17th and 18th Century Europe
Life changed dramatically for 17th and 18th century Europeans, as a resultof major social, political, and philosophical transformations. Followingthe Reformation, the authority and dominance of the Catholic Church werealready being questioned and severely criticized. This in turn contributedto a shift away from the Church as the source of political and spiritualpower toward the King. Endowing Europe's monarch's with supreme authority,known as the Divine Right of Kings, led to the trend of Absolutism.Absolutism gave the king exactly that: absolute power to control histerritories and peoples. The rise of the eastern European powers likeAustria and Prussia were largely a result of Absolutist sentimentthroughout Europe at the time. Philosophers during this era also ascribedto the notion that Absolutism was good for state and countrymen.
, Absolutism coincided with Reformation individualism. However,Absolutism soon gave rise to Enlightenment thinkers like Locke, Voltaire,and Rousseau. This odd synthesis basically amounted to autocrats resting on their divineauthority and twisting Enlightenment ideals in their favor. As the great thinkers like Voltaire, Locke, Diderot, Rousseau, andMontesquieu came to the fore during the heart of Enlightenment Europe,belief in the divine authority of kings waned. The new Enlightenment philosophy focused on democratic ideals andeven further distanced itself from the Church. Themes of equality andreligious freedom led eventually to the Revolutions in the New World and inFrance, both of which were based on democracy and the move away frommonarchy toward republic as a valid and workable form of government. Absolutism gave way to "Enlightened Absolutism" as the powers ofmonarchs were being called into question by Enlightenment philosophers. Democracy and capitalism offered citizens political power aswell as economic opportunity, creating a middle class and enabling many tocompete in the capitalist market system. Following the downfall of the supremacy of the Church,Absolutism was simply transference of spiritual power and authority. Moreover, a scientificrevolution changed the ways in which people viewed the world. The period between 1660 and 1789 saw a new examination of thestate of affairs in Europe and called into question the Divine Right ofKings. The French and American Revolutions brought to light the problems inthe current class structure of Europe which preserved the integrity ofaristocrats. No longer aproduct of miracles and magic, the laws of nature were scrutinized andexamined in a rational, reasonable manner. Kingswere already deemed powerful, but Absolutism guaranteed them totalphilosophical and moral justification for their tyrannical and avariciousactions. Capitalism as an economic system was not new; rather capitalism as apolitical philosophy grew from this period in European history.
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