One of the best examples of the result of an Absolute monarch's rule was Phillip II of Spain. During his rule he made Spain the most powerful nation in Europe in the 1500's. Under Phillip II's rule, enormous amounts of wealth came to Spain causing a boom in the economy. Phillip II also redirected all power to himself including politics and religion.
Politically, Phillip II ruled with an iron fist. His main focus in his country was Politics. To ensure his absolute power, Phillip centralized all royal power. Phillip II micromanaged every aspect of the political system. What this means is; say you have a job in a big corporation, normally the boss of the branch would instruct you, and the boss of the branches would instruct him, and the CEO would instruct him. Well, Phillip II would be the CEO in that instance, but what he did differently was, he told each person, even down to you what to do, he didn't delegate at all to ensure he was in total control.
Phillip II basically stood on a mountain of gold and silver when it came to the economy. During his reign, towns were being set up in the Americas and all the wealth of the land was being sent back to Spain. 2 continents worth of gold were being shipped to Spain for over 100 years making the country extremely rich. An example of this massive wealth comes from a shipping log; “on March 22, 1595, ships from the Indies began to discharge and deposit with the Chamber of Commerce 332 carts of silver, gold, and pearls. This was a haul for one day. The royal family got 40% of the profit.” Imagine a garbage can full of gold, silver, and pearls-that's enough money to pay off all of your debts, your house, your cars, and any other debt, and then retire comfortably. Now image 332 of those garbage cans full of gold, silver, and pearls. Then, you receive that about once a week for 100 years and that's Spain's wealth. With all of this money Spain became the superpower of Europe at the time.
Phillip II called himself the most Catholic king and with good reason. He was extremely religious his entire life, and went on many conquests “because god told him to”. Another key factor to his religious rule was his claim to the thrown, he claim to rule through Devine Right. Devine Right means that god himself has chosen that particular person to rule in that day and age and his actions were those of god's working through man. Phillip II took over the Vatican and controlled the Pope, if that isn't Religious absolutism, I don't know what is. Phillip II forced the Pope to make decisions that he, (not the Pope) wanted.
Under Phillip II's rule, he puts together the largest armada of ships up to that point. There were over 130 ships in his fleet and he used that armada to unsuccessfully attack England. In the end, the loss was due to his Micromanaging, part of the reason he was considered an absolute monarch. Before that defeat though, Phillip waged war with several different empire including; the Ottomans, and the Netherlands.
Phillip II created a society based on the Arts and Literature. This meant, instead of focusing on other things, like military (which he still had a massive army) his main focus for the people was to “culturize” Spain. He allowed for books and Art pieces to be written and painted freely allowing his nation to culturally flourish. With all the wealth brought to Spain, many “average” people of Spain could afford to purchase foreign art pieces extremely cheaply for their standards if they chose to helping to boost Spain's culture,
Overall, Phillip II is defiantly the most absolute monarch in history. He controlled every aspect of Politics, Economics, Religion, Military, and Culture. Phillip II made Spain a leading world power, not something much if any absolute monarchs are able to do. He micromanaged every aspect of the military, which lead to his loss against England, but still shows his ultimate power in the sense that a man that knows barely anything about military tatics has the authority to control an entire fleet of ships (over 130!!!). Phillip II was an extremely powerful monarch and he has changed the course of history even up to now and probably into the future.
