31 Aristocracy Facts For History Lovers!

An aristocracy is a form of government.

Aristocracy originated in Ancient Greece. Many countries practiced this form of government at a time.

But how did this form of government come into power? What significant areas in the world practiced aristocracy? Let us discuss these points in detail through this article.

Introduction To Aristocracy

It is true that aristocracy has been present for a long time. People who considered themselves aristocrats often wanted to gain power and utilize it. Let us read some points that will tell us about this government system.

• Aristocracy term was coined by the Greek philosopher Aristotle.
• Aristocracy is derived from the Greek word 'aristokratia' in which 'aristos' means best and 'kratos' means power.
• Basically, aristocracy means the rule of the best, or power hauled by the best.
• The Greeks came out with this as an idea that states are ruled by the best-qualified people.
• Aristocracy is known to be a form of government in which the people or state is ruled by a small group of individuals (usually privileged) who are known as aristocrats.
• The aristocrats are usually subjected to political power, social, and economic prestige.
• Aristocracy, oligarchy, monarchy (tyranny), and democracy were the four forms of government that persisted in Ancient Greece.
• In Ancient Greece, the members that formed the aristocracy were chosen carefully.
• Whereas in monarchy, the monarch or a single individual was provided the absolute power, aristocracy held a different belief.
• It was believed that wealthy aristocrats brought along better policies with them and the stature to fund those policies.
• Hereditary rule or rulers of the same family lineage connected more to oligarchy than the aristocracy.
• Oligarchy was considered to be a dishonest version of the aristocracy.
• A lot of Greek philosophers such as Aristotle, Plato, Xenophon, and Socrates used to believe aristocracy was better than democracy.
• The plus point to the aristocracy is that it can be incorporated and fused with both democracy and oligarchy.
• As time passed, aristocracy has been fused with oligarchy, and the ideal aristocracy vanished.
• In governmental aristocracies, the true aristocrats can be selected on the basis of their intellect and leadership quality.
• Aristocrats can also be selected on the basis of favor, usually done by monarchs, by giving them high-ranked positions.
• Monetarily sound individuals can also be considered to be aristocrats and form the aristocracy (something that usually happens).
• Aristocracies include the individuals who believe in rule by the best, whereas oligarchies include people who believe in rule by the few.
• As time passed, the virtues changed. In medieval aristocracies, the individuals or aristocrats were simply chosen because they could control their community and were monetarily loaded.
• Coming to the late 19th century, some aristocracies somehow maintained their hold in major countries, such as Germany, Great Britain, Russia, and Austria.
• Later on, these aristocracies dissolved as World War One intervened.

Failings Of Aristocratic Governments

Even when Aristotle and Plato appreciated aristocracy as the ideal form of government, what was the reason that led to the depletion of this system? Keep reading to know more about this issue.

• The history of aristocracies has been trashed with the ideology and accusation that aristocrats served self-satisfactory policies.
• Regardless of being known as one of the finest government systems in Ancient Greece, aristocracy lost its charm when it started to spread out.
• In Greece, aristocrats were chosen after they passed specific tests to prove their ability to be noble.
• Most of the citizens were able to apply for those positions as the ideal aristocracy was 'rule of the best citizens.'
• Best citizens included people of all strata, and everyone had a chance.
• But with the due passage of time, the definition of aristocracy changed and was only limited to the rule of the few, which started to sound much like an oligarchy.
• The people who were rulers during aristocracy started to govern to accomplish goals that satisfied their own interests.
• Money-minded aristocrats started taking charge of political power to make more money.
• The rule of heredity amongst the aristocrats started to emerge, because of which individuals who were not qualified to serve the society were also being put in positions of power.
• During the Industrial Revolution that happened in the mid-centuries, individuals with money started to be admitted into the aristocracies. In short, they bought their way inside.
• As soon as the more significant part of the population started to gain literacy and a considerable number of individuals started to gain expertise in their skills and work (which made them important and compulsory to the community), aristocracy started to see a sharp decline.
• Urbanization and modernization started to bring the idea of democracy into the mindset of the people, and aristocracy was slowly being scrapped out of the picture.
• As the world neared the mid 2oth century, the aristocracy was hugely affected and depleted throughout the globe.
• Still, now there are some countries that hold up their acceptance of aristocracies and continue following them.

Examples Of Aristocracy

It is evident that aristocracies still persist in some places on earth, but their power and political significance have decreased heavily. It is evident to say that the golden age of the aristocratic form of government has vanished. Let us talk about some famous aristocracies.

• The United Kingdom's aristocratic government was a prominent example in its time.
• Although the power held by the British monarchy has lost its touch, it still can be witnessed today.
• As the British monarchy declined, the British aristocracy still persists today and is displayed by the British Royal Family.
• British aristocracy can be dated back to 1066 when the Norman conquest was about to end.
• King William I, the Conqueror, took a drastic step as he decided to split the land into manors which were looked after by the Norman noblemen barons.
• After that, in the 13th century, King Henry III decided to join the separated lands and bring the barons together.
• The bringing back of the barons formed what we know as the House of Lords.
• The House of Commons joined the House of Lords in the British Parliament in the 14th century.
• House of Commons consisted of individuals elected from the towns and shrines, whereas the House of Lords had individuals who were nobles by heredity.
• Till the '50s, members of the British aristocracy were chosen or instead decided by the individuals' heredity.
• By the late '50s, this system changed, and 'life peers' were elected by the Crown, and these positions could not be inherited.
• Moving to Russia, the Russian aristocracy had its golden age during the 14th century.
• Although the political power and offices were managed by the monarchial Russian government.
• This went on till the Russian Revolution of 1917, and then things started to change.
• The larger part of the landowners in the 17th century consisted of nobles of the Russian aristocracy, such as lords and princes.
• The Russian aristocrats made a decision to make the army of their lands the primary force of the Russian military, which served the Russian Empire.
• The system of selection of members to the Russian aristocracy was changed by Peter the Great in 1722.
• He stated that members to be decided as part of Russian aristocracy can only be done if they served the monarch and not by their family inheritance.
• After the revolution of 1917, the classes of the Russian aristocracy were dissolved and disintegrated.
• The Russian aristocrats and their progeny started to live as merchants, citizens, and even peasants.
• But there was an exception, such as the successor of Vladimir Lenin and his father getting their nobility.
• Some of the Russian aristocrats left the country and settled out in parts of Northern America and Europe.
• Now talking about France, the French aristocracy surfaced during the middle ages.
• The French aristocrats got to keep their political power till the French Revolution abandoned it in 1790.
• In France, the members of the French aristocracy were majorly inherited.
• But then again, some French aristocrats were also appointed by the Monarch (monarchy and aristocracy were present at the same time).
• Some aristocrats bought their way into the membership, and some simply got married.
• A lot of social and economic rights and privileges were provided to the French aristocrats, such as the right to own land, possess a sword, and the right to hunt.
• Members of the French aristocracy were also devoid of paying taxes.
• They were also provided higher ranks in the different sectors such as military, religious and civic sections. These posts were reserved for them.
• In return, the monarchy just wanted them to stay loyal, serve, honor and advise the king, and serve in the military.
• After the French aristocracy was disintegrated after the Revolution that took place in 1789, they again came back to prominence around 1804.
• But this time, they had a limited range of rights and privileges provided to them.
• And then came the Revolution of 1848, after which the French aristocracy was totally dissolved for good.
• Some individual aristocrats were still there who just hereditarily held the title of being French aristocrats but had no privileges.
• Currently, the successors of these individuals only hold on to the titles and names to show their social quota.
• These were some of the exquisite examples of some of the best aristocracies that once flourished.

Features Of Aristocracy

Do you know which countries still follow aristocracy? What are the features that define aristocracy? Educate yourself with these facts about the aristocracy.

• Aristocracy was dominant in the medieval period in Europe.
• Political power and economic power were granted to them during that period.
• The ideal form of aristocracy consisted of ideas such as policies being projected by noblemen of the society, which uplifted the society rather than catering to their own interests.
• There are mainly three types of aristocracy that were notable in history.
• Land-owning aristocracy meant that noblemen used to give their lands to common people on rent for cultivation and plantation.
• Feudal aristocracy means the aristocrats used to work for the society in exchange for some services being provided to them.
• Military aristocracy means individuals who were present in military affairs particularly.
• Modern-day has a prominent example of aristocracy in the form of Parliament.
• Aristocracy can be merged with democracy, oligarchy, and monarchy.
• Often the in-power monarch used to select individuals to be admitted in aristocracy.
• It is true that in the medieval period, the individuals who were part of aristocracies were part of a royal family or belonged to the royal family lineage.
• The individuals belonging to aristocracies used to provide guidance on all domains of life, and they demanded productivity to be the only outcome.
• John Adams and Thomas Jefferson are regarded as the founding fathers of America, and they were believers of natural aristocracy.
• As per the definition of virtue ethics, only good individuals are capable of bringing out the good in society and making sound moral decisions. This is also considered to be one of the major ideologies behind aristocracy.
• The Roman Catholic Church is also an excellent example of religious aristocracies.
• But all the principles in aristocracies are based on one true idea, which is mass exploitation.
• Some examples of countries and provinces where the aristocratic government is still being followed are evolving countries like Nigeria, Kenya, and Ghana.
• Also, the Arabian Gulf countries are still being ruled by industrial and noble aristocracies.
• The European aristocracies have depleted and now stand only with social quota in certain formalities.
• It is also widely believed that an informal aristocratic group still exists in the world that makes self-satisfactory decisions and harms the population to gain that benefit.