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…
k. In Europe, the principle adversaries were Britain and Prussia against France, Spain, Austria and Russia…
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…
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.…
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…
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.…
What is an absolute monarchy ? An absolute monarchy is a form of government in which a ruler has absolute , unrestricted power over his people .The absolute monarch of a country is head of state and government , they are not limited by any kind of constitution or law . Absolutism is mostly passed by heredity but there are some few exceptions. During the 1500 and 1600s western europe was pretty much completely ruled by different absolute monarchs .these monarchs could chose the style of their rule , whether they wanted to be a ruler of respect and trust or fear and anguish . the 16th and 17th century in europe proved to be a time of prosperity even through the absolutism ,shown by Thomas Hobbes in Leviathan ,Bishop Jacques and the acts…
Absolutism has a great power that monarch, monarchy is the type of country that tends to be reported to the awe and respect.…
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.…
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,…
After reading thoroughly this chapter concerning with social structures of the Early Modern Europe and different forms of development of society in a political and economic context, I believe that the absolutist state had the largest impact on Modern European civilization due to some factors that I’m going to explain below. Firstly, France followed the path of absolutism under the leadership of a powerful king (427). In other words, the king concentrated all the rights to make decisions throughout the state without considering others. During the reign of Louis XIV, for instance, the king ruled without consulting a representative assembly.…
3. The four major nations of Europe (Great Britain, Russia, Austria, and Prussia) all sought for a balance of power.…
The 18th and 19th century is characterised by political thought derived from the Enlightenment Era, popularised by the likes of John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. It is during this period that the American, French and Haitian Revolutions occurred, all taking inspiration from the context of the time. Whilst, these revolutions all found commonality in the Enlightenment Era, the American Revolution undoubtedly acted as a muse for French and Haitian revolutionary political thinkers as they all followed the foundational principles of the American Revolution. The blueprint exists when regarding reoccurring themes of Republicanism as a replacement for monarchism as a means to ensure the rule of law, natural rights and the importance of constitutionalism.…
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.…