Jean Domat 'Absolute Monarchy And The Persian Letters'

Upon first inspection, absolutist political systems seem to have little in common with the modern nation-state. The doctrine of absolute rule appears to place absolutism far from the rights-based discourse of the nineteenth century. However, absolutism provided several factors that were necessary to the rise of the nation-state, as exemplified by France under Louis XIV. This essay argues that two of the key factors included the establishment of a social contract, and ‘nationalistic’ loyalty. Two sources which reflect the necessity of these factors for the formation of the nation-state are Jean Domat’s ‘On Social Order and Absolute Monarchy’ and Montesquieu’s ‘The Persian Letters’. This is explored firstly through the historical context of political instability in France and Europe preceding the reign

In France, the Wars of Religion caused great instability as the Huguenots demanded the right to practice their faith in contradiction with the majority-religion of Catholicism. The financial and political strain of these wars caused Louis XIV’s grandfather, Henri IV, to invoke the Edict of Nantes in 1598; granting the Huguenots religious and political rights. Furthermore, in the early seventeenth century, Europe was engaged in the Thirty Years War. ‘International’ conflict placed a strain on the economic resources of the European states. To finance the Thirty Years War, France introduced heavy taxation to the population, which resulted in civil unrest and a series of sporadic rebellions known as The Frondes. Concurrently, France was being ruled by the regent Anne of Austria (Louis XIV’s mother) and her Italian prime minister, Giulio Mazarini. The foreign rulership of France only exacerbated civil discontent, and pamphlets were circulated criticising their government. When Louis XIV came to the throne, he inherited all these issues, to which absolutism was his