HIS102Y1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 14: Omnipotence, Absolute Monarchy, Fronde
Document Summary
Richelieu spent his career trying to make his ruler (louis xiii) absolute. It"s better to serve one master than many, so if kings weren"t absolute, then the people would be oppressed and ruled by many other authorities. Basically the king only abused you once, which is better than being abused by many others, many times. The dangers of wars were restricted and reduced when you have an absolute monarch; because the king had the power to suppress any uprisings, stop any wars, etc . 17th century and before (martin luther"s reformation in 15th century), Europe was extremely unstable; religious wars, civil wars. People were desperate for some kind of security and stability. People were willing to give up some of their freedom for this stability and security. This desire made absolutism very attractive to these people. It was attempt of charles i to bring about absolutism in england was what brought about the english civil wars.
