Struggle for Absolutism

The monarchs that ruled Europe and Asia during the fifteenth through the seventeenth centuries tried desperately to move away from feudal traditions, and ideally towards achieving absolute monarchies. Absolutism, where a monarch is an unlimited power, was a popular goal in those days. The political theory that is derived from support of such a system is called divine right, where the monarchs are accountable to God and God alone. Russia and France were above all …

…king fought against Austria to gain the throne of Spain. The French and Russian empires were the most successful at achieving an absolute monarchy. Many of their techniques were different, but often with similar outcomes. Had some of the other countries trying to be absolute, followed the lead of Russia and France, they probably would have become more successful. They went that far because of their firm enforcement of taxation, cultural awareness, and country expansion.