The Most Effective Absolute Rulers

The Most Effective Absolute Rulers

During the late 1400s and 1500s, many rulers took great measures to centralize political power and place it in their own hands. This lead to the occurrence of absolute monarchies, some of which I thought were overall very effective. In absolute monarchies, theoretically the monarch is all-powerful, with no legal limitations to his or her authority. Absolutism in Europe was characteristically justified by the doctrine of divine right, according to which the monarch reigns all-powerfully by the will of God. The intention of absolute monarchs is to utilize his or her power in an effective, better-organized way, despite its weaknesses or negative consequences; and from my perspective, I would have to say that the three most effective rulers ever are King Louis XIV, Frederick the Great, and Peter the Great.

In my opinion, Europe's most exemplary and effective absolute monarch was King Louis XIV of France. Louis XIV was the Sun King who ruled from 1661 to 1715. I think he was a great absolute effective monarch for an appropriate time period, despite some of his negative contributions to his country. He was an intelligent, forceful man who utilized his extensive powers to alter France into a better-organized, better-run, and powerful country. Louis XIV created a highly centralized bureaucracy and national economy. He broke the power of his aristocracy and made it fully obey him. He built the largest army and navy that Europe had seen in centuries. He turned Paris and his palace of Versailles into magnificent, impressive centers of power. He was also effective because in many ways, Louis XIV illustrated the strengths and weaknesses of absolute monarchy.