What was the challenge faced by the Divine Right theory during the
seventeenth century?

Divine right of kings, in European history, a political doctrine in defense of monarchical absolutism, which asserted that kings derived their authority from God and could not therefore be held accountable for their actions by any earthly authority such as a parliament. Originating in Europe, the divine-right theory can be traced to the medieval conception of God’s award of temporal power to the political ruler, paralleling the award of spiritual power to the church. By the 16th and 17th centuries, however, the new national monarchs were asserting their authority in matters of both church and state. King James I of England (reigned 1603–25) was the foremost exponent of the divine right of kings, but the doctrine virtually disappeared from English politics after the Glorious Revolution (1688–89). In the late 17th and 18th centuries, kings such as Louis XIV (1643–1715) of France continued to profit from the divine-right theory, even though many of them no longer had any truly religious belief in it. The American Revolution (1775–83), the French Revolution (1789), and the Napoleonic Wars deprived the doctrine of most of its remaining credibility.

the intolerable acts were punitive laws passed by the british parliament in 1774 after the boston tea party. in great britain, these laws were referred to as the coercive acts.

superior technology and improved medical knowledge to foster imperialism. quinine enabled europeans

to survive tropical diseases and venture into the mosquito-infested interiors of africa and asia. the combination

of the steamboat and the telegraph enabled the western powers to increase their mobility and to quickly respond

to any situations that threatened their dominance. the rapid-fire machine gun also gave them a military advantage

and was in convincing africans and asians to accept western control. the following table summarizes the

causes of the new imperialism:

causes of new imperialism

economic military/political humanitarian/religious technological

need for markets need for military bases white man’s burden new medicine

raw materials national security spread of christianity new weapons

source of investments source of

pride—nationalism

social darwinism

(superiority of western

society)

transportation

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