The Reign of Louis XIV

Absolutism and King Louis XIV

Absolutism is a system of government in which the king retains complete control over all sovereign powers. Leaders at the end of the sixteenth century held the view that sovereignty included the authority to create laws, set foreign policy, manage the administration of the state, and administer the tax and justice systems. The French theologian Bossuet was the principal architect of the divine-right government. He penned a work to expound on the effectiveness of the 1627–1704 political order. The book made extensive use of biblical teachings in which God appointed rulers who had complete dominion over both Jews and non-Jews. The paper shall exemplify how King Louis XIV promoted the theory of absolutism in his reign.

Early Signs of King Louis XIV’s Reign

Louis XIV started showing his characteristics for real king during the death of Cardinal Mazarin’s. By that time he was twenty-three years of age (Beik 200). Louis ascended to power by himself saying that he entrusted his government with the late cardinal and it was the time to govern them himself. He warned the secretaries and the ministries not to take any orders but to follow his command strictly. He snatched the power from his junior including signing anything-even passport without his authority. In fact, this was a great start of the absolutism rule. The words from his mouth even surprised his mother who knew him with the proclivity of breaking into maids rooms.

Creating a Royal Delightful Reign

To protect the position, Louis was willing to pay any price. Louis created a culture where he rarely deviated from his duties and rules. Also, his reign was royal delightful and more professional. Th King created a majesty in the court of Versailles that formed the center for all monarchies and aristocracies in European countries. The Sun King imposed a central mode of governance where all activities were controlled from his office. Furthermore, he employed ministers from his relative connection to promote loyalty to the regime of absolutism.

Religious Harmony and Monarchical Powers

The king took advantage of the religious harmony as the source of monarchical powers. Louis XIV was not happy with the protestants praying in the Catholic-dominated country. The rule was motivated by religion and the motto, “one king, one rule, one faith,” He felt that the development of parallel minor regions would give people options for worshipping, therefore, undermining his authority.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the theory of absolutism by theologian Bousset created a better avenue of leading people with the name of religion. The sixteenth-century kings borrowed rules from the bible rulers. During the last days of Cardinal Marazin, Louis appointed himself to the post. He used religion to gather trust and support but suppressed the further growth of Protestants who seemed to be a threat to his reign. The above contributed to the success of absolutism reign in King Louis period.

Scientific Revolution and Enlightenment

Historians used the revolution to denote the advancement made in the eighteenth century in the field of science. Various scientists including Clairaut and Newtown used the word because the inventions introduced transformed the lives in one way or the other. It is common to note that different persons came up with ideas that brought the renaissance period. The innovations ideas supported the investigation and made life more accessible in the field of astronomy, mathematics, physics, and biology. In the paper, different scientists will be discussed with their contribution to the revolution. Finally, we shall discuss the effect of revolution to the enlightenment period.

Key Scientists and Their Contributions

Francis Bacon- Bacon lived between 1561 and 1626 where he impacted with essential philosophies in the revolution. He presented useful ideas on ethics and logic in science and interaction and cooperation of human beings in the field of science. His book “Novum Organum” still influence different aspects of science in today’s world.

Giovanni Alfonso Borelli- he was the brainchild of human mechanic in 1607-1679. He presented his free advice on the “On Motion of Animals.” The workers provide the background for the application of motion to the human beings and nonliving things.

Robert Boyle- Boyle work with his fellow Robert Hooke in the college of Oxford (1627- 1691). The duo worked on the air pressure and separating the composition of air in the atmosphere using different particles. Boyle discovered that the only component of air that can be in combustion and respiration was oxygen. He further researched the atomic scales and the study of matter.

Tony Brahe- worked as an outstanding astronomical observer whose observations made accurate captures of the universe and the solar system. He drew the solar system consisting of the moon, the sun, and earth. He was assisted with Nicolas Copernicus.

Rene Descartes- he was the inventor of deductive reasoning with capabilities in unifying numbers to produce a reasonable outcome. The scientist was a failure in practical but challenged great minds in thinking about their inventions geometrically. He further invented that the motion can be graphically presented in the book when making a comparison between positions of planes.

Galileo Galilei- He made much success from the inventions left by Isaac Newton. He researched the law of gravity and motion. Ultimately, he invented the microscope and telescope for viewing microorganism during scientific tests. He contested the Copernican view of the universe from his telescope conversation.

Scientific Revolution and Enlightenment

The participation of Christianity derailed the progress of architecture, mathematics, philosophy and free thinking. The frustrations came to an end when the enlightenment period arrived with new insights into the free-thinking, less participation of religious dogma and expanded human thinking. The biblical study viewed science as a deviation from the norms and blasphemy. Different scientists such as Galileo and Copernicus died mysteriously due to religious interference with notorious inquisitions and house arrests. The works of scholars conflicted with the biblical timeline. In the seventeenth century, the insights of philosophy stared streaming in the society. The German philosopher, Kant named the transition to modernity as Enlightenment where inequity ended inventions replaced superstition and spiritual anticipations.

Locke’s Role of Nature on Ideal Government

According to Locke, they are specific ideas that need to be shared with some people irrespective of where they come from, their ideologies and mature. In ideal government, the citizens enjoy free natural laws and rights without comparison the right applies to anyone. However, the conventional laws can only be applied where the foundation of the convention is already formed. The essay addresses the role government would play in distributing natural rights. The natural rights contain the privileges individuals enjoy such as the right to language, religion. Locke found out that men in his natural state can opt to form a government to enjoy customary laws and rights. Government official enjoys cheap loans, security. Furthermore, they can get favors in the judicial arm from the government (Geggus 88). The enlightenment period informed the disabled about the opportunities of changing the world. The lower class citizens enjoyed the freedom of thinking and contributing without interference from religion.

Comparison of American and French Revolutions

The revolution in the two nation had a similar aspect. However, the difference emerged from wars. A significant portion of American population were unhappy with the British rule (von 43). Both of the nation were determined to achieve equality and liberation. The America tried to stop the taxes and harsh rules imposed to them by the Great Britain. Likewise, the French wanted to do away with the monarchy and create a government where everyone had the freedom to contribute. Even though the revolution started in the different period with a different style, they aimed at achieving freedom.

On the other hand, the Americans were concerned with gaining independence, unlike French. The Americans tried to resist the stamp duty and high taxes imposed by the British government after the loss of Seven Year War. The Americans had no representation in the Parliament and had no way to express their grievance but through war (Reill 25). The Americans achieved their independence after winning the fight in 1776 when British allowed 18 colonies to have freedom.

Contrary, the French wanted to abolish the monarchy system. The lower graved for equality rather than allowing the kings to overpowers them. They also went into war with borrowed money. Soon, King Louis imposed hefty taxes on them, but they declined to pay. They resolve to negotiate. In short, the two nation differed on the maters of war. The French transformed everything in the government including religion and culture. That led to the fall of monarchies of King Louis.

Worldwide Implication of Haitian Revolution

The slave revolution in Haiti two hundred years ago created rooms for the opinion from the world. The revolution affected the consumption of commodities and the lines of poets. It contributed to the transfer of slaves from Philadelphia, Brazil, Cuba to Virginia and other parts of the world. The most fantastic issue of the Haitian revolution is that despite the success of the movement, the vile trade did not end. In fact, it led to the transatlantic slave trade in the world. The essay seeks to address the repercussions of Haitian revolution to the world.

The enlightened revolution lords on the use of forced labor as the source of cheap labor to their farms. The selfish masters use murderous methods to get Africans to work on their farms. During the death of Saint Domingue, the Haitian had no alternative but to find a replacement because they needed the supply of cotton, precious woods, and cotton to continue.

The Americans and the French administrators got lessons on the effects of revolutions and wars. They, therefore, worked smart to prevent any attempts to violence that could affect their growth of their firms. Haiti acted a torch to the other nations because it was a new nation. Its independence showed the possibility of achieving it from anywhere hence enhancing revolts around the world.

The Haitian propagated violence and revolution in the neighboring nations as opposed to their promises not to incite them. The country became in the limelight of the world as destitute to laws. It had its mandates and goals as an independent country. The country developed a mechanism where the information could not be shared with neighboring nations.

Works Cited

Beik, William. “The absolutism of Louis XIV as social collaboration.” Past & Present 188.1 (2005): 195-224.

Locke, John. Second Treatise of Government: An Essay Concerning the True Original, Extent and End of Civil Government. John Wiley & Sons, 2014.

Reill, Peter Hanns. “The Legacy of the ”Scientific Revolution”: Science and the Enlightenment.“ The Cambridge history of science 4 (2008): 23-43.

Geggus, David Patrick, ed. The impact of the Haitian Revolution in the Atlantic world. Reaktion Books, 2001.

von Gentz, Friedrich. The French and American Revolutions Compared. Vol. 6023. H. Regnery, 1955.