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Following the European Renaissance a New Type of Government Emerged ? Lorri Mealey Jun 16, 2007 Absolutism, or an Absolute Monarchy is based on the idea that monarchs have divine rights, and do not need to answer to parliament or their nobility. Following the Renaissance in Western Europe, two new types of governments evolved: Constitutional State and Absolute Monarchy. These two forms of government would become the model for emerging nations in both North and South America. Power of the Absolute Monarch Absolutism, or an absolute state, is based on the idea that kings (or queens, as the case may be) have divine rights and answer only to God. They do not need to heed advice of parliament, the estates general or the nobility. This ultimate political power gave monarchs jurisdiction over every aspect of the lives of their citizens. An absolute monarch regulated taxation and national spending, government, and religious sects. Absolute rulers also maintained standing armies, something that was impossible during the Middle Ages and much of the Renaissance, due to lack of hard coin. In many areas, absolute rulers began limiting personal freedoms of certain groups, such as the Jews. They also limited the power existing legislative bodies, such as the English Parliament or the French Estates General. Alliance is the Key to Power One main reason absolute monarchs were able to gain such unprecedented power was through mutual alliances with either the middle class, as was the case in France, or with the nobility, as they did in Spain. Absolute monarchs established bureaucracies to help run the day-to-day business of government. They selected loyal subjects to act as bureaucrats and these men reported directly to the monarch. French kings selected middle class men to run the government business, while Spain, having driven out most of the Jewish and Muslim middle class during the Inquisition, appointed nobles. France Spain France has long been touted as the perfect example