Absolutism took a different form in Eastern Europe at this time. Absolute monarchy was built upon socio-economic foundations. After the Black Death, Europe sought to rebuild its economy and population which had been so ruthlessly destroyed. In Eastern Europe, harsh serfdom was imposed upon the peasantry, leading to their exploitation along with an influx of agriculture. The noble landlord class grew in political power as they held monopolies on both the peasantry, through serfdom, and the monarch, as weak kings had to grant political favors in order to win support of the nobility. Their privileges were assumed through "hereditary subjugation," meaning that generations of peasants were indebted and bound to generations of landlords by past family ties. Eventually, in times of war and necessity, strong, absolute kingships would emerge in Eastern Europe. These monarchs gained power by imposing and collecting taxes without consent, by maintaining permanent standing armies that policed the country and enforced laws upon the king's subjects, and by conducting foreign affairs and international relations by their own desires.
There's a "big three" when it comes to Eastern European countries at this time: Austria, Prussia, and Russia. Of these three countries, Russia's monarchy was the most absolute. As absolute kings arose and the powers of landowning, aristocratic nobility were reduced, the peasantry was often further crushed by economic burdens and lack of political voice. Here's an introduction to these three countries:
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