Intro+to+absolute+monarchy

Directions complete each of the following activities and email the work to olympusglobal@gmail.com

Activity 1: Read the fictional story below and answer the 4 questions. For 60 years the most famous bagel store in Brooklyn has been Leo’s bagels. In 1950, Leo Sr. opened Leo’s bagels has been making bagels ever since. Growing up, Leo Sr. was very poor; he had to work very hard for many years to build a successful business. Six years ago Leo’s Sr. died and left the business to his son Leo Jr. Unlike his father Leo Jr. did not have to work to build his business. Leo inherited the business from his father. All of the wealth and power that Leo Sr. had created was given to Leo Jr. Leo Jr. believed in a very controlling style of management, he had absolute control over every aspect of his business. Unlike his father, Leo Jr. would not listen to any advice. He believed that he needed to have absolute control over Leo’s bagels. Employees were not allowed to question or challenge the authority of Leo Junior. Any one who challenged Leo Jr. was terminated. 1. How did Leo Jr. become the owner of Leo’s bagels? 2. What does it mean to have absolute control over something? 3. Describe Leo Juniors management style. 4. How did Leo Jr. handle employees who questioned his authority? Activity 2: After the decline of feudalism and the dominance of the Roman Catholic Church a new power developed across Europe, the absolute monarch. Throughout Europe new large nations were being formed, combining smaller kingdoms and city-states. Royal families who controlled every aspect of the government would rule these new countries. A monarch is a king or a queen. These rulers were thought to be God like figures that were above the people they ruled. This led to the idea of divine (God) right, the belief that God gave the Monarch the right to rule the people. The kings and queens of Europe were absolute monarchs, rulers who had absolute power over every aspect of the country. Absolute monarchs could not be challenged or questioned. People who dared to question the king or queens authority would be arrested or executed. When a king or queen died their power passed to their child. It did not matter if their offspring was qualified or intelligent, the child would be the new ruler. Power stayed within the royal family. Becoming king or queen was a birthright that did not have to be earned or worked for. Questions: 1. What is an absolute monarch? 2. How is the power of the absolute monarch similar to the management style of Leo Junior? 3. What is divine right? 4. Do you think people today would believe in the idea of divine right? 5. Based on what you learned in global 1 what other ideas are similar to divine right? 6. How did a person become the king or queen? How was this similar to the way Leo Junior became the owner of Leo’s Bagels?