The Rise in Political Power of 17th Century England and France

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 aftermath of the Protestant reformation. In England, after the

establishment of the separate Anglican church of England there were many

protestant groups left in England still in conflict. These groups all

tried to push and pull parliament in their favor -- which ultimately made

it so that nothing could be done. These conflicts even came to the point

of bloody civil wars and suffering on both sides of the fighting.

Parliament ultimately decided to stop these wars by creating religious Act

of Toleration (1689) for the non-conformist protestants. For many people,

this caused more unity in England and increased power. In France, the

decision was made to unify the country through the establishment of a

single religious authority, the Catholic Church. The king of France became

the heart of this policy, which gave him control of religion when this went

into effect.

The next major point was the increase in need for governmental

financing. In England, taxing had become under the control of Parliament.

In addition to this, the cost of running a government in general had gone

up and the country needed more money. Because the king didn't have as much

power to tax as he pleases, the government could make a firm and accurate

taxation of the people. In France, the price of government had also gone up.

However, here the was a monarchy and a king with great control over the

government. Using his control of the economy, a strong "Mercantilism"

system was used aimed at maximizing foreign exports and reserves. The king

became the center of this new power.

The last major point which increased political power was the

reorganizing of the central governments in both England and in France. The

economic changes in this century required new relationships between the

King and his subjects. In England, the parliament because of this need,

grew to have power over the king and cause great toleration of people's