Late 17th century monarchy

Well, I thought of a nice little administrative monarchy, aimed at being the ruling methods in my TL where France and Britain are one big empire.

Explanation:

1. King: Liege | Duke: Vassal | The title "Duke" is hereditary

2. Duke: Liege | Count: Vassal | The title "Count" is hereditary

3. Count: Approves of Governor | Governor: Reports to the Count | The title "Governor" is not hereditary

4. Governor: Elected by City Council | City Council: Elects Governor | Governor is elected every 5 years

5. City Council: Elected by electorate | Electorate: All tax paying men over 21 - One man one vote (even though the one's with the money tend to persuade the other one's.. but beware, if the poorer one's band together!)| Only cities over 5,000 population are granted a the right to establish a city council

6. Count: Liege | Viscount: Vassal | The title "Viscount" is given for a lifetime, but not hereditary

7. Viscount: Liege | Baron: Vassal | The title "Baron" is given for a lifetime, but not hereditary

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8. King: Appoints Royal Counciliers (King presides the Council)| Royal Council: Reports to the King | Royal Council the sole authority to chose a heir if the monarch should die without one

9. Royal Council: Maintains Royal Administration (e.g. appointment of ministers) | Royal Administration: Reports to the Royal Council | Royal Administration oversees the bureacracy of the Empire, issues orders, laws, forwards ideas of the ministries, etc

10. Royal Administration: Composed of Royal Ministries | Royal Ministries: Specific ministries for certain tasks (e.g. Royal Ministry of Commerce) | They are ideally working together...

11. Royal Ministry: Composed of Royal Offices | Royal Offices: Regional represantation of certain ministries | The Royal Ministry of Taxation has got offices everywhere..

12. Royal Offices: Employs Royal Officers | Royal Officers: Workforce of the Royal Ministries | Royal Tax Officers collect taxes for the Royal Administration of all ranks below the King

13. Royal Council: Appoints Royal High Judges for lifetime | Royal High Court: Reports to Royal Council | Explicit prohibition of Royal intervention into R.H.Court's decision by law (Dukes would rebel!..)

14. Royal High Court: Can override decisions of Royal Courts | Royal Courts: Forward extremely important cases to the Royal High Court | Royal Courts are similar to Royal Offices - They're in every civilised place of the Kingdom

15. Royal Courts: Override decisions of Royal Sherrifs; employ Royal Sherrifs as executive for the any court's decision | Royal Sherrifs: Act as the executive for any court

16. Relation: Courts - Administration: Administration appoints all judges below the R.H.C. but is in turn controlled by all courts, and especially the high court | Royal Sherrifs control Royal Officers as well and forward complains of the population (especially the ones paying taxes..) towards the courts (for example unfair methods or bribery)

17. Relations: Vassals - Courts: Vassals are able to forward complaints about just anything which breaks the law to the courts | Courts control adherence to law by all people (even Dukes) | Royal Sherriffs are also subject to law (proto-police) but usually forward complaints to the specific courts and execute their decision

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Everybody in any governemtnal position, may it be a Duke or an officer has to swear to protect the King (+ your respective liege), the country and the law.

So, whaddya think? Is it fine for the year 1678?

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It's a fine compromise between the stately hierarchy of Bodin's dream kingdom and the electoral participation claims of the hereditary estates. Its main problem IMO is that it is far too consistent and structured for 17th-century reality. Early modern government is messy and complicated, with overlapping jurisdictions and traditional prerogatives. I can't see how you could get the dukes and counts to go along with their alotted role in the system. OTL Absolutist government was developed alongside the feudal tradition, not through it, largely because the nobility (even many burghers and yeomen) was unwilling to accept the function of an intermediary.
 
It's a fine compromise between the stately hierarchy of Bodin's dream kingdom and the electoral participation claims of the hereditary estates. Its main problem IMO is that it is far too consistent and structured for 17th-century reality. Early modern government is messy and complicated, with overlapping jurisdictions and traditional prerogatives. I can't see how you could get the dukes and counts to go along with their alotted role in the system. OTL Absolutist government was developed alongside the feudal tradition, not through it, largely because the nobility (even many burghers and yeomen) was unwilling to accept the function of an intermediary.

Mh, that is true .. I wonder how this could happen nontheless. Maybe a succession of 3 Kings who work on revising the "constitution" again and again, making it as it is now? I mean, the tax part goes quite easily if the King's got the bigger army.

Perhaps as an information, the Grand Royaume constsits of England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, France and Burgundy. The big two and the end were captured only after Muslims conquered them for 10-15 years.

In that respect, the King had free hand to revise all the lands there, because nobody actually owned it! So he could make "clear borders" and while they probably changed over the next 200-300 years (that all happend in the mid-12th century), Dukes in the big continental part of the Kingdom weren't really going to feel much changes - Except for Tax officers not being able to go 'round getting too much taxes.

And the Royal Council could also be supported by the dukes, since they tend to be sitting there.. And if the Dukes support such things, then their vassal would have to as well. Or else, they're gonna do it at swordpoint.

I could work in a little nice civil war as well, similar to what happend in OTL England between Parliament and the King.
 
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