As you wrote in the assignment sheet, Louis XIV and Peter the Great both wanted to do great things. They had many goals in common, as well as many different goals, and, though the two had much in common, worked in very different ways to achieve said goals. They were both autocrats, believing that all decisions concerning the countries in which they lived should be made by them. They both wanted to expand their countries—not only physically, in the context of gaining more and more land, but also building up strong armies and increasing their countries prestige. They both invested a lot of time and money into the creation of their own “places,” for Louis XIV, Versailles, and for Peter the Great, St. Petersburg (specifically the Hagia Sofia.) They both also put a great deal of time, effort and energy into the military forces where they ruled. Louis IV did this with the help of Turenne, the marshal general of France. Peter the Great created the first Russian navy, reorganized the army, got rid of the Streltzky, and adopted the western idea of colleges. To provide for all this expanding of his military, Peter the Great introduced many new taxes, including a soul tax—a tax for simply being alive. Peter preferred to live comfortably, and didn’t have a need for extravagance as much as Louis XIV did. But that didn’t mean he didn’t think big. Peter’s main goals were to modernize Russia, and to make it a major European power—a force to be reckoned with—and also to gain control of the church. He tried to achieve these in many different ways. One way he attempted to make Russia more powerful was by westernizing the country. He traveled all over Western Europe, learning about the culture, more modern practices and way of ... ... middle of paper ... ... left France bankrupt. Louis had to compromise—he and his heirs could never combine the Spanish and French crowns, but his grandson would be king. In conclusion, though the goals and outcomes were different in many ways, Louis XIV and Peter the Great both sought to do great things. Louis XIV died unpopular in his country, having had the spotlight on him for years in Europe. He hadn’t made the huge leaps that he had hoped as far as land goes, but he had made small gains of land, and had gained the crown for his grandson, Phillip V of Spain. He also built fortresses around the country and reshaped the French economy. Peter the Great succeeded in modernizing and westernizing Russia. By his death, Russia was considered much more of a leading state in Europe than ever before. He modernized the army, created a navy, and succeeded in centralizing the government.
During Peter the Great’s reign a major problem in Russia was serfdom. Serfs were peasants that were forced to work on a noble’s land and were basically slaves. Serfdom was a major organization in Russia up until 1723 when Peter converted the household slaves into house serfs. Unfortunately, conversion to serf status and the later ban of the sale of serfs without land did not stop the trade in household slaves, it simply changed its name. Peter the Great was generally well liked by his nobles, even though he taxed them for absurd things like beards, beehives or corners in a house. The fact that the nobles still sided with Peter on everything after being taxed for ridiculous things showed their loyalty. However, Louis XIV had economic difficulties. To help fix this he hired Jean-Baptiste Colbert who invented Mercantilism, an economic system where exports exceed imports to maximize profit and create a self-sufficient state--great for an absolute monarch. However Colbert did not address Louis’ real issue which was him not taxing the nobles. The nobles refused to pay taxes and also did not like Louis; they just couldn’t do anything about it. Since, Louis could not sufficiently tax his nobles instead he relied on the bourgeoisie and peasants to pay excessive taxes. As you can see,
I believe that there was so much attention given to Peter the Great because of his extensive reforms. Peter brought both social and economic changes to his country. He wanted to make Russia big. Peter transformed the culture; he wanted his people to wear the western European fashion. Many of the people were not thrilled with the change because they did not like the ways of the western European societies. He made his navy stronger, he reformed his army to meet the western standards, and he gained control over the church.
nation. In order to become a true absolute ruler Louis xiv needed to make sure
King Louis developed and expanded his kingdom economically in many ways. He encouraged trade fairs and created helped to create jobs. This reorganization of the economy united France and also
Peter the Great had many goals during the time he ruled. One of his biggest goals was to modernize and westernize Russia. The main reason Peter the Great modernized Russia was because he did not want the country he ruled to be left vulnerable to expansionist powers in Europe. The powers were constantly at war, fighting to take over each other’...
One way in which they were different was in their personalities. Louis XIV was a pleasant individual, whose “great qualities shone more brilliantly by reason of and exterior so unique and incomparable as to lend an infinite distinction to his slightest actions” (Document 2). He was a personable being and had “the very figure of a hero” (Document 2). Lastly, he was sympathetic and “showed a natural kindness of heart and a sense of justice” (Document 2), making him a great ruler and an even better person.
Before Russia was ruled by Peter the Great, Russia was much less developed than other countries in Europe. Peter the Great determined that the best way to catch the European powers was to follow the European footstep. He looked for Western technicians and scholars while he simultaneously sent Russians to European schools and vocations so they could one day return as experienced Europeans ready to teach the next generation of Russians. He reformed Russia, turning it into a modernized empire relying on advanced military, efficient government, great education resources and extensive trading with other countries.
King Louis XIV created a legacy for himself and his family that would last for centuries to come. The King built an empire around himself, created a magnificent and unprecedented estate at Versailles, indulged himself in the most exquisite and unique ways of life (even for a king), and kept his country in relative check from imploding on itself. However, his reign was not without flaws and setbacks as he drove France into an extreme amount of debt through the many wars he had begun or by the lavish lifestyle through which he lived. As King, Louis had multiple events impact his way of conducting himself and his country in the future, some of which would lead to the debt of France and others that would leave the King with a unique mark on history.
While the two kings had many differences their militaries were surprisingly similar. They both had military troops that guarded and walked around the palace. The kings’ military was not only used for protection but also for spreading their beliefs and ideals. Their military was alert and ready to protect if there was to be an attack on the palace. King Louis XIV and Philip II both would have enough troops to go to war and express their thoughts but also enough to protect the palace.
Louis and Peter had quite a balance of similarities and differences between their politics. Louis and Peter both viewed themselves as above the law, however Louis thought this a bit more so than Peter. Louis XIV was quite arrogant and
Louis XIV and Peter the great were absolute monarchs who created strong armies, and built strong central governments to obtain absolute power. Both absolute monarchs controlled the nobles and did several things to expand their land. Both rulers wanted to limit the power of the nobility and increase the power of monarchs in order to gain absolute power. Louis XIV and Peter had many goals in common and they also had some goals that were different. Even though they had similar goals, they both used different strategies and ways to achieve their goals.
Peter realized that his people were going to need to be educated about his advancements if he wanted to be successful. He hired experts to educate his people on these new advancements. Peter The Great also focused heavily on advancing industry and helped the middle class, as it was struggling at the time. He was focusing on industry because he realized that Russia needed industry in order to produce more. Peter was focusing on the future of Russia and not just the current time (late 1600’s and early 1700’s).
Peter the Great was trying ultimately to make the Russian Empire more Europeanized or Westernized. He wanted to protect and enhance the vulnerable Russian Empire. Peter the Great saw that other European countries are colonizing in other regions like the New World, Asia, and Africa. Peter saw this as a threat and didn’t want for the Europeans to conquer Russia. Through decrees to shave and provisions on dress, he was trying to make them European. He also wanted to make military and economic reforms that could help the empire itself. If they built factories, they didn’t need to get supplies from Europe.
...s was from a military stand point, which was rare for him. In 1667, Louis attacked a portion of the Netherlands that was owned by the Spanish. This resulted in the gaining of 12 towns, which encouraged Louis to attack the Dutch Netherlands, which did gain him a few wealthy port towns, before ending in disaster. Louis’ last great success was the building of the Palace of Versailles, which as described earlier was a feat never before matched by a ruler.
King Louis XIV's 72 year reign was incredibly influential in shaping French history. King Louis XIV’s childhood was traumatic because of “La Fronde” which was a noble rebellion against the monarchy. This experience taught King Louis XIV to distrust the nobles. It was for this reason that he eventually excluded nobility from the council and surrounded himself with loyal ministers whom he could control. He also separated the aristocracy from the people of France by moving the court to the Palace of Versailles. One of the most notable of King Louis XIV’s decisions was that he refused to appoint another Prime Minister after the death of Prime Minister Mazarin. Every decision, from the declaration of war to the approval of a passport, went through him personally. During his reign as king, France participated in several wars including the War of Devolution, in Anglo-Dutch War, and the War of the Spanish Succession. Another major action he took was the proclamation of the Edict of Fontainebleau, which revoked the Edict of Nantes, imposing religious uniformity through Catholi...