Explain The Transition To Absolute Power In The 17th Century

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In the 17th century, the political structure changed from one that had been dominated by feudal lords and localized rule into a highly organized form of central government. The transition to absolute rule was not sudden, it took place over several generations, but the change was complete and total. There were several methods upon which the transition to absolute power occurred.
Military was one method in which the change to absolute took place. The military of the middle ages was largely disorganized. The male residents of kingdoms were drafted into service for 40 days at a time. Due to the inability of the military forces to remain intact for any significant period of time it prevent them from organizing and learning new skills and tactics …show more content…
In the Middle Ages the government was comprised of five main class sections: The King, Barons, Knights, Serfs and Clergy. The King, who had complete control over his country, had too much land under his control and not enough time to travel that land. As such, he granted land to his most trusted barons. This granted land was known as a fief. The barons then provided the King with knights, who provided the Barons with military service. The serfs living under the feudal system, who made up approximately 90 percent of the population, lived on the fiefs of the knights, and provided the knights with labor, service and food. In the 17th century the structure the king's will was law, however, the citizens were spilt up in to estates. There were three estates. The first estate consisted of the clergy of the Roman church and totaled less than 1 percent of the population. The second estate consisted of the nobility and represented less than 2 percent of the population. Finally the third estate, made up of the rest of the people of France, was approximately 97 percent. The third estate was subdivided into three groups. At the top was the bourgeoisie, whose role decline from the Middle Ages, under the bourgeoisie were the laborers and finally the peasants rank at the
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