Compare And Contrast Ap Euro Dbq Absolutism

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Absolutism was a period of tyranny in Europe during the 16th and 17th centuries because monarchs had complete power to do whatever they pleased. Since absolutism is a "monarchical form of government in which the monarch's powers are not limited by a constitution or by the law" essentially there are no boundaries for actions the monarch can and cannot take. The absolutists did not focus on the people under their rule, they ruled by fear and punishment, and believed they were equal to God. Absolutists during the 16th and 17th centuries were often times focused too heavily on military or other such rather than the people they were ruling. Peter the Great is a good example of this type of ruler because he did great things for Russia like improving the navy; however, Peter the Great did nothing to help the people of Russia, and according to Michael Gibson in document 8, he "failed to create the large, thriving …show more content…

The absolutists were ruling their people by placing fear in them as "fear is accompanied by the dread of punishment" stated in document 1; the people being ruled were so fearful of being punished, this caused tyranny rather than prosperity in Europe. The absolutist had complete rule and the people could not speak against the monarch from the dread of punishment. Tyranny eventually came from the fear taking over the people leading to revolts and attempted uprising which in turn lead to executions affecting population and more fear among people. Essentially no person had a voice to the absolutists; as the absolute monarch exercises total power over the land and its subject people. In Document 4, the author Thomas Hobbes uses his diction of words such as "danger", "invader", and "deprive" which are all words that can be associated with fear. The fact that many monarchs would rather be feared than appreciated, is a result of tyranny over prosperity in

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