Monarchical absolutism: functions, characteristics and authority –

We can define an absolute monarchy as a form of government where the king has absolute power. In other words, he has the power to create or repeal laws, make all government decisions and even act as a judge. Today in SobreHistoria we are going to delve deeper into what it is Monarchical absolutism: functions, characteristics and authority.

divine right monarchy

In the historical period of Middle Ages, power practically fell to the feudal lords, they exercised both political and economic power in their fiefdoms, dispensed justice and were responsible for collecting taxes, ultimately the power of the kings was weaker. The kings depended on tactical and financial support of the feudal lords.

At the end of the fourteenth century, Europe was devastated by a prolonged drought, this in turn led to the loss of crops, without crops, famine came, as a consequence, the peasant uprisings, dissatisfied with their lords. All these factors weakened the power of the feudal lordsa circumstance that was exploited by the monarchy.

The kings, with weakened feudal lords, saw an opportunity to strengthen their power. A royal strengthening that ended in the 17th century, in much of Europe, with the emergence of absolutist monarchies.

The constant discredit of the churchespecially the pope as the authority to control the morality of society, led to the concentration of power in one person, in the figure of the King.

According to divine Right Theory, kings were entitled to rule because they were the God’s representatives on earthThey had no limit and no one could question them since above the king there was only God and it was to him that he only had to render accounts.

Political and economic power, previously in the hands of feudal lords, was now exercised by the monarch. The King received power directly from God and therefore the divine right to rule.

An example of absolute monarchy is found in the King Louis XIV of France, called “The Sun King”. As a good absolutist king, he imparted justice and his word had the character of law. Nobody disputed the power of him derived from God, in an absolutist monarchy. The King by divine command, executed the will of God and therefore was unquestionable. Louis XIV reigned with the maxim of “I am the state«.

The limits of royal authority: the English model

The English model that has limited the power of kings throughout history is based on Parliament.

The monarchy in medieval times depended directly on both the clergy and the nobility to enforce the laws, which forced the crown to deal with these estates. The first Tips were formed by nobility and clergythese had the function of advising and agreeing with the kings, the important matters for the kingdom.

These initial councils evolved into Parliaments. Term that began to be used in the thirteenth century. The Parlament was summoned by kings, especially when they needed. With the appearance of Magna Cartathis allowed Parliament to govern in periods in which there were no monarchs, if they had not reached the age of majority, a power that they had not had until then and that they would no longer abandon.

The Magna Carta, in a conciliation attempt between the king and the barons, it promised to protect the rights of the church and the protection of the barons in case of illegal detention, it put caps on feudal fees that was given to the crown and access to the immediate justice.

Although we cannot speak of Parliament as a true institution until 1327, when Parliament orders the deposition of Edward II and the subsequent proclamation of the new King Edward III.

In 1341, Parliament is divided into two chambers: Upper House represented by the nobles and the clergy and the Lower House, represented by the Lords and the bourgeoisie. It would not be until 1544 that they would be given the name of the House of Lords and Commons.

During the reign of the tudor dynasty, it was established that the monarchs were the ones who should convene and close Parliament, this was a privilege that the kings knew how to take advantage of for their benefit. The laws had to be approved by a majority of both chambers, but the inequality between them was remarkable. The vote in the House of Commons was only 3% of the male population, while the House of Lords was represented by the entirety of the nobility and clergy. In this way, with the vote of the Upper House, the real initiatives went ahead.

The king Carlos I, had abused this privilege on too many occasions, when it was not favorable to him, the king closed the Parliament and governed according to his interests.

As this happened very frequently, the members of the House of Commons in 1628 sent a Petition of Rights, where guarantees were demanded for the citizens they represented and even for their own representatives. Carlos I agreed to this request for a few days later to dissolve parliament again, leaving England 11 years without chambers.

The Scottish Calvinists they had revolted and the king needed money to fight them, so after this long period of inactivity, the king was forced to convene parliament. The parliamentarians fed up with royal whims, on their first day of session, reached an agreement. No one could open and close Parliament that had been chosen by the people and for the people, agreeing that it would be the same Chamber that decided to close its sessions.

The disagreements between crown and parliamentwas born when Parliament judged and sentenced to death the Earl of Strawfford and the Archbishop of Canterbury himself, both of whom were advisers to the king and identified as responsible for the absolutism with which Charles I reigned. Forced, the monarch had to sign death sentences , a fact that he would never forgive and would lead him to lead the nobles, all of them monarchists and defy parliament.

In 1648 after the Irish Catholic riots, Carlos I sent his related army to quell the revolts, this involved a confrontation with those related to the cause and soon became a confrontation between both chambers, winning the representatives of the people called Parliamentarians. They had a good army of highly disciplined men under the command of Cromwell.

The King’s troops were defeated and he was forced to take refuge in Scotland, but Scotland had just suffered the persecution of the Calvinists, a fact that they reminded him of when they imprisoned King Charles I, selling him to the Parliamentarians.

The king was prosecuted by a commission of deputies and sentenced to death for attacking the sovereignty of the people, waging war against Parliament itself. In 1649, Carlos I was executed publicly.

With the King dead, the head of the parliamentary battalion established a new form of government which he called Protectoratehad himself appointed Lord Protector of England and issued a decree proclaiming the English Republic.

In his mandate, he fought against Ireland for revolting against the Republic, he expropriated the Irish from their properties, he also fought against the Scots for their opposition to the Republic since they had appointed Charles II, son of the previous monarch, as the new king. The fight against Scotland was very bloody, giving Cromwell the clear winner, since then Scotland would suffer a government of terror.

Dissolved Parliament he imprisoned the unrelated parliamentarians and created his own dictatorship. Throughout Cromwell’s tenure there were many assassination attempts, but all ended up executed. Finally in 1658, he died of a fever and soon after a revolution broke out led by the General MonckEast suppressed the republic and restored again the monarchy.

The new monarch was Charles II, It improved the relationship between crown and parliament. The first political parties appear, the liberals and conservatives. A king who opted for the arts and sciences, antipuritan, on his deathbed embraced Catholicism. It can be said that from Carlos II, the British Crown is a constitutional monarchical institutionl, being the king the Head of State.

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