Kinds Of Government Used The French And The Spanish In America
The kind of government the French people had was very simple. They had an absolute monarchy where the kings will is law. Meaning one ruler has supreme authority and where that authority is not restricted by any written laws, legislature, or customs. One of the strongest parts that existed under this absolute monarchy was inequality. Inequality during that time for those French people was the fact that unless you were a member of a clergy or a nobel, you were taxed very highly and you did not have a say in anything or any rights.
Another important factor about France during that time is that there were no type of parliaments. There was a heavy debt, and that is all because of the fact that there was too much spending from the wealthy people. The class estates for France was Clergy one percent, Nobel two percent, and the peasants and workers made up ninety seven percent. During this time the King under the Old Regime was Louis XVI. He wasn’t a very strong king. Just because he didn't like making decisions much. He was also the last King of France before Monarchy fell down during the French Revolution. The way people referred him was “Citizen Louis Capet” during the four months before he was executed. He was executed because he was caught trying to escape France. The people felt betrayed and thought that he was guilty of treason.
The kind of government the Spanish were represented by crown-selected emissaries or governors. The Spanish were Monarchs. They needed to comply with the ruler's laws and could make none of their own. Settlers were restricted to Catholics and the Protestants were persecuted and driven out if they did not agree. Their population growth was very slow compared to the others because they had great emphasis on military conquests, the poor relations with the Native Americans, and because they failed many times trying to establish permanent settlements. The states with the most population were in Mexico, Texas, California, and Florida. The Spanish had failed to create colonies with robust economies. That is why later Spain decided to emphasize the conversion of Native peoples to Catholicism. The soldiers viewed them as fit only for killing or subjugation.
Which prohibited manufacturing within its colonies, and limited trade with the Native Americans, and only in search of gold. Both the French and the Spanish Americans compared to the British colonies were not very well organized. The British had elected legislatures. The “lower” houses were chosen by the popular votes. Just like parliaments, the assemblies exercised influence over the royal governors by paying their salaries.
One big thing that made the British more pleasant was the fact that unlike the French, self-government was expected and cherished. Britain was governed by mix forces. These include, The house of common, the house of lords, and monarchs. The one with most power was the house of common. It had mainly all the wealthy people. The house of lords was working next to the house of common. They had a great amount of power as well and finalizing many decisions about the financial parts. The monarchs on the other hand had very little power than those others because of the “Constitutional monarch” and “the act of settlement”.
