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Absolute monarchy: the story on HearLore | HearLore
Absolute monarchy
Louis XIV of France, who reigned from 1643 until his death in 1715, once declared that he was the state, a statement that encapsulated the terrifying reality of absolute monarchy. In this form of government, the sovereign is the sole source of political power, unconstrained by constitutions, legislatures, or any other checks on their authority. Unlike constitutional monarchies where a prime minister or legislature balances the monarch's power, an absolute monarch holds legislative, executive, and judicial powers in their own person. They could condemn people to death without the right of appeal, and their word was both the law and the final judgment. This concentration of power was not merely a political arrangement but a theological mandate, often justified by the divine right of kings, which claimed that God had chosen the monarch to rule and that subjects had no right to limit that power. The concept extended far beyond Europe, appearing in the Ottoman Empire where the Sultan was considered a Padishah, or Great King, and in ancient Mesopotamia where rulers of Assyria and Babylonia wielded absolute authority. In Imperial China, emperors and the empress Wu Zetian ruled through the Mandate of Heaven, while the Inca Empire was governed by a Sapa Inca, believed to be the son of Inti, the sun god, who held absolute rule over his people and nation.
The Divine Right Doctrine
The theological justification for absolute monarchy in Europe rested on the belief that the monarch was God's representative on Earth, a doctrine that made rebellion not just a crime but a sin. James VI and I, who ruled England and Scotland, and his son Charles I, attempted to import this principle into their kingdoms, claiming supreme autocratic power by divine right. Charles I's attempt to enforce episcopal polity on the Church of Scotland led to rebellion by the Covenanters and the Bishops' Wars, and fears that he was attempting to establish an absolutist government along European lines became a major cause of the English Civil War. He did rule without Parliament for 11 years starting in 1629, dissolving the body that might have checked his power. In Denmark-Norway, absolutism was underpinned by a written constitution for the first time in Europe in 1665, which ordered that the Monarch could abolish all other centers of power. Most important was the abolition of the Council of the Realm in Denmark. This system lasted until 1814 in Norway and 1848 in Denmark, marking a significant shift in how power was distributed. The House of Habsburg, which ruled the Holy Roman Empire, also exemplified this power dynamic, with Joseph II, a sovereign raised during the Enlightenment, extending full legal freedom to serfs in 1781. The dynasty continued through Franz Joseph I, who was Emperor of Austria from 1848 until his death in 1916, and ended with Charles I, who abdicated on the 12th of November 1918 due to Austria-Hungary losing World War I.
Who was the French monarch who declared he was the state in the 17th century?
Louis XIV of France declared that he was the state while reigning from 1643 until his death in 1715. This statement encapsulated the terrifying reality of absolute monarchy where the sovereign is the sole source of political power.
When did Russia become the last European country to abolish absolutism?
Russia became the last European country to abolish absolutism as late as the 20th century. The Romanov dynasty ended in 1918 when the Bolsheviks executed the Romanov family after ruling for three centuries.
What is the population of Vatican City as of 2023?
As of 2023, Vatican City has a population of 764 residents regardless of citizenship. This makes it the smallest state in the world both by area and by population.
Which countries are currently recognized as absolute monarchies in the modern world?
Current datasets agree that Brunei, Eswatini, Oman, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia are absolute monarchies. Some datasets also include Bahrain, Bhutan, Jordan, Kuwait, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Morocco, Samoa, Tonga, Vatican City, and the United Arab Emirates.
Why did Charles I rule without Parliament for 11 years starting in 1629?
Charles I ruled without Parliament for 11 years starting in 1629 to dissolve the body that might have checked his power. His attempt to enforce episcopal polity on the Church of Scotland led to rebellion by the Covenanters and the Bishops' Wars.
When did the Nepalese monarchy get abolished?
The Nepalese monarchy was abolished on the 28th of May 2008. This event followed several swings between constitutional rule and direct rule related to the Nepalese Civil War and the 2001 Nepalese royal massacre.
In Brandenburg-Prussia, the concept of absolute monarchy took a notable turn with its emphasis on the monarch as the first servant of the state, a philosophy that echoed many of the important characteristics of absolutism while introducing a new layer of responsibility. Frederick I was the first King in Prussia, beginning his reign on the 18th of January 1701, and King Frederick the Great adopted the title King of Prussia in 1772, the same year he annexed most of Royal Prussia in the First Partition of Poland. He practiced enlightened absolutism until his death in 1786, introducing a general civil code, abolishing torture, and establishing the principle that the Crown would not interfere in matters of justice. Frederick the Great also promoted an advanced secondary education, the forerunner of today's German gymnasium system, which prepares high achieving students for university studies. The Prussian education system was emulated in various countries, including the United States. This approach contrasted with the more traditional autocratic rule seen elsewhere, yet it still maintained the core feature of absolute power. In Russia, until 1905, the tsars and emperors governed as absolute monarchs. Ivan IV, known as the Terrible, was famous for his reign of terror through the oprichnina. Following the Time of Troubles in the early 17th century, the traditional alliance of autocratic monarchy, the church, and the aristocracy was widely seen as the only basis for preserving the social order and Russian statehood, which legitimized the rule of the Romanov dynasty. Peter I, known as the Great, reduced the power of the Russian nobility and strengthened the central power of the monarch, establishing a bureaucracy. This tradition of absolutism was expanded by Catherine II and her descendants, making Russia the last European country to abolish absolutism, and it was the only one to do so as late as the 20th century.
The Modern Survivors
Today, the number of absolute monarchies in the world varies, but current datasets agree that Brunei, Eswatini, Oman, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia are absolute monarchies, while some datasets include Bahrain, Bhutan, Jordan, Kuwait, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Morocco, Samoa, Tonga, Vatican City, and the United Arab Emirates. Saudi Arabia is an absolute monarchy, and according to the Basic Law of Saudi Arabia adopted by Royal Decree in 1992, the King must comply with Sharia, or Islamic law, and the Quran. The Quran and the body of the Sunnah, the traditions of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, are declared to be the Kingdom's Constitution, but no written modern constitution has ever been promulgated for Saudi Arabia, which remains the only Arab nation where no national elections have ever taken place since its founding. No political parties or national elections are permitted, and the Saudi government is the world's most authoritarian regime in 2023 measured by the electoral democracy score of the V-Dem Democracy indices. Oman is an absolute monarchy, with the Sultan of Oman being both head of state and head of government. The Sultan is hereditary, appoints a cabinet to assist him, and serves as the supreme commander of the armed forces and prime minister. Oman bans all political parties. In Liechtenstein, the Prince of Liechtenstein was given vast expanded powers after a referendum to amend the Constitution of Liechtenstein in 2003, which led BBC News to describe the prince as an absolute monarch again. The referendum granted the monarch the powers to dismiss the government, nominate judges, and veto legislation, among others. Just prior to the referendum, the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe published a comprehensive report analyzing the amendments, opining that they were not compatible with the European standards of democracy, effectively making Liechtenstein a de facto absolute monarchy. Prince Hans-Adam II had also previously threatened to leave the country and move his assets out of Liechtenstein if voters had chosen to restrict his powers.
The Vatican Exception
Vatican City continues to be an absolute monarchy, but it is unique because it is also a microstate, an ecclesiastical jurisdiction, and an elective monarchy. As of 2023, Vatican City has a population of 764 residents, regardless of citizenship, making it the smallest state in the world both by area and by population. The Pope is the absolute monarch of Vatican City, and is elected by a papal conclave with a two-thirds supermajority. As governed by the Holy See, Vatican City State is a sacerdotal-monarchical state ruled by the Pope, who is the bishop of Rome and head of the Catholic Church. Unlike citizenship of other states, which is based either on jus sanguinis or jus soli, citizenship of Vatican City is granted on jus officii, namely on the grounds of appointment to work in a certain capacity in the service of the Holy See. It usually ceases upon cessation of the appointment. Citizenship is also extended to the spouse and children of a citizen, provided they are living together in the city. This system creates a form of governance that is entirely distinct from secular absolute monarchies, as the Pope's authority is derived from his religious office rather than hereditary succession or divine right in the traditional sense. The Pope's power is absolute within the city-state, and he holds supreme authority over all matters, both spiritual and temporal, within the Vatican's borders. This unique structure has allowed Vatican City to maintain its status as an absolute monarchy in the modern era, despite the global trend toward constitutional and democratic governance.
The Scholarly Debate
There is a considerable variety of opinion by historians on the extent of absolutism among European monarchs, with some arguing that quite a few monarchs achieved levels of absolutist control over their states, while others dispute the very concept of absolutism. Historians such as Roger Mettam argue that most monarchs labeled as absolutist exerted no greater power over their subjects than any other non-absolutist rulers, and these historians tend to emphasize the differences between the absolutist rhetoric of monarchs and the realities of the effective use of power by these absolute monarchs. Renaissance historian William Bouwsma summed up this contradiction, highlighting the gap between the theoretical power of the monarch and the practical limitations they faced. In the 17th century, French legal theorist Jean Domat defended the concept of absolute monarchy in works such as On Social Order and Absolute Monarchy, citing absolute monarchy as preserving natural order as God intended. Other intellectual figures who supported absolute monarchy include Thomas Hobbes and Charles Maurras. Anthropology, sociology, and ethology as well as various other disciplines such as political science attempt to explain the rise of absolute monarchy ranging from extrapolation generally to certain Marxist explanations in terms of the class struggle as the underlying dynamic of human historical development generally and absolute monarchy in particular. This scholarly debate continues to shape our understanding of how absolute monarchies functioned and why they persisted for so long, despite the eventual collapse of many of these regimes in the 19th and 20th centuries.
The Collapse of Empires
Russia became the last European country to abolish absolutism, and it was the only one to do so as late as the 20th century, with the Ottoman Empire drafting its first constitution in 1876. Russia was one of the four continental empires which collapsed after World War I, along with Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire. In 1918, the Bolsheviks executed the Romanov family, ending three centuries of Romanov rule. The Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Springtime of the Peoples or the Springtime of Nations, were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe in 1848 that challenged the power of absolute monarchs. Many nations formerly with absolute monarchies, such as Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, and Qatar, have de jure moved towards a constitutional monarchy. However, in these cases, the monarch still retains tremendous powers, even to the extent that by some measures, parliament's influence on political life is viewed as negligible or merely consultative. In Nepal, there were several swings between constitutional rule and direct rule related to the Nepalese Civil War, the Maoist insurgency, and the 2001 Nepalese royal massacre, with the Nepalese monarchy being abolished on the 28th of May 2008. In Tonga, the king had majority control of the Legislative Assembly until 2010. These events illustrate the fragility of absolute monarchies in the face of modern political movements and the increasing demand for democratic governance. The collapse of these empires and the transition to constitutional systems marked a significant shift in the global political landscape, reducing the number of absolute monarchies to a small fraction of the world's states.