Niccolo Machiavelli
(1469-1527) was a
historian, diplomat,
philosopher and writer
 He wrote the
masterpiece “The
Prince” and is
considered the father
of Modern political
Science






Machiavelli was an important civil
servant in Florence
However, he was denied
employment by the Medici family
when they took control of the city.
It was during this time when
Machiavelli wrote “The Prince”
In the book, Machiavelli lays out
ideas and tactics that a leader
should employ to get and
maintain power.
The revolutionary thing about the
book is that it is purely logical. His
ideas are not bound by religious
virtues or morality It is Machiavelli
that first says “The Ends justify the
Means”








During the Middle Ages, Nobles and
Knights held most of the political power
The Theory of Absolutism developed from
Roman ideas (The Emperor)
The King should hold absolute power over
a country
Humans, by nature, were evil and stupid
and need to be led by a strong ruler
The development of this theory coincided
with the centralization of power that
occurred in many European nations
With the invention of the longbow and
then the musket, Knights lost their
dominance on the battlefield
The king was able to use his wealth to
build and train large peasant armies.
Firearms were very powerful, easy to use
and could be mass produced.
Instead of the feudal hierarchy, now
everyone owed loyalty to the King himself




Several Absolute Monarchs
rose to power during the
renaissance, however the
best example is Louis the
14th of France
Became a King at 22 and
ruled into his 90s
Louis was often called “Le
Roi-Soleil”; the Sun King;
because he was the
center of the French
political universe
Strong believer in “Divine
Right”; he was king by
God’s power and was
God’s agent on Earth








Louis created one of the first modern nation-states
He destroyed the power of the nobility by creating a modern
civil service (paid government workers)
He fought many wars and expanded the power and
influence of France
Built the palace of Versailles (one of the most expensive and
impressive buildings in the world) and spent enormous
amounts on personal luxury
Louis is most famous for his court; which he used to control
the Nobles
The Court was the centre of French political Life, this meant
that nobles were forced to leave their castles and come to
Versailles in order to have any influence, this made them
dependant on Louis
Louis created detailed and meticulous rules about court life.
A person’s status could rise and fall based on their table
manners and how they knocked on a door
The unending pomp of the court was ridiculous but genius,
the nobles danced to Louis tune at Versailles while he
controlled the country without them
Louis XIV’s elaborate rules of etiquette included the following:
People who wanted to speak to the king could not knock on his door. Instead, using the left little finger,
they had to gently scratch on the door, until they were granted permission to enter. As a result, many
courtiers grew that fingernail longer than the others;
A lady never held hands or linked arms with a gentleman. Besides being in bad taste, this practice
would have been impossible because a woman’s hooped skirts were so wide. Instead, she was to place
her hand on top of the gentleman’s bent arm as they strolled through the gardens and chambers of
Versailles. It is also mentioned that the ladies were only allowed to touch fingertips with the men.
When a gentleman sat down, he slid his left foot in front of the other, placed his hands on the sides of
the chair and gently lowered himself into the chair. There was a very practical reason for this procedure.
If a gentleman sat too fast, his tight trousers might split;
Women and men were not allowed to cross their legs in public;
When a gentleman passed an acquaintance on the street, he was to raise his hat high off his head until
the other person passed;
A gentleman was to do no work except writing letters, giving speeches, practicing fencing, or dancing.
For pleasure he engaged in hawking, archery, indoor tennis, or hunting. A gentleman would also take
part in battle and would sometimes serve as a public officer, paying the soldiers;
Ladies’ clothing did not allow them to do much besides sit and walk. However, they passed the time
sewing, knitting, writing letters, painting, making their own lace, and creating their own cosmetics and
perfumes.





Not all States went toward Absolutism
In some, cases the complete opposite
was true, rather than give more power
to the king, the people demanded
power
In a Constitutionalist state, the State
would be governed by law and not
royal decree
A perfect example of this was
England. The English parliament
fought and won a civil war against
their king when he pushed for
absolutism.
England went so far as to remove the
monarchy and install a republic.
However, this was short lived and a
new monarchy was installed.





During the renaissance, people no longer
thought about the world from a purely religious
viewpoint.
People applied rational principals to all areas
of life, including politics
Machiavelli, having written the prince, was the
first true political scientist
This rational thought process also provoked the
English parliament to demand rights and
power to match their economic contributions,
leading to a constitutionalist state.
However, Absolutism developed at the same
time but it was completely dependent on the
genius and charisma of Louis XIV.