King Louis Xiv Essay

909 Words2 Pages

King Louis XIV ruled France from 1638-1718, his reign is the longest in European history(Textbook 470). Louis XIV was called the sun king and rightly so, since all aspects of French society revolved around him. King Louis the fourteenth was an absolutist monarch, who unified France by centralizing France's government, laws and religion. Louis placed himself at the center of all decision making and surrounded himself with men who posed no threat to his power. Louis’s successful leadership can be attributed to Louis setting himself at the top of the hierarchy and making all those under him work for his favors. Louis who believed it was his divine right to be king, and worked with men who were loyal and dependent upon only him. Louis did not …show more content…

Louis XIV was a Catholic who felt that all of France should have one religion. Unlike previous French kings, he did not tolerate Protestants. He felt that,"religious unity was essential to his royal dignity and to the security of the state" (Textbook 471). He rescinded the Edict of Nantes and passed a law that insisted that Huguenots give up their Protestant faith and convert to Catholicism. The Huguenots who did not convert were forced to leave the country. Louis XIV answered to nobody but God, but he was wise enough to know that he did need to appease the Nobles. Louis XIV kept a close eye on the Nobles by having many of them live with him at massive palace, Versailles. He made Versailles the center of the political, social and cultural life in France and Nobles feared rebelling against the king since,"he controlled the distribution of state power and wealth, nobles had no choice but to obey and compete with each other for his favor at Versailles" (Textbook 472). Louis XIV had a lot of wealth to distribute to keep his subjects happy and obedient to him. Louis also controlled those under him by moving the court and government outside of Paris to his palace,Versailles where he could oversee all …show more content…

France expanded her boundaries, "after conquering Strasbourg and the province of France-Comte, at the moment the King seemed invincible"(476). Louis strengthened France's economy with the help of his controller general, Jean-Babtiste Colbert. Mercantilist policies were used to regulate France's imports and exports. The aim was to have more exports than imports. Domestic tariffs were ended and tariffs raised on imports(474). With money flowing into France, Louis XVI did not have to increase taxes much in his early reign. Louis helped unify France by creating a professional uniformed army funded by the state not the Nobles. Under Louis XIV, France was at war for 33 years (Textbook 475). The success of conquering new territories made Louis popular in his early years and,"represented the peak of Louis's success in reforming government"(Textbook 476). During the rule of Louis, France became the country to look to for the latest in fashion and "French became the language of polite society and international diplomacy.."(Textbook 474). Louis supported the arts and he lived and made those at Versailles, follow many different etiquette rituals and Louis's subjects competed with each other to be a part of the king's rituals in order to gain his favor. "The king controlled immense resources and privileges; access to him meant favored treatment

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