How did absolute monarchs centralize power, and how did England move toward constitutional monarchy?
Apply social science skills to understand the age of absolutism and the rise of constitutional government: the absolute monarchs such as Louis XIV and Peter the Great and the theory of divine right, and the English Civil War and Glorious Revolution producing constitutional monarchy and the English Bill of Rights (WHII.6 and WHII.7).
A standards-level answer on absolutism and the English revolutions for the Virginia World History SOL: the absolute monarchs and divine right, and the English Civil War and Glorious Revolution that produced constitutional monarchy and the English Bill of Rights, with worked exam questions.
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What this topic is asking
This part of standards WHII.6 and WHII.7 contrasts two opposite paths European government took in the early modern period: absolutism and constitutional government. Absolute monarchs claimed total power based on divine right, centralizing authority in themselves. England, by contrast, moved toward limited (constitutional) monarchy through the English Civil War and the Glorious Revolution, establishing that the ruler's power was limited by law and Parliament. The standard asks you to understand both models, because the clash between absolute power and limited, rights-respecting government is central to the age of revolutions that follows.
Absolutism and divine right
The English path: civil war and revolution
Why this contrast matters
The clash between absolute and limited government is one of the great themes of WHII. Absolutism (Louis XIV, Peter the Great) represents power concentrated by divine right; the English model represents power limited by law and Parliament and respectful of rights. This English example, the idea that even a king is under the law and that government should protect rights, combined with Enlightenment ideas (Locke's natural rights and government by consent, Montesquieu's separation of powers), would directly inspire the American and French revolutions. The contrast sets up the age of revolutions.
Try this
Q1. Name an absolute monarch and the belief used to justify absolute rule. [Recall]
- Cue. Louis XIV of France (or Peter the Great of Russia); the divine right of kings (royal power comes from God).
Q2. Explain the significance of the Glorious Revolution and the English Bill of Rights. [Short explanation]
- Cue. They established that the monarch's power was limited by law and Parliament and that the people had certain rights, creating a constitutional monarchy and showing that even a king is under the law.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of VDOE exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
VA SOL WHII (MC)1 marksAn absolute monarch such as Louis XIV of France claimed authority based on (A) the consent of the governed; (B) the divine right of kings, the belief that a monarch's power comes from God; (C) a written constitution; (D) election by the people.Show worked answer →
The correct answer is (B). Absolute monarchs such as Louis XIV of France claimed total power based on the divine right of kings, the belief that a monarch's authority comes directly from God and is therefore not subject to earthly limits or consent.
Why the others are wrong: (A) consent of the governed is an Enlightenment idea that challenged absolutism; (C) absolute monarchs ruled without being bound by a constitution; (D) they were not elected. Markers reward identifying divine right as the basis of absolute power.
VA SOL WHII (MC)1 marksThe English Glorious Revolution (1688) and the English Bill of Rights are significant because they (A) made the English monarch an absolute ruler; (B) established that the monarch's power was limited by law and Parliament, creating a constitutional monarchy; (C) abolished Parliament; (D) ended trade with the colonies.Show worked answer →
The correct answer is (B). The Glorious Revolution (1688) and the English Bill of Rights (1689) established that the monarch's power was limited by law and Parliament, creating a constitutional monarchy in which the ruler shares power and must respect certain rights.
Why the others are wrong: (A) it limited, not increased, royal power; (C) it strengthened, rather than abolished, Parliament; (D) it was about the balance of power at home. Markers reward identifying the limiting of the monarch by law and Parliament (constitutional monarchy).
Related dot points
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A standards-level answer on the Scientific Revolution and Enlightenment for the Virginia World History SOL: the scientific method and the discoveries of Copernicus, Galileo, and Newton, and the Enlightenment ideas of natural rights, the social contract, and separation of powers, with worked exam questions.
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A standards-level answer on the Reformation for the Virginia World History SOL: the causes including indulgences and Church corruption, Martin Luther and the 95 Theses, Calvin and Henry VIII, the Catholic Counter-Reformation, and the effects on religion and politics, with worked exam questions.
- Apply social science skills to understand the American and French Revolutions: how Enlightenment ideas shaped them, the causes and key documents of the American Revolution, the causes and course of the French Revolution including the Declaration of the Rights of Man, the Reign of Terror, and Napoleon (WHII.6 and WHII.8).
A standards-level answer on the American and French Revolutions for the Virginia World History SOL: how Enlightenment ideas shaped them, the causes and documents of the American Revolution, and the causes, course, and aftermath of the French Revolution including Napoleon, with worked exam questions.
- Apply social science skills to understand the impact of the European Age of Exploration: the motives of God, gold, and glory and new technology, the voyages of explorers such as Columbus and da Gama, the conquest of the Americas, the Columbian Exchange, the Atlantic slave trade, and the rise of mercantilism and colonial empires (WHII.4).
A standards-level answer on the Age of Exploration for the Virginia World History SOL: the motives and technology, the major explorers, the conquest of the Americas, the Columbian Exchange, the Atlantic slave trade, and the rise of mercantilism, with worked exam questions.
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A standards-level answer on nineteenth-century nationalism for the Virginia World History SOL: the Congress of Vienna, the rise of nationalism, and the unification of Italy (Cavour, Garibaldi) and Germany (Bismarck) through realpolitik and war, with worked exam questions.