HIST 1001 Chapter 16: Ch. 16 - Absolutism
2 Feb 2016
School
Department
Course
Professor
Document Summary
Note: prerogative and patronage both mean privilege/power and despotism means exercising absolute power in a cruel and obsessive way. Hobbes in mid 17th c believed w in chaos, so much political instability, rebellion, civil war. 1618-1648 thirty years" war, political and religious dispute in hre. Eventually involved spain, france, sweden, england, and sev germ states. Economic and social havoc in germ, dropped pop, forced govs throughout eu to raise large armies and tax their ppl. Eng bloody civ wars leading to destruction of monarchy and est of a republic. Fr civ war over constitutional issues driving royal fam out of paris. Hobbes" solution in leviathan w/o strong gov society would be in constant state of war, life would become solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short . To find stability ppl would have to agree to form political society by surrendering independent power to ruler who would make laws, admin justice, maintain order.
