Germany was not a unified country until 1871; before that, industry developed predominantly in the powerful states such as Prussia.…
Between the 16th and 18th century, absolute monarchs were the dominant ruling powers in Europe. Catherine II was married to the Grand Duke Peter, who would inherit the Russian throne upon Empress Elizabeth’s death, Catherine II later overthrew her husband and gained access to the throne in 1762, where she ruled Russia during its Golden Age until her death in 1796. Her political views were influenced by her interest in philosophy, during her reign, she brought multiple political reforms to the Russian government. As Russia’s monarch, Catherine II expanded Russia’s borders to include lands surrounding the Black Sea and parts of Poland in three partitions that divided Poland amongst Russia, Austria, and Prussia. Catherine II favored nobles above…
The early modern era marked an important watershed for the development of the modern state. Louis XVI of France and Fredrick the great elector of Brandenburg-Prussia are exemplars of an absolutist monarch, but the similarities and differences in their approach would have far-reaching consequences for Europe as a whole. The first important aspect of centralization was the consolidation of the military. Both Louis and Fredrick reformed and reorganized their armies, commissioning new weapons, uniforms and organizational systems, continuing the trend towards professionalization and expansion. There were differences in the degree of focus on the army – Frederick utilized more resources relative to those available to him; however, overall the method of reform for the army was similar for both these absolutist monarchs, whom wished…
k. In Europe, the principle adversaries were Britain and Prussia against France, Spain, Austria and Russia…
Frederick the Great, along with his militaristic father, took Prussia from a dwindling spectator along the sidelines of European powers, and placed it on the top. Using his sheer militaristic nature, and the training and discipline of his army, Frederick the Great conquered many of the European armies. His actions lead to the development of the Prussian army. This army would have great influences all the way to World War I.…
The Experience of France and England in the 17th century demonstrates the intellectual and practical superiority of absolutism over constitutionalism. Absolutism in France was much more secure than Constitutionalism in England. Absolutism controlled all competing interest groups and organized all religious sects. Louis XIV had centralized power and control under his authority in France while Constitutionalism in England failed to create absolute monarchy. Constitutionalism in England dealt with James I, Charles I, and James II that led to a catastrophe.…
Austria and Prussia did not want to offend Alexander, so they joined their kingdoms to Alexander's creation, agreeing with Alexander that the "sublime truths" of Christianity ought to guide relations between nations and guide the domestic affairs of nations. Strong religious conviction, they held, was necessary for maintaining upright and loyal subjects. The rulers of Russia, Austria and Prussia agreed that challenges to their authoritarian rule by liberalism and revolution ought to remain suppressed. Within Russia, Tsar Alexander I had to reform the state of Russia quite a bit as territories such as Poland and Finland were at risk of being lost due to nationalistic movements within them . Therefore, the Tsar decided to try to unify Poland with Russia, giving them a similar constitution to the one in Russia. Being enlightened by western and philosophical theories, Alexander successfully modernized the highly traditional monarchy in Russia and began the process of creating a constitutional monarchy. It was Alexander who felt that the key to successful constitutional rule was the abolition of serfdom, an institution that dominated Russia for more than 600 years, in order to boost the nation’s economy. A plan to abolish…
However, by the time of King Fredrick the great, Prussia had a major power army that relied not solely on tax money, or on economic sources from its allies, but on Prussian rural conscripts. So every village needed to provide young body abled men who would go for military for life and they were chosen selectively and should be absolutely dedicated for Prussia. However, they remained inhabitance in their villages, which means that when needed they will train and fight. Then, return home to their crops and families for most of them were farmers. This gave them a prestigious privilege. This was the core of Prussian military. This was a success that made Prussia a major power for this military was loyal to defend Prussia the land (Magagna,…
Absolutism has a great power that monarch, monarchy is the type of country that tends to be reported to the awe and respect.…
One common trait of an absolutist government is a single dominate monarch that rules the entire Nation. The absolute monarch needed to have complete control; however, the upper class tended to want to share some of the power. A strong monarch would then have to find a way to increase his power and weaken the nobles. In France Cardinal Richelieu’s power was contested by the Huguenot party. He quickly eliminated their political and military power while he let them keep their religious authority. He also sent out spies to determine if any nobles were trying to conspire against him. He also sent out officials to other provinces to enforce his laws. Lewis IV of France followed up on Richelieu’s practices by taking high offices away from nobles that he believed were gaining too much power. Fredrick William the great of Prussia decided that the best way to keep control was to give the aristocrats positions as officials in his bureaucracy. This gave them enough power that they would be satisfied, but not enough to overthrow him. Since Austria consisted of several different States, Leopold I kept control of Austria by allowing the local and regional governments set laws in their areas, and that they would yield to his authority in any matters that dealt…
Prussia was once a massive empire, it had a strong military, many different ethnic groups, and a bunch of different leaders, that made the empire better. I will talk about some of the different leaders of Prussia. I will also talk about some of the things that made the military so strong and feared. I will also talk about what happened when Germany and Prussia finally became one. Next I will talk about all of the problems that this new empire had because of religious, and cultural tensions.…
In Europe, Absolute monarchy was a form of government that eventually became very successful in some countries, but not as successful in others as a result of the political state the country was in when absolutism was introduced. Absolute monarchy was usually developed as a result of turmoil within a country over politics, religion, social structures, etc. Two European countries where absolute monarchy was attempted were France, where it eventually flourished, and it was also attempted in England, where it ultimately was not successful.…
Absolutism has been present in Europe since the 14th century. Absolutism is led by a King who believes in divine right. A divine right leader believes that God sent him to be King. An absolute monarch believes that people should just follow them, since they were sent by God. If someone were to disobey the King, they would actually be disobeying God, not the King. The only person that can make decisions in an absolute monarch is the King because if anyone else makes the decision it is not coming from God. The people in an absolute monarch are supposed to follow the king, work, and pay taxes. Absolutism was harmful for Europe socially because of religion conflicts, politically since the citizens do not have any rights, and economically…
3. The four major nations of Europe (Great Britain, Russia, Austria, and Prussia) all sought for a balance of power.…
The Prussian economy was strong and therefore provided a strong foundation for Bismarck to build upon. Prussiaʼs economic boom can be owed partially to the Geweberfreiheit of 1811, where one no longer had to acquire a license to work in a trade and the Vienna Settlement, where Prussia gained more land. A prospering economy meant Prussia was able to afford a strong army, without which many of Bismarckʼs later efforts would be futile — had he not had the resources, it is unlikely that he would accomplish anything.…