Final answer:
Absolute monarchy in Western Europe contributed to economic modernization, with Belgium, in the northern region, becoming the first continental area to industrialize by the 1830s.
Step-by-step explanation:
The region of Europe where absolute monarchy most directly helped with economic modernization was Western Europe. During the 17th and 18th centuries, absolutism centralized political power in the hands of monarchs in countries such as France, although their approach to modernization differed. However, it was the Southern Netherlands, part of the northern region which later became Belgium, that first industrialized by the 1830s, closely allied with Great Britain and utilizing its natural resources and skilled workforce.