Research Notes
Louis XIV –
• Born 1638
• Was king in 1643 – ruled for 72 years
• His father died when he was 8 and he was named king technically
• Inherited a divided, bankrupt nation with a poor military
• He believed his power as king was a gift from god and he would rule as an absolute monarch
Louis XIV – http://history.wisc.edu/sommerville/351/351-13.htm
• Did not officially take leadership until death of Cardinal Mazarin in 1661
• Had a great appreciation for the arts – later built Palace of Versailles
• Married Maria Theresa, daughter of Philip IV of Spain, as to connect the 2 nations
• Very religious – attended mass everyday
• Replaced his mother from the high council with powerful clergymen and bureaucrats
• Louis blamed parliament of Paris for the Fronde – in 1673 he forced it to register edicts before it prepared remonstrates
• When the war with Spain ended in 1659, direct taxation and many arrears were written off – indirect taxation rose as France grew more prosperous
• Louis moved into Versailles in 1682 which set standards for royal palaces across Europe and acted as a showpiece of French monarch power
• The French Academy founded in 1634 extended artistic creativity
King Louis XIV – http://www.spanishsuccession.nl/louis.html
• Louis is remembered for raising French arts to peak level
• Also remembered for being a power hungry king attempting to submit everyone to his authority
• Cultural effects are in part a side effect to his political agenda
• Success in war with Spain brought high fiscal pressure which lead to the revolt of the Fronde in 1648 – ended with signing of Peace of Rueil in 1649
• Spanish conde was arrested which lead to revolt of several princes – this civil war ended with the surrender of the Bordeaux to the crown in 1653 – peace concluded in 1659 when france gained considerable territorial advantages
• At 21, louis had seen 5 years of civil war and a war with spain his whole life – his marriage with Maria Theresa was a condition forced upon spain to have peace
• French government moved from paris to Versailles in 1682 – it was an expressionof Louis’ glory – it was a place where he could gather his court and the higher aristocracy and nobility to keep an eye on them (he wanted to remain ‘top dog’) – the palace was close to Paris but far enough to be surrounded by an unruly population
• Louis’ policy of encouraging an extravagant lifestyle esured plenty of work for artists
• He expanded French borders
• Dies 1715
Britannica Encyclopaedia – http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/348968/Louis-XIV
• Was 9 during the fronde – civil war between mazarin and the government, in which he lived in both fear and poverty – shaped much of the kings personality since he was stripped of so much and lost trust in the actions of the nobles and Paris itself
• Mazarin won the civil war, reconstructed the government so the leader had more control to prevent this from happening again. At this time louis was a pupil to mazarin and looked up to the control mazarin had manoeuvred over the nobles. Also took on mazarins love of the arts and for elegance.
• At this time the spain war was ending and louis was instructed to marry marie-theresa to consolidate relations between to two countries
• Mazarin dies, louis shocks the country by taking over the entire state kingdom. Dictatorship by divine right – he saw himself as gods representative and treated all disobedience as a sin. Saw that he couldn’t do any wrong.
• Had the nobles duel with each other to find the better/stronger men – this put them in competition with each other and not with the king.
• Nobles had started 11 civil wars in 40 years
• Louis brought them to the court and corrupted them by food, drink, gambling yet all this was on the condition that they pleased him – nobles were no longer political influence
• Reformed the arts and way of life; inlfluenced artists, landscape, architecture and music in favour of himself
• He began to build extravagant residences in st germain, Versailles
• Versailles was an internationally admired palace that captured French prestige and embodied it stature. This allowed him to remove himself from the violent/influencial city but as well to isolate the court. This brought about an almost mythical quality
• Colbert’s reform: self sufficient country, maximize exports, bourgeois expanded with merchants and the army – recruitment and increased economy. Created more roads, canals, and ports to export
• Invaded Netherlands as he saw it as his wife’s property and to show the strong presence france had. His army helped him expand france, defeat dutch-spain coalition, and develop a navy as big as the English.
• Formed a military machine that continues during and after his reign
• 4 main military excursions: war of devoltion (spain), Dutch War, War of Palatinate, War of Spanish Succession
• Minister of war: free standing army with uniforms, ranks, equipment…
Textbook Notes
Pg 82
• Created the grandest court Europe had ever seen
• France developed a strong sense of nationhood – not just people from a particular region
• By 1715, france established an extensive overseas empire that provided resources and markets for it to be an economic power
• Influences of absolutism in eastern europe – peter the great
Pg 80
• Jean baptiste Colbert was appointed controller general by louis
• Central principle was mercantilism – government regulates economic activity based on the idea that international power is based on wealth
• Believed economic success depended on self sufficiency
• encouraged the creation of domestic industry ( tapestry, silk, cotton)
• discouraged imports to decrease money export
• created powerful merchant marine – ensured france’s positive balance in trade
• began trade with Caribbean and North American colonies
• encouraged colonization of new France
• taxation policies brought money to royal treasury – toll roads, milling and shipping taxes
• this put burden on poor instead of rich – thought if rich had more money in their pocket they would spend more
Louis – http://www.gameo.org/encyclopedia/contents/L6713.html/?searchterm=louis%20xiv
• he did not allow for the pope to interfere with political affairs
Louis XIV – Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. (book)
• a statement by louis to Parliament of Paris at age 13: “Gentlemen, I have come to my parliament to tell you that in accordance with the law of my state, I am going to take upon myself the management of my government and I hope that the goodness of god will grant that this will be with piety and justice…”
• the reaction was great applause of the witness, cries of joy, striking of drums, and trumpets.