Was the 18

th
century monarchy strong or
weak?

The 18
th
century monarchy was known as an absolute monarchy.
AN absolute monarch was answerable only to only one thing to God, the parliament had
no power
Thus the monarchy is hugely reliant on the personality and wherewithal of the monarch
Between1643 and 1792 France only had 3 kings.

The king is based in Versailles Louis 16
th
left Versailles only twice in his reign
Therefore there a vast geographical and linguistic differences between the different
provinces of France, so the king requires the nobility to rule.
Several of the provinces have estates that are provincial law making bodies.
Louis 14
th
the sun king - was the model of absolutism. HE was powerful and
authorative
Strengths Weaknesses
The king does cement his absolutism by
ensuring that all influential bodies are
under his direct control
The issue shows that an absolute
monarchy requires public confidence
Louis derides the court, claiming the
court is a mere representation of the
will of the king. Therefore he, insulting
a public institution, threatens to insult
the public themselves.
They are allowed to remonstrate only
within the limits of their duties as good
and useful councillors. Public order in
its entirety emanates from me, and the
rights and interests of the nation, for
which some dare to create a separate
body from the monarch, are necessarily
united with my rights and interests and
rest only in my hands.
The act of tax without representation
risks the monarchy falling into even
worse popularity with the public.





As a consequence of this tongue lashing Louis shuts down the parlement.
When Louis 16
th
comes to the throne people demand the parlement to be put back in place
Bossuet
Appalled to Louis 14
th
because of his Gaelic views
Bossuet emphasized religious unity and working for the crown
Bossuet said the catholic church was Gaelic catholic, not roman so it was loyal more to the
king than to the pope
Thus he was created dophin e.g. the prince of wales
The clergy was important because the church controlled education, and thus is the voice of
official propaganda
The Nature and properties of royal authority (written by Bossuet)
Royal authority has 4 essential characteristics, it is paternal, sacred, absolute and it is subject
to reason
Since royal authority is sacred it shows that it is from God, therefore it should be respected
Because it is paternal it should be respected like one should respect their father
However, it is subject to reason so what they do must be for the good of the nation, for the
good of the people. Although it is the king who decided what is good for the nation and the
people. If youre living without rights you might eventually think that the king is acting
without reason
Parliamentary remonstrance against the third twentieth Tax
The king says he would make his decisions known to parliament but doesnt say he would list
to parliament.
The king was trying for the 3
rd
time to raise this twentieth tax but the parliament is saying no
The members of the parlement was made up of nobility
Two types of nobility were sword nobility they can trace their nobility back many years and
the rouge nobility who are the officials such as the lawyers.
Damiens attempted assassination
Only used a small kitchen knife not committed
He is deranged, mentally unstable
The king (Louis 15
th
) made a large deal about the assassination attempt and tortures Damien
in front of everyone and then dragged through the street, finally pulled apart by 4 horses.
At the same time he tries to attack the jansenists (often described as puritan Catholics)
Quite a lot of resentment to how this guy is treated and then how the jansenists are
persecuted on the back of the assassination