Sponsorship of mercantilist policies to accumulate national wealth. The political theorists of the Enlightenment, while often critical of dogma, also provided intellectual fuel for centralization.
How Commerce and Wealth Shaped the Shift to Absolute Rule
The concept of the "Divine Right of Kings," most famously articulated by theorists like Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet, posited that monarchs were appointed by God and accountable only to Him. This form of governance concentrated authority in the hands of a single ruler, diminishing the influence of feudal lords and representative bodies.
By monopolizing the means of warfare—owning the artillery and the paid soldiers—the ruler eliminated the military power base of the nobility. The rise of absolute monarchies across Europe and Asia during the early modern period marked a pivotal shift in the organization of political power.
Commerce Wealth Shift Absolute Rule: Mercantilism and Centralized Power
This environment of chronic conflict and weak central control created a vacuum that strong leaders were eager to fill, presenting the rise of absolute monarchy not as an abrupt invention, but as a necessary evolution to impose order on a chaotic landscape. The advent of gunpowder, cannons, and professional standing armies rendered the medieval knight and the feudal levy obsolete.
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