Monarchs are most associated with absolutism. This is because monarchs often claimed the divine right of kings in order to justify and maintain absolute power over the nation they ruled. The underlying logic of the divine right to rule lends itself to an absolutist approach to leadership, as opposed to, say, a republic, which is not based on an absolute divine right but on communal human principles. Oligarchs are not monarchs, and anarchy is, by definition, the state of having no government or ruler.

Monarchs argued that they had the right to absolute power because God had determined that they should be the ruler, as evidenced by their birth into the royal family. Divine right held, basically, that monarchs represented God's will on earth.

Charles thought the Hapsburg empire had become too large given its possession of Spain, Portugal, Italy, the Netherlands, Austria, the Holy Roman Empire, and colonies around the world. He decided it would be better to split the empire in two. His brother Ferdinand becoming the Holy Roman Emperor and King of Austria, and his son Philip Becoming King of Spain.

Oliver Cromwell rose to the position of Lord Protector following the declaration of a Commonwealth, and was tasked with suppressing the revolts of Ireland and Scotland against the new Parliamentarian rule.

William of Orange was one of the lords that ruled over various parts of the Netherlands. His wife Mary was daughter of the King of England, and they were asked by parliament to force May's father from the throne and take it for themselves.

James was an open Catholic, but his daughters from his first marriage were Protestant, thus the people of England thought his Catholic eccentricities would be short lived; however, he granted religious freedom to Catholics, allowing them to take public office in 1687, and in 1688 his second wife gave birth to a son who would be raised Catholic, thus meaning there could be a permanent Catholic dynasty ruling over England. These two events caused many influential members of Parliament to invite William of Orange to invade England and take the throne.

A limited monarchy is one where a monarch must share power with a legislative body (Parliament), or has their power defined and limited by a legal document (Constitution or Bill of Rights). Absolute monarchies are directly ruled by the monarch with no check from a legislative branch.

Louis XIV was called the Sun King because, like the galaxy revolving around the sun, France revolved around Louis.

Ivan the Terrible was the final Duke of Moscow and the first Czar of Russia. He declared himself to be the emperor of Russia when his Duchy of Moscow grew so large that it reached the size and stature of an empire, thus needing a new name.

The nobility of Russia were referred to as Boyars, which is derived from old Turkic meaning rich men. Members of the peasant class were referred to as "kulaks."