ABSOLUTISM

Absolutism Absolutism is when one person has total control. Absolutism is the ultimate example of a strong centralized government.

Divine Right In some cultures, the monarchies believe their leaders are chosen by God. This is called Divine Right. Leaders look for signs from God, such as natural disasters, to show that leaders / Kings need to change.

Louis XIV Louis the XIV was an absolute ruler from France. Louis called himself the “Sun King”. He called himself this because he was the center of the universe, just like the sun. Louis XIV was a very strong leader and made France very powerful.

Versailles King Louis XIV lives in a palace names Versailles. It was huge and had lots of gold, crystals, and gardens. Louis XIV’s room was right in the center of Versailles. Versailles took years to build and cost tax payers billions of dollars.

Edict of Nantes The Edict of Nantes allowed people religious freedom in France. The people could practice whatever religion they chose, either protestant or catholic. Louis XIV cancelled this and made everyone under his rule practice as a catholic.

Old Regime King Louis XIV had a social structure called the Old Regime. In this structure, three estates were set up. The 1 st and 2 nd estates were made up of nobles and clergy, and the 3 rd estate was made up of peasants. The first and second estate made up 2% of the population and the third estate made up 98% of the population. During voting, each estate was given 1 vote. It was always a 2:1 result and the peasants always lost.

Ivan the Terrible Czar Ivan was an absolute ruler from Russia. He ruled in a very mean and harsh way. He had a secret police that killed anyone that disobeyed his rule. The secret police were called the “Black Robes”.

Peter the Great Peter the Great was another absolute ruler from Russia. Peter’s goal was to “westernize” or modernize Russia. He looked to Europe for ideas. Peter also attempted to secure a warm water port for Russia that would help them with trade.

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell overthrew the British King in the English Civil War. This led the way for a limited monarchy and English Bill of Rights. This got rid of absolutism in England.

Glorious Revolution The people of England wanted to reduce the power of the King and Queen. The people nonviolently overthrew the King and Queen to put people they wanted in power. This was called the Glorious Revolution.

Bill of Rights The new leaders of England accepted the Bill of Rights, set forth by parliament. The English Bill of Rights limited the power of the King and England became a limited monarchy.