HIST111 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Society 1, Five Members, Totalitarianism
3 Mar 2016
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Document Summary
Four key terms that will be discussed over the length of the course: Absolutism is a monarchical form of government in which the monarch has absolute power among his or her people. An absolute monarch wields unrestricted political power over the sovereign state and its people. 17th and 18th century term, and a political theory where rulers tried to achieve absolute power. Henry the 14th (xiv, the sun king, etc) was the epitome of an absolutist. In theory he did not have to get permission , he can make decisions without consulting parliament, or lords or peasants. Centralized government concentrates all political power and government responsibility into the hands of a single authority. This central authority exercises all governmental power, and any localized units of government, such as cities and counties, are subject to it, exercising only those powers the central government grants to them. In the 19th century centralization was a goal governments wanted to achieve.
