• In the late-fifteenth century, Europe was characterized by over 500 decentralized feudal states.
• The crisis of the feudal economy led to significant changes in society and state-building.
• Absolutism emerged as a form of government, especially in western Europe (France, England, and Spain), characterized by strong centralized monarchies.
• Absolutism did not have a uniform appearance, but its social base remained consistent.
• It evolved from medieval feudal kingship, where the power of monarchs was limited by various entities like vassals, churches, provinces, and municipal corporations.
• These entities were represented in institutions like the Estates-General, Diet, Parliament, and Cortes in different states.
• Medieval rulers’ power was also restricted by Popes and Holy Roman Emperors.
• Absolute rulers concentrated authority by establishing standing armies, creating royal bureaucracies, collecting taxes independently, and formulating their policies.
• These changes transformed various aspects of feudal states, including the military, administrative, and legal aspects.
• The theory of the Divine Right of the king provided moral justification for absolutism, supported by political theorists like Jean Bodin, Bossuet, and Hobbes.

Origins of Absolutism

• The weakening of feudalism was a key factor leading to the rise of absolutism in Europe.
• Weakened feudalism resulted from factors like increased commercialization, devalued money due to bullion influx, and growing expenditures by the feudal ruling classes.
• Feudal lords lost military significance with the introduction of new and costly methods of warfare.
• Rulers of larger states with greater resources were better equipped to maintain standing armies and military leadership.
• Economic constraints affected the judicial powers of the feudal nobility.
• The kings faced challenges in controlling distant provinces during the feudal crisis.
• In the late-fifteenth century, centralized measures were adopted for effective governance over autonomous provinces.
• The presence of a land-owning baronage, municipal authorities, and strong clerical institutions during the Middle Ages eroded royal authority and decentralized power structures.
• Exploitation of serfs, peasant rebellions, and warfare among feudal lords contributed to social and political disorders.
• The weakened nobility looked to kings for protection and preservation of their privileges.
• Feudal warfare and political breakdown of authority created a demand for a strong and effective government by the end of the fifteenth century.
• International rivalry and feudal strife further strengthened the drive for strong centralized rule.
• The rise of absolutist states involved the absorption of smaller states by stronger ones.
• Absolute monarchs acted as sovereign power in their states, independent of external challenges.
• They gained power during the Reformation by reducing Papal interference and establishing their own authority.
• Absolutism had its limitations, including the use of foreign soldiers in standing armies and selling bureaucratic positions for revenue.
• Diplomacy was institutionalized through permanent embassies, but matrimonial alliances still played a role.
• State-building involved cultural integration, imposing elite culture on popular culture, and controlling religious organizations and moral doctrines.

The Nature of Absolutist State

• Absolutism in Europe has been a subject of debate among historians, sociologists, economists, and political scientists.
• Otto Hintze presents a dualist view of state-building, suggesting that geographical exposure to rival states forced some regions to develop absolutism, while others with geographical isolation maintained constitutional governance.
• Charles Tilly and Michael Mann propose that the size and nature of bureaucratic and absolutist structures were determined by the state’s revenue source. Rural areas led to strong centralized bureaucracies, while economically developed regions favored constitutional arrangements.
• There were two distinct forms of states in pre-modern Europe: urban or small city states and large agrarian states. These had different economic and social bases and influenced the development of centralized states.
• Marxist perspectives on absolutism differ, with some viewing it as a product of class equilibrium between old feudal nobility and the new urban bourgeoisie, and others considering it a mechanism for advancing capitalism.
• Immanuel Wallerstein suggests that absolutism in core economies was a capitalist phenomenon, while Theda Skocpol points out strong absolutist states outside the core regions.
• Some scholars emphasize the autonomy of state structures and argue that absolutism had a political character independent of both feudal and capitalist modes of production.
• Perry Anderson describes absolutism as a transition from feudalism, with centralized monarchies retaining feudal elements.
• Recent scholars like John E. Martin and Teshale Tibebu challenge aspects of Anderson’s theory, emphasizing the transitional nature of absolutism.
• Other historians, like Maurice Aymard and Louis Althusser, view absolutism as a warlike character and a political form for maintaining feudal domination.
• Most historians agree that the social basis of absolutist monarchies in western Europe was the feudal aristocracy, which continued to dominate society and monopolize power and privileges.
• The concentration of power in the hands of absolute monarchs created conditions favorable for long-term capitalist development.