Here is the synopsis of our sample research paper on Absolutism: Louis XIV. Have the paper e-mailed to you 24/7/365.
Essay / Research Paper Abstract
A paper which looks at the nature of absolutism in European politics, with specific reference to the reign of Louis XIV. Bibliography lists 3 sources.
Page Count:
4 pages (~225 words per page)
File: JL5_JLabsol.rtf
Buy This Term Paper »
Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
itself might be defined. We can, for instance, contrast it with constitutionalism, since it invests sovereignty and power in the Crown alone, and does not allow for power to be
distributed amongst, for example, an assembly or a group of nobles. Because of this, the concept of Divine Right is particularly important, in relation to the authority which is given
to the monarch - a king who derives his power from God cannot, in effect, be challenged by ordinary human beings, whose own authority is clearly inferior to that of
God. This concept also sets the monarch and his heirs apart from the rest of society, including the nobility, since despite the familial connections
which may exist between them, Divine Right ensures that they can never have the same degree of power as the monarch. In an absolutist system, then, we have centralisation and
total control residing with the monarch: however, this does not necessarily mean that the system itself is totalitarian or that the monarch has completely unlimited power, in practical terms. Even
though the monarchs authority cannot be questioned, there may well still be a system of checks and balances which prevent him from becoming a despot.
As Briggs (1977) comments, there are a number of political, cultural and economic factors which contributed to the growth of absolutism in France in the time of Louis. There was,
for instance, a rise in literacy due to the wider dissemination of printed material, and bureaucracies were becoming more sophisticated. The court was perceived as increasingly important: personal advancement, in
the military or the church, was becoming more and more dependent on royal patronage and there was a much greater concentration of power vested in the monarch. Briggs comments that
...