Louis XIV and Absolute Monarchism
Louis XIV (the fourteenth) was an absolute monarch. He was often called "the Sun King," and ruled over France. He devoted himself to helping France achieve economic, political, and cultural prominence. Many historians believe the phrase "absolute power corrupts absolutely" mirrors Louis' reign. Louis XIV revoked the Edict on Nantes, changing the economy of France in one motion. By creating the city of Versailles and being a major patron of the arts, Louis was very influential on French culture. He made France go almost bankrupt from his costly wars and failures. Louis was very corrupt in his power, and it shown in all he did to change France; he got what he wanted, when he wanted it.
Louis' reign brought large economic gain and severe economic recession. He was the first king to embrace mercantilism in his country as the form of economy. Unfortunately, Louis was a devout Catholic, and ruined his economy with one move. He revoked the Edict of Nantes, the document that said that Huguenots could worship Protestantism in peace. This infuriated the Huguenots, and they left with their skills. By the loss of 200,000 skilled workers and business leaders, France's income dropped.
Louis' cultural goals were a large success. He changed French trends and etiquette, and was a major patron of the arts, meaning, he supported the art movements and artists, encouraging them and financing them. Because of Louis, France led Europe in the arts. He loved music and theatre. Louis was a great patron of the arts; he exceeded Augustus of Rome in his art aiding. He created the city of Versailles by turning his father's hunting cabin into a magnificent palace in the village of Versailles. Construction began in 1668, and wasn't done until 1710, but Louis moved in on May 6, 1682--showing his impatience.
Politically, Louis was corrupt because of his greed. He fought costly wars--in the high numbers of casualties and monetary encouragement--at the drop of a hat. His country was the most powerful, and was very populous. His armies were large in size at peacetime, and even larger in wartime. Their strength, though, was no match for the failure Louis faced in wars. His wars left France almost bankrupt. He wanted larger borders, went to any extent to get them, but lost all of the three times he tried.
One of the most notable of which would be his decision to completely reconstruct a new palace at Versailles. Such a great expenditure is blatantly criticized in Doc 7 where the Duc de Saint-Simon states, “the foundations and groves have buried more money than could ever appear”. Such expenditures, undoubtedly funded by taxpayer dollars expose Louis’ extremely self-serving distribution of funds when it came to matters of his own comfort. However, it is important to realize that Doc 7, written by a noble, must also be read with a watchful eye. The Duc de Saint-Simon’s assertions could possibly, though construction of a new palace would likely cost a tremendous amount of capital, be riddled by bias as a result of the absolutist King’s extreme suppression of nobility perks and privileges. The idea that Louis acted in his own interest in terms of capital distribution may be explained away by such bias had it not been for the evidence presented in Doc 4. Though on the surface it seems to show the public’s appreciation for the King, one must acknowledge the fact that an ‘inscription on a ceremonial arch of great architectural importance in Tournai’ was most likely commissioned by the King, and again funded by taxpayer dollars. Such a commission would expose the fact that the words stated in the inscription is not the point of view of the French people, but rather the desired
He moved his court because he did not feel safe in Paris and could watch over his court officials due to living so close to one another. This piece certainly provides evidence of what Louis himself valued, but perhaps these attributes are needed to effectively rule with absolutism. Throughout this entire document, the author is implying how great Louis is as a person and an effective ruler. He even goes to list his issues: “All his faults were produced by his surroundings...soon found out his weak point, namely, his love of hearing his own praises” (Saint-Simon). Louis cared deeply regarding his personal image and these weaknesses do not seem that drastic, but according to him, “It was this love of praise which made it easy for Louvois to engage him in serious wars” (Saint-Simon). The text gives historians information about Louis’ love-affair with Mademoiselle de la Valliere, compelling his courtiers to spend more than they earned creating a dependency, and other interesting details regarding his life that are excluded in textbooks. Overall, this document provides a deeper insight to King Louis XIV personality and justifications for why he chose the actions he did. Duc de Saint-Simon, someone that resided at the Palace of Versailles, can provide information about a man that ruled with an iron fist over his
During the reigns of King Louis XIV of France and King Peter I of Russia, also known as Peter the Great, the nobility was under strict control to limit its power and status in society and government. Both autocrats, or absolute rulers, put the nobles in an area separate from the rest of society to keep them under close watch. The kings’ opinion in religion also impacted the status and power of the nobility because most of them were skilled Protestants. This would prove itself as a problem in the long run for Louis XIV. Overall, Peter the Great and Louis XIV despised the nobility and their power in the government and went to many measures to subdue them.
The reading depicted the surprising visit of King Louis XIV, together with six hundred nobles and thousands of court servants at Chantilly in 1671. The host Prince de Condé and his most trusted headwaiter Francois Vatel was given fifteen days to be prepared for the arrival of the gigantic royal party. A spontaneous event of mis-arrangements during the preparation has gradually built up the stresses on Vatel which ultimately broke down his stress threshold and led to his tragic ending. Madame de Sévigné who was a talented letter writer in 17th century decided wrote down the tragic story of a courtier in her letter, even though she was never there to see it in person.
A Comparison of the Characteristics of the Absolutist Rule of Charles I of England and Louis XIV of France
However, because King Louis XIV was more interested in the creative activities of the state, France was weakened by several extensive wars, that and his
The French king wasn’t a strong leader or a strong king and he ended up losing his rain to Hugh Capet who ended up inheriting vast estates in the regions of Paris and Orleans, extending in some places south of the Loire River. He thus became one of the most powerful vassals in the kingdom and a serious danger to the Carolingian king, Lothar. After him the next generations were able to build France back up. Kings now were kings for almost thirty years and when they would die their sons would be of age to rule. France ended up dealing with terrible politics of a king that was more a soldier and warmongering king than a scholar. The way Louis VI raised money from his vassals made him quite unpopular; h...
Louis XIV controlled France’s economy. He began to heavily tax to support the military reforms. Louis agreed not to tax the nobility, therefore taking away the right for the upper class to have a say in where the taxation money was spent. This gave more and more power to the king. He could spend the money that he was getting from the poor and middle class in any way he pleased without upsetting the nobility. Unfortunately for Louis, the poor could not provide the money he needed. Soon, with the help of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, Louis introduced mercantilism in Europe. He regulated the flow of trade, making sure that France was exporting more than it was importing. To accomplish this, he raised the taxes on imports and lowered those on goods made in France. He encouraged skilled workers and craftsmen to immigrate to France, offering them goods and privileges.
Louis XIV is considered the “perfect absolutist” and he has been said to have been one of the greatest rulers in France’s history. He came up with several different strategic plans to gain absolute
Louis XIV was a leader during the time of absolutism. He was a very extravagant spender on things like personal life and military campaigns. For example Louise built The Palace at Versailles, this was an estimated 2.5 billion dollar palace. He hired 36,000 labors and 6,000 horses. Because he was the ruler of the economy, he was able to spend this much money on extravagant things like this. In the beginning the economy at the time was very strong because of John Batist. Yet, Louis spent so much money on such excessive and lavish things, it didn’t end up benefiting them in the long run, and it later led the government into huge debt. This could have been avoided if there were more
In order to gain the power he desired as an absolute monarch, Louis used a few key techniques that were very successful. His first and most necessary step to get all control was to take all of the nobles’ power, and make it so they were completely under his control. He first did this by taking the nobles’ positions of power, and either getting rid of them by doing it himself, or giving the jobs to loyal middleclass or some nobles who were completely loyal and under his control. Louis had very simple reasoning for doing this, which was that if the nobles had any power or control, they would have a better chance of overthrowing him, and that since there can only be so much total power, the more they had, the less ...
Louis fought his early wars for defensive purposes— to secure France’s northern border and to remove the Spanish from strategic towns. However, the Sun King pursued many subsequent wars to increase his power and influence. For example, Louis believed that if France had once historically controlled a region, France was justified in winning the region once again. Louis believed, as a divine right ruler, that he had the authority to break truces at will. Consequently, Louis made many enemies out of nearby countries, including Spain, England, and the Netherlands. After Louis won the Campaign in the Franche-Comte region in 1668, Europe was not interested in having France become the preeminent power in Europe. Louis believed that trade would generate wealth and by keeping trade within his own colonies, he could capture the profits that would have been otherwise outside of his control. By reorganizing the administrative and financial aspects of his kingdom and developing trade and manufacturing, he improved the prosperity of his empire. Louis sought to finance his military objectives from this new income stream, but ultimately, it was not enough. Louis XIV’s many wars, and the lavish life at Versailles, exhausted France of funds. Since only the lowest French classes such as the farmers paid the
... move, defunding any revolts they might plan, and preoccupying their time with petty social matters instead of matters of the state. If Louis’ reign was not supported by the enabling qualities of the Palace of Versailles, his reign would certainly not be as absolute as it was.
An Analysis of the Absolute Monarchy of France in the 17th Century This historical study will define the absolute monarchy as it was defied through the French government in the 17th century. The term ‘absolute” is defined I the monarchy through the absolute control over the people through the king and the royal family. All matters of civic, financial, and political governance was controlled through the king’s sole power as the monarchical ruler of the French people. In France, Louis XIII is an important example of the absolute monarchy, which controlled all facts of military and economic power through a single ruler. Udder Louis XIII’s reign, the consolidation of power away from the Edicts of Nantes to dominant local politics and sovereignty