In Europe, between 1648 and 1848, crucial progress was made
via a difficult path of learning and action. From Absolutism to Revolution
eponymously defines that progress. But there is a lot that the book contains
which the title cannot. This is not simply a political story about our fitful
western transition from monarchy to democracy. It is also a retelling of how
our thinking changed.
Rowen does not begin his account with a political treatise;
he begins with Sir Isaac Newton. Therein is an important distinction between
this and other histories on the topic of socio-political development towards
greater freedom. What Newton represents is the Scientific Revolution of the
Sixteenth Century. This seemingly non-political revolution challenged
established notions and static thinking. The “absolute truths” of
Judeo-Christian Europe were beginning to be challenged by a non-belief-based,
empirical, experimental way of looking at the world. Once the answers to how
the world worked were no longer satisfied by the phrase “God made it this way
and any questioning is blasphemy,” then any number of ideas could be called
into question. All kinds of traditional plans for humanity, based on argument
from authority alone, were open to reinterpretation. Even the Divine Right of
Kings, with their alleged authority from God, was up for debate. Well…at least
according to some people these notions were up for debate. It is not as if the
floodgates of free thought were now open and flowing unhindered. The entrenched
interests of Church, King and Aristocrat, who benefitted greatly from
maintaining argument from authority over argument from experience and
experiment, initially resisted even the suggestion that a debate was allowable.
Therein lay a tension that unfolds throughout the book in terms of both concept
and action.
Since this book is as much about changing ideas as it is
about changing society, Rowen offers a structure that addresses this premise. The
book is divided into four sections: 1) “The Age of Louis XIV,”(1648-1715), when
absolutism was at its height and the foundational challenging ideas were being
formulated and expressed. 2) The “Age of
Enlightenment” (1715-1789), when a public sphere in opposition to the royal
sphere had been firmly established and was gaining traction. 3) “The Age of
Revolution” (1789-1815), covering the French Revolution, through Napoleon’s era
of conquest to his final defeat and examining the response in the rest of
Europe. 4) “The Age of Restoration” (1815-1848), examining the reactionary
period of monarchical power, along with the democratic or forward-thinking
ideas which survived in that period and developed into guiding principles that
resulted in the revolutions of 1848.
Most of the writing is not Rowen’s. He allows the proponents
of conservativism and progress to speak for themselves. At the beginning of
each section, the author presents a short synopsis of activities, and debated
ideas, in the time period discussed. He then presents short chapters, each
introducing a key individual, whose ideas and influence were central to the
period and issues of the chapter. A one or two paragraph biography is followed
by a selection of that writer’s best work. In this way, the reader is able to
acquaint herself with both the important individuals and the opposing ideas of
a given time period. There are 78 prominent figures, each with an associated
writing, or collaborative document (like French Revolution’s “The Declaration
of Rights).
Significantly, none of the writers are of non-white descent
and only one (Catherine the Great) is a woman. While it is true that women and
minorities did not fill the halls of power in a predominantly white Europe,
there were considerable contributions made by those groups which are
overlooked. It is surprising that Rowen fails to include African European
voices in his section on ending slavery. Notable women, like Mary
Wollestonecraft and Mme de Stael, who contributed importantly to the ideas of
their times, are similarly ignored. From Absolutism to Revolution was
written in 1963, in the United States. Even though there was an active movement
for African American equality, and discussion of “the woman question” among
universities, these notions apparently did not filter into Professor Rowen’s
mind in a way that affected his work.
It is impressive that the historian permits important
personages to speak for themselves, rather than coloring the picture with his
own narrative. Rowen thusly offers his audience an opportunity to read, at
length, pivotal primary sources by crucial, historic people. In this way, the
words and people come alive in their contexts, revealing the impact of resolute
individuals and the transformational importance of ideas.
Rowen, Herbert H. (ed.). From Absolutism to Revolution:
1648 – 1848. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1963.
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