empire Western Europe was a disjointed land that had no true unifying structure till the rise of Christianity. In Roman antiquity people used the State or empire of Rome to define themselves and give them a sense of unity despite having a diverse group of people within the empire. When Western Rome fell this belief based on a Roman cultural identity disappeared and no longer were people able to identify themselves with any particular group as they once have. The Christian religion was able to fill this vacuum by having the people associate themselves to a religion instead of a given state or cultural group. During Medieval Europe Christianity became the unifying force that would define what it meant to be European. Christianity gave political leaders legitimacy by showing that they have been favored by the gods. The clergyman that recorded the histories surrounding the kings of the Medieval Europe also provided a link to the Roman Empire to give the Kings a link to Roman empire of antiquity. Christianity became the center of the cultural life in western Europe and created a new social elite in Europe which would dominate literacy and knowledge within Europe for centuries. Christianity provided Europe with an escape from the disorder of the Medieval ages and give them a spiritual outlet for their fears and desires for a better life, whether in the physical life or in the spiritual world after death.
The aim of absolute monarchy was to provide ‘stability, prosperity, and order’ for our territories (458). The way Louis XIV set forth to accomplish this was to claim complete sovereignty, to make laws, sanction justice, declare wars, and implement taxes on its subjects. This was all done without the approval of any government or Parliament, as monarchs were to govern ‘by divine right, just as fathers ruled their households’ (458). In Bishop Jacques-Benigne Bossuet’s Politics Drawn from the Very Words of Holy Scripture, he described that absolution was one of the four characteristics imperative to royal authority, “Without this absolute authority, he can do neither good nor suppress evil; his power must be such that no one can hope to escape him” (460). This was epitomized when Louis XIV sought to control the legal system as well as the funding of the financial resources through a centralized bureaucracy for the monarchy.
Smedley, Edward. The History of France, from the Final Partition of the Empire of Charlemagne to the Peace of Cambray. London: Baldwin and Cradock, 1836. Print.
Norman Davies, a leading English historian, wrote, “There is an air of immobility about many descriptions of the medieval world” (Davies 291). However, these descriptions he refers to do not capture the true essence of the Middle Ages of Europe, which were a continuation and a formation. They were a continuation of old Rome in race, language, institutions, law, literature, arts, and in cultures independent of Rome. Nevertheless, the Middle Ages were not merely a continuation; they were the formation of our world. Many modern-day historians argue that the so-called Dark Ages were a period of ascent rather than of descent, that with the withering of the pagan classic civilization came the first budding of a new culture that was to develop into our modern civilization. James M. Powell, a prominent historian, agreed with this argument concerning the untold progress of this age. Powell believed that the Medieval Ages was a multi-faceted period of time in which the roots of modern civilization began to emerge, and that it was. This time period was critical because, although it seemed to be a dark age, seeds were being planted for future generations such as ours. These seeds have sprouted and have given us templates to work with regarding issues of centralization, the economy, scholasticism, education, expressions of art, and religion.
The Reformation spurred a wave of political devolution throughout Europe in the early 1500s, the most obvious example being that of the Holy Roman Empire. Although the nobility of the Holy Roman Empire had managed to keep hold of its power throughout a time of political unification, the Reformati...
An Analysis of the Absolute Monarchy of France in the 17th Century This historical study will define the absolute monarchy as it was defied through the French government in the 17th century. The term ‘absolute” is defined I the monarchy through the absolute control over the people through the king and the royal family. All matters of civic, financial, and political governance was controlled through the king’s sole power as the monarchical ruler of the French people. In France, Louis XIII is an important example of the absolute monarchy, which controlled all facts of military and economic power through a single ruler. Udder Louis XIII’s reign, the consolidation of power away from the Edicts of Nantes to dominant local politics and sovereignty
But the good men did not remain good: they began to make money out of that which was the common property of all. And to some such development we may plausibly ascribe the origin of oligarchies, since men made wealth a thing of honour. The next change was to tyrannies, and from tyrannies to democracy. For the struggle to get rich at all costs tended to reduce numbers, and so increased the power of the multitude, who rose up and formed democracies. And now that there has been a further increase in the size of states, one might say that it is hard to avoid having a democratic constitution”
For years, countries have had different legislatures bicameral and unicameral. The features of each legislatures are distinct from one another. It even accounts to various vices and virtues. Both legislatures exist in various countries in the world. The reason to which varies in each place. Legislatures are essential for a society to perform politically well. However, the political structure of every nations varies thus, there exist no simple generalization. The structural arrangements of different legislatures are distinct in relation to their number of chambers available. (Danziger, J. N. (1996))
A state is sovereign when its magistrate owes allegiance to no superior power, and he or she is supreme within the legal order of the state. It may be assumed that in every human society where there is a system of law there is also to be found, latent beneath the variety of political forms, in a democracy as much as in a absolute monarchy, a simple relationship between subjects rendering habitual obedience, and a sovereign who renders obedience to none. This vertical structure, of sovereign and subjects, according to this theory, is analogous to the backbone of a man. The structure constitutes an essential part of any human society which possesses a system of law, as the backbone comprises an essential part of the man.
The Main Features of Government and Society Under the Ancient Regime in France before 1789
do work, it made them more exposed to all the diseases which is why so
In the sixteenth and seventeenth-century Europe many unitary states with extensive control over definite territories emerged and consequently replaced the fragmented system of feudal rule. Here civil society was understood as the sphere of absolute sovereignty or the state. At that time, political or civil society was not understood in terms of a politically constituted