r. Layman’s Home School History- Governments!
Government: The system or form by which a community, group,
place, etc., is ruled
Many kinds of government can exist, here are some examples of government.
Dictatorship: Also called a tyrannical government, this
style of government is when the military is in charge
and rules by force. The citizens have no control over the
government; the head of the government (often a
military leader/general) rules with total power.
Typically, the people in power use force and fear to
control the people since they usually control the
military. Dictatorships can turn into a monarchy.
Examples in History: Sumerians, Nazi Germany, North Korea
Examples in Fiction: The Empire in Star Wars, Lord Voldemort in Harry Potter
Monarchy: Monarchies have a few different types (see below) but they have a royal/noble class
or powerful families that pass their power down through their children. Kings, queens, princes,
and princesses appear in monarchies. Most monarchies try to get the people to love the royal
family and often rule with less oppression and violence than a despot because they tend to have
their power limited by the wishes of other noble families.
+++ Different Kinds of Monarchies +++
 Absolute Monarchy: When the monarch has total or “absolute”
power. Absolute Monarchs are responsible for the well-being of the
government and the citizens. Oddly, this can mean that the people
get some freedoms as they are too small for the monarch to pay
attention to them and nobody can argue with them. This means that
decisions are made quickly, though since the monarch still wants
the love of the people, they are usually at least somewhat fair.
Examples in History: Russia (1600-1900) France (1500-1789)
Examples in Fiction: Lord of the Rings, Moana
 Classic Monarchy: The most common type of Monarchy. The monarch
has all the power, but there are noble families they need to listen to and
keep happy, usually by giving them land to rule as a Lord (a landlord).
Examples in History: Spain (1460-1900) Mansa Musa of Mali
Examples in Fiction: almost every Disney movie. Shrek.
 Constitutional Monarchy: A monarch, but there are laws
and rules the ruler must follow, a Constitution. These sorts of
monarchies are often stable as they include a parliament or
senate and have elections and voting. Most of the power of
the monarch is ceremonial, and the leader of the parliament
has real power. (Pictured: Boris Johnson and Queen Elizabeth 2)
Examples in History: England, Japan.
Examples in Fiction: Skyrim (video game)
Oligarchy: In an oligarchy, power is maintained by the elites (aristocrats), and they usually
either rule as a group or select one of themselves to act as a spokesperson or leader of the
government. This can exist in many forms but typically involve either money (plutocracy)
religion (theocracy) or control over resources (kleptocracy) but they all fall under the category of
oligarchy. Typically, as a society experiences a wealth gap
(very few rich people, lots of poor people) those elite
people can afford things like nutrition and school, putting
them in an upper ruling class and allowing them to control
the government more for themselves.
Examples in History: Russia, Persian Empire
Examples in Fiction: “The Capital” in The Hunger Games
Republic: A collection of smaller groups ruling as a
group using representatives and voting. In a republic,
each area has its laws and selects representatives to
rule as a group. Typically, a republic will elect one
ruler, but they don’t always, sometimes they rule as
a group or committee. This is most often seen as a
collection of smaller states or city-states that work as
one country.
Examples in History: The United States (Federal
Republic), Hanseatic League, Rome Republic, The
United Nations, The Islamic Caliphate
Examples in Fiction: Star Wars (Republic)
Democracy: the entire population directly elects their
leaders. Unlike in a republic where each place has its
own rules, the laws and policies of democracy are
usually equal across the entire country as are the
elections. Because of this, democracies are usually
limited to smaller governments and territories.
Examples in History: Switzerland, most towns.
Examples in Fiction: I can’t think of any! Can you?