Question

Analyze and explain the development of monarchical power and authority in the period from 1450 CE to 1750 CE.

a) Monarchical power and authority remained stagnant during this period.
b) Monarchical power and authority declined significantly during this period.
c) Monarchical power and authority increased and consolidated in this period.
d) Monarchical power and authority was non-existent during this period.

Answer 1

Monarchical power and authority increased and consolidated during the period from 1450 CE to 1750 CE, as monarchs sought to centralize political power and establish absolute rule. The option c is correct.

Step-by-step explanation:

Between 1450 CE and 1750 CE, there was a remarkable surge and solidification of monarchical power and authority, marking the era of increased absolutism.

Monarchs actively pursued the centralization of political control, striving for absolute rule.

This involved asserting divine right, allowing rulers to make unilateral decisions without the need for consultation or power-sharing with nobility.

The consolidation of power empowered monarchs to dictate laws, shape foreign policies, dispense justice, and levy taxes autonomously. Illustrative of this trend is Louis XIV of France, who marginalized the nobility from governance.

In England and France, monarchs played pivotal roles in establishing the foundations of centralized modern nation-states, supplanting the influence of the nobility.

This period witnessed the ascendancy of powerful absolute monarchs, exemplifying the transformative trajectory of monarchical authority during 1450 CE to 1750 CE.

So, the option c is correct, Monarchical power and authority increased and consolidated during the period from 1450 CE to 1750 CE.

Answer 2

Monarchical power and authority notably increased and were consolidated between 1450 CE to 1750 CE, through practices such as absolutism and the concept of divine right, which centralized power in the hands of monarchs like France's Louis XIV. Option C.

Step-by-step explanation:

Analyzing the development of monarchical power and authority from 1450 CE to 1750 CE reveals that option (c) Monarchical power and authority increased and consolidated in this period, is the most accurate. During the Early Modern Era, European monarchies like England and France laid the groundwork for centralized nation-states, effectively reducing the power of the nobility and increasing their control over their kingdoms.

The Black Death weakened the clergy, bolstering monarchs' reliance on the merchant class and facilitating the centralization of power. This was compounded by the emergence of absolutism and the notion of divine right, which further strengthened monarchs’ power. Monarchs such as France's Louis XIV epitomized absolute authority, directly reducing the nobility's influence on governance.

Moreover, religious and scientific changes, such as the rise of Protestantism and new scientific concepts, often challenged traditional structures, but also enabled monarchs to extend their control over religious issues. The Enlightenment further impacted the centralization of power, contributing to political and economic practices that emphasized monarchical sovereignty. The resulting political landscape of Europe was dominated by well-established monarchies, except in cases like the Holy Roman Empire, which remained a fragmented alliance of German principalities. Option C.