Absolute and Constitutional monarchies are radically different forms of government, each with its own positives and negatives. In a Constitutional monarchy, power is shared between the monarch and Parliament. This is a positive because the greed and desire for power of a monarch will be offset by the Parliament. In an absolute monarchy this is quite different. A monarch in this form of government is able to use his position for personal gain to the detriment of his countrymen. This can have a negative affect on the country’s status. Also citizens in countries with a Constitutional monarchy have more rights and freedoms, whereas citizens in countries with absolute monarchies often have restricted personal freedoms like Religious intolerance, which can cause internal instability.
During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries several European countries experimented with new forms of government. Two of these were absolutism and Constitutional monarchies. Absolutism is a government in which a king or queen rules with total power. The initiation of absolutism was made possible because countries were experiencing turmoil under existing governments. Religious wars, the decline of the church, and a growing middle class created a situation that demanded a leader to rule with complete power so as to restore order. Under absolutism the monarchs that ruled a country had total control because they believed they had a “divine right”. They believed that right was given them by God and bestowed upon them the power to control the county totally. They often defended their abuse of power by saying that it was God’s will for them rule. Also in an absolute monarchy the monarch makes all economic decisions. For example, Louis XIV of France abused his control of money by spending it on his Palace of Versailles.
A Constitutional monarchy is a form of government in which a king or queen rules with limits to their power along with a governing body (i.e. Parliament). A Constitutional monarchy was able to form in England because there was a lack of strong leadership.