Was the 18th Century Monarchy Strong or Weak

8/11/2019 Was the 18th Century Monarchy Strong or Weak

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Was the 18th

century monarchy strong or

weak?

The 18th

century monarchy was known as an absolute monarchy.

AN absolute monarch was answerable only to only one thingto God, the parliament had

no power

Thus the monarchy is hugely reliant on the personality and wherewithal of the monarch

Between1643 and 1792 France only had 3 kings.

The king is based in VersaillesLouis 16th

left Versailles only twice in his reign

Therefore there a vast geographical and linguistic differences between the different

provinces of France, so the king requires the nobility to rule.

Several of the provinces have estates that are provincial law making bodies.

Louis 14th

the sun king - was the model of absolutism. HE was powerful and

authorative

Strengths Weaknesses

The king does cement his absolutism by

ensuring that all influential bodies are

under his direct control

The issue shows that an absolute

monarchy requires public confidence

Louis derides the court, claiming the

court is a mere representation of the

will of the king. Therefore he, insulting

a public institution, threatens to insult

the public themselves.


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They are allowed to remonstrate only

within the limits of their duties as good

and useful councillors. Public order in

its entirety emanates from me, and the

rights and interests of the nation, for

which some dare to create a separatebody from the monarch, are necessarily

united with my rights and interests and

rest only in my hands.

The act of tax without representation

risks the monarchy falling into even

worse popularity with the public.

As a consequence of this tongue lashing Louis shuts down the parlement.

When Louis 16th

comes to the throne people demand the parlement to be put back in place

Bossuet Appalled to Louis 14

thbecause of his Gaelic views

Bossuet emphasized religious unity and working for the crown

Bossuet said the catholic church was Gaelic catholic, not roman so it was loyal more to the

king than to the pope

Thus he was created dophine.g. the prince of wales

The clergy was important because the church controlled education, and thus is the voice ofofficial propaganda

The Nature and properties of royal authority (written by Bossuet) Royal authority has 4 essential characteristics, it is paternal, sacred, absolute and it is subject

to reason

Since royal authority is sacred it shows that it is from God, therefore it should be respected

Because it is paternal it should be respected like one should respect their father

However, it is subject to reason so what they do must be for the good of the nation, for the

good of the people. Although it is the king who decided what is good for the nation and the

people. If youre living without rights you might eventually think that the king is actingwithout reason

Parliamentary remonstrance against the third twentieth Tax The king says he would make his decisions known to parliament but doesnt say he would list

to parliament.

The king was trying for the 3rd

time to raise this twentieth tax but the parliament is saying no

The members of the parlement was made up of nobility

Two types of nobility were sword nobilitythey can trace their nobility back many years and

the rouge nobility who are the officials such as the lawyers.


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Damiens attempted assassination Only used a small kitchen knifenot committed

He is deranged, mentally unstable

The king (Louis 15th

) made a large deal about the assassination attempt and tortures Damien

in front of everyone and then dragged through the street, finally pulled apart by 4 horses. At the same time he tries to attack the jansenists (often described as puritan Catholics)

Quite a lot of resentment to how this guy is treated and then how the jansenists are

persecuted on the back of the assassination

Documents

Was the 18th Century Monarchy Strong or Weak