Absolutism was an especially reactionary form of European monarchism that existed during the transition from feudalism to capitalism. It reduced the power of feudal lords and centralized power under the monarchy in order to combat the rising bourgeoisie. Trade and towns remained underdeveloped, and science and culture were repressed. Absolutist regimes often involved harsh religious repression exemplified by the Inquisition in Spain and the French persecution of the Huguenots.[1]
See also
References
- ↑ Neil Faulkner (2013). A Marxist History of the World: From Neanderthals to Neoliberals: 'The First Wave of Bourgeois Revolutions' (pp. 96–103). [PDF] Pluto Press. ISBN 9781849648639 [LG]