The Most Effective Form of Government During the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries

In the years before the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, monarchs have been reported taking advantage of their people’s ignorance. Knowing this, and the belief that general knowledge has not greatly improved since then, due to the lack of research and resources -- the most effective form of government during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries would have had to have been absolutism. Yet why absolutism, when most of the powerful countries today govern using democracy? Simple, because unlike present-day, people had poor judgement considering how far their knowledge stretched, rule depended on the understanding of one man, and the strong belief in divine right. With all this in mind, it is safe to say that the most efficient way to rule early Europe at this time period, or any other growing country, is through the direct rule of an absolute leader.

The biggest crisis: Educating the people. Different from a democracy, an absolute rule did wonders to check this box. If people at this point in time were given the freedom to choose a leader, they’d probably vote on the man who did the most good to them -- or what they believe is good. An absolute rule however, would ensure fear and immediate response to a command. “Men have less hesitation offending a man who is loved than one who is feared, for love is held by a bond of obligation which, as men are wicked, is broken whenever personal advantage suggests it, but fear is accompanied by the dread of punishment, which never relaxes” (Machiavelli). This excerpt depicts how rulers should never be someone loved by the people -- Instead, someone willing to be hated for the good of the people. If the people chose a man known and loved by all, one wrong move and the trust and loyalty they had for him will be replaced by insults and curses in a flash. Meanwhile, an absolute rule would leave the people speechless in times of wrong, because the people would would be to scared to say anything, thinking about the punishment at risk, and it would be easier to recover from a dilemma at an absolute leaders’ command.

Moreover, an effective kingdom depended on a strong leader. In this time period, Europe has been home to thousands of kings -- and although there is a high risk of the country’s fall by the mistake of one man , there is an even greater chance for the nation to decline at a the rule of someone unfamiliar to how the system works. Prince’s are usually born into power, this means that by being around the governing bodies of a kingdom, he is gaining experience -- making him a powerful candidate as the next ruler. King Louis XIV, an absolute monarch said, “The head alone has the right to deliberate