Rise of Absolutism in Europe (1500-1700) In the 1500s and 1600s, monarchs in Europe and Asia sought to centralize their

power. The word centralize means to put all governmental power in one person or a few people. This trend of putting power into the hands of one person became known as absolutism. In an absolute government, the king had complete control of the government, the people, and their country. Monarchs made the case they had the right to have absolute power because they were given the power of divine right. Divine right is when God has chosen one person to rule the many. Under the power of divine right, kings believed they were Gods, and thus, were entitled to everything. The various different absolute rulers in Europe did different things to demonstrate their absolute power. In India, absolute ruler Akbar the Great, got rid of all elections held in his country. He believed people did not have a say who ruled them, because God had given him the power of divine right. In addition, divine right was proof that he was the best choice to run the government. Divine right and absolute rulers were also entitled to rule until the day they died. Akbar created one of the first forms of a secret police force, in which soldiers dressed as ordinary citizens. While under cover, if they heard anything bad about Akbar, they would arrest that person on the spot. Another absolute ruler was Phillip II in Spain. Phillip II used force to get his way. Anybody who dared to question him, or rebel against him, or even looked suspicious was imprisoned. Freedom of speech was outlawed (not allowed) by Phillip. Phillip II also controlled what went into newspapers and other pieces of literature. This is called censorship. Censorship is when the government decides what can be put in the news or in books. Through censorship, Phillip II was able to prevent any news stories that made himself look bad, or that criticized his leadership from being published. King Louis XIV of France was an absolute ruler. He decided to live the life of luxury instead of helping his people. Louis taxed the French people often. Most French people were starving,

homeless, and sick. Instead of using the tax money to help the suffering French citizens, Louis built himself a grand (large) palace called the Palace of Versailles. Louiss life in the palace was great. Life for his French people wasnt. Louis worsened life for the French people when he banned (got rid of) freedom of religion. He forced people to become Catholic. If they chose not to, they were removed from the country or executed. In Russia, absolute ruler Peter the Great used his absolute power to help his Russian people. First, he took power away from the rich. Secondly, he taxed the rich heavily, and gave the tax money to the poor Russian people in need. He also used tax money to build roads, rebuild churches, and create farms to grow more food. Peter wanted to see his country improve. Thus, Peter went to countries like France, Britain, and Austria, and learned their technology, customs, and practices. He brought what he found useful back to Russia and implemented it. Under the absolute ruler Peter, Russia flourished.