Napoleon Bonaparte improved culture in France setting the foundation for change in Europe, creating Frances first structured set of laws, allowing freedom of religion in his empire, and finally breaking the boundary that divided the social classes. Le Code Napoleon brought revolutionary ideas to France and all of Europe. It brought rules and discipline to France: “The Code Napoleon is the French civil code… established under Napoleon 1 in 1804…” The Code gave post-revolutionary France its first coherent set of laws concerning property, colonial affairs, the family, and individual rights. It was the first modern legal code to be adopted with a pan-European scope. Strongly influencing the laws of many countries formed during and after the Napoleonic Wars.
Question: “In Louis XIV’s view, what were the qualities of an effective monarch? In his opinion, what were the main obstacles to absolute rule? Louis XIV’s view of an “effective” monarch is absolutism in power and direct control over his subjects by giving them no more and no less to “carefully guard against their excess (Document D) as well as external glory in foreign affairs. Louis wasn’t fond of nobilities during his absolute rule as monarch in France, because of the past rebellion of the Fronde, however in Louis XIV’s view he wasn’t to be effective if he had dissolved the nobles rather he would work through them instead. With the Fronde in the back of Louis’s mind, he was to make an effective choice of picking members for his council, which would rule his political, military, administrative, and economical affairs.
New ideas and beliefs spread through Europe and worldwide and marked a change from only having religious texts to also providing intellectual texts. John Locke, an English Enlightenment thinker, shared his views on society in his text Two Treatises on Government. He claimed that nobody should have more power than another and the people should live in state of equality (Doc 2). Up until this point, the church had all the authority but Locke provided insight that everyone should be equal. Baron de Montesquieu, a French Enlightenment thinker, said in his book The Spirit of Laws that he thought “there should sorts of power; the legislative; the executive… and the judicial” (Doc 3).
In the 1600’s Louis XIV used absolutism to gain power and to do what he thought is the most beneficial thing for his country. Louis XIV was one of the first leaders to use absolute power and even now those techniques are still used. Louis XIV and Hu Jintao used ceremonies to make themselves appear more important, policies against religious minorities, and economic advisors and economic reforms to increase power. These specific methods are what Hu Jintao and Louis XIV enforced during their time of leadership and is why they were able to gain power over nations. Louis XIV used the Palace of Versailles as his center of political power by having huge ceremonies to make himself look powerful and important.
According to the text, the first stage of the French Revolution was based totally on the liberty to succeed, own, and compete. Next, the second stage of the revolution took on equality to rally their troops, which was also the revolution of the working people in the French cities. In fact the French adapted a national motto for brotherhood which was Liberte’, elgalite, fraternite…which is French for Liberty, equality, and fraternity. The debates on the compatibility of the three terms as well as their order began at the same time of the French Revolution. France was known as what is called an absolute monarchy in which King Louis XVI had complete control over the nation.
From First Consul to the Emperor of the French, Napoleon took advantage of his triumph to rise in power. He once said, “Nothing has been simpler than my elevation…It is owing to the peculiarities of the time.” Napoleon was fit to revive France from the ruins it was in after the French Revolution. In this quote he acknowledges the situation the country was in and how it benefited him in terms of rising in power. He began by placing the first set of laws the French ever had in 1804 named, “The Code Napoleon.” It promoted equality, freedom of conscience, right for individuals to choose own professions, and protects
This essay seeks to highlight these key features and explain how they impacted on the transition from a Feudal society to a different type of society – a Capitalist society. After the dissolution of the Roman Empire which concluded the Dark Ages, a ‘Feudal Society’ came into formation. This type of society was based on the ownership of land and feudal social classes reflected how much land people owned. Royalty, like Kings and Queens were in the highest class who were understood to be very powerful and had a lot of money. These very wealthy men and women owned most of the land in the kingdom.
Frederick the Great Frederick II reigned for more than 45 years. During this reign he established a reputation as a brilliant military commander, played a key role in European politics, increased Prussia’s territory, and earned admiration of many European intellectuals, like Voltaire. He later earned the name Frederick the Great due to his many accomplishments. Frederick the Great is also known as an “enlightened despot” because he supported the progressive ideas and reforms of the period of history called the “Enlightenment.” Frederick II was the son of Frederick William, ruler of Prussia. At a young age, Frederick William made sure that his son was trained in the art of war, but Frederick II had little interest in learning.
The majestic building was something that the upper-class Europeans would yearn for, thus making the foreigners look respectable in their eyes. Moreover, it is not surprising that the Europeans would suddenly take interest in such a momentous place. Polo continued to describe the paradise he visited. The Khan owned extensive chambers and halls where he kept his belongings and his ladies and his concubines. Parks of game and lust herbage between the inner and outer walls were something to marvel at.
In the adaptation by Neil L. Cooney it’s mentioned that Thomas Hobbes had three ideas. The first one it states that God gave the right of government upon the king or the monarch. This meant that the people were supposed to listen to the king because he had the same power as God. Since Britain and France wanted to get rid of their king they had to come up with new ideas of the origin of government. Making a “Social Contract” where it stated that God’s authority was actually given to the people and not the king himself.