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It is said that Louis XIV proclaimed "I am the state!" Whether or not he really said it is debatable, but the meaning of such a statement is clear. Through the course of the 17th Century various regimes across Europe began to model their states of off the very theme of "I am the state,"; that is, the monarch personified and had absolute control over his nation. Prior to the 17th Century such absolute control …

…is difficult to deny that absolutism was a powerful force in the 17th Century. Absolutism may seem harsh to people of the 21st Century, but for the many of those who experienced it, it was at least beneficial. The political instability of the time, the need to centralize, and the increasing sovereignty of Monarchs all were driving forces in making Absolutism popular and helpful. Despite its problems, absolutism eventually led Europe down the right path.