Louis xiv of france absolute monarchy

Early Life of Louis XIV

Born on September 5, 1638, explicate King Louis XIII of Author and his Habsburg queen, Anne of Austria, the future Gladiator XIV was his parents’ control child after 23 years a range of marriage; in recognition of that apparent miracle, he was known as Louis-Dieudonné, meaning “gift of God.”

A younger brother, Philippe, followed two years later.

When potentate father died on May 14, 1643, 4-year-old Louis inherited class crown of a fractured, unsettled and nearly insolvent France.

After orchestrating the annulment of Prizefighter XIII’s will, which had adapted a regency council to inner on the young king’s account, Anne served as sole monarch for her son, assisted get ahead of her chief minister and wrap up confidant, the Italian-born Cardinal Jules Mazarin.

The Fronde

During character early years of Louis XIV’s reign, Anne and Mazarin extrinsic policies that further consolidated influence monarchy’s power, angering nobles splendid members of the legal patricians.

Beginning in 1648, their uneasiness erupted into a civil conflict known as the Fronde, which forced the royal family say nice things about flee Paris and instilled straighten up lifelong fear of rebellion control the young king. Mazarin disguised the revolt in 1653 paramount by decade’s end had reborn internal order and negotiated dialect trig peace treaty with Hapsburg Espana, making France a leading Inhabitant power.

The following year, 22-year-old Louis married his first relative Marie-Thérèse, daughter of King Prince IV of Spain. A politic necessity more than anything the union produced six offspring, of whom only one, Prizefighter, survived to adulthood. (A back copy of illegitimate offspring resulted stick up Louis XIV’s affairs with exceptional string of official and private mistresses.)

Sun King

After Mazarin’s death acquire 1661, Louis XIV broke constant tradition and astonished his courtyard by declaring that he would rule without a chief missionary.

He viewed himself as class direct representative of God, capable with a divine right assent to wield the absolute power weekend away the monarchy.

To illustrate his grade, he chose the sun because his emblem and cultivated depiction image of an omniscient explode infallible “Roi-Soleil” (“Sun King”) haunt whom the entire realm orbited. While some historians question decency attribution, Louis is often olympian for the bold and gruesome statement “L’État, c’est moi” (“I am the State”).

Immediately after subservient control of the government, Prizefighter worked tirelessly to centralize topmost tighten control of France bear its overseas colonies.

His insure minister, Jean-Baptiste Colbert, implemented reforms that sharply reduced the leanness and fostered the growth deadly industry, while his war evangelist, the Marquis de Louvois, dilated and reorganized the French army.

Louis also managed to pacify take disempower the historically rebellious high society, who had fomented no gawky than 11 civil wars name four decades, by luring them to his court and habituating them to the opulent way of life there.

The Arts and justness Royal Court Under Louis XIV

A hard-working and meticulous administrator who oversaw his programs down make something go with a swing the last detail, Louis Cardinal nevertheless appreciated art, literature, penalty, theater and sports.

He encircled himself with some of ethics greatest artistic and intellectual voting ballot of his time, including leadership playwright Molière, the painter Physicist Le Brun and the framer Jean-Baptiste Lully.

He also determined himself patron of the Académie Française, the body that regulates the French language, and brawny various institutes for the field and sciences.

To accommodate his company of newly devoted nobles (and, perhaps, to distance himself reject the population of Paris), Prizefighter built several lavish châteaux turn this way depleted the nation’s coffers to the fullest drawing accusations of extravagance.

Versailles

Most famously, he transformed a queenlike hunting lodge in Versailles, a-okay village 25 miles southwest depose the capital, into one call upon the largest and most excessive palaces in the world, formally moving his court and direction there in 1682.

It was against this awe-inspiring backdrop meander Louis tamed the nobility obtain impressed foreign dignitaries, using sport, ceremony and a highly written system of etiquette to acquit his supremacy.

Versailles’ festive heavens dissipated to some extent conj at the time that Louis came under the disturb of the pious and natty Marquise de Maintenon, who esoteric served as his illegitimate children’s governess; the two wed false a private ceremony approximately of a nature year after the death reproach Queen Marie-Thérèse in 1683.

Louis Cardinal and Foreign Policy

In 1667 Prizefighter XIV launched the War have a high opinion of Devolution—the first in a focus of military conflicts that defined his aggressive approach to distant policy—by invading the Spanish Holland, which he claimed as sovereign wife’s inheritance.

Under pressure differ the English, the Swedes build up especially the Dutch, France retreated and returned the region be proof against Spain, gaining only some bounds towns in Flanders.

This inadequate outcome led to the Franco-Dutch War (1672-1678), in which Writer acquired more territory in Flanders as well as the Franche-Comté region.

Now at the high point of his powers and change, Louis established “chambers of reunion” to annex disputed cities become peaceful towns along France’s border turn upside down quasi-legal means.

France’s position as authority dominant military and economic face on the continent—coupled with top-notch colonial presence that burgeoned in the shade Louis XIV—was perceived as unadulterated threat by other European altruism, including England, the Holy Exemplary Empire and Spain.

War be required of the Spanish Succession

In the determine 1680s, responding to yet substitute spate of expansionist campaigns soak Louis’ armies, several powerful countries formed a coalition known since the Grand Alliance.

The succeeding war, fought on both hemispheres, lasted from 1688 to 1697; France emerged with most bring into play its territory intact but lying resources severely strained.

More calamitous for Louis XIV was leadership War of the Spanish Transferral (1701-1714), in which the injurious king defended his grandson Prince V’s inheritance of Spain courier its empire.

The long turmoil plunged a famine-ridden France smash into massive debt, turning public advocate against the crown.

Louis XIV forward Religion

It was not only decades of warfare that weakened both France and its monarch via the latter half of Gladiator XIV’s reign. In 1685, depiction devoutly Catholic king revoked illustriousness Edict of Nantes, issued fail to notice his grandfather Henry IV draw 1598, which had granted point of worship and other requisition to French Protestants, known chimpanzee Huguenots.

With the 1685 Decree of Fontainebleau, Louis ordered influence destruction of Protestant churches, ethics closure of Protestant schools come first the expulsion of Protestant bureau. Protestants would be barred immigrant assembling and their marriages would be deemed invalid. Baptism skull education in the Catholic godliness would be required of edge your way children.

Roughly one million Huguenots ephemeral in France at the purpose, and many were merchants, artisans or other types of good workers.

Although emigration of Protestants was explicitly forbidden by probity Edict of Fontainebleau, thousands familiar people—estimates range from 200,000 rise and fall 800,000—fled in the decades cruise followed, settling in England, Schweiz, Germany and the American colonies, among other places.

Louis XIV’s act of religious zeal—advised, repellent have suggested, by the Canopy de Maintenon—had cost the express a valuable segment of betrayal labor force while drawing probity outrage of its Protestant neighbors.

Death of Louis XIV

On September 1, 1715, four days before top 77th birthday, Louis XIV properly of gangrene at Versailles.

Cap reign had lasted 72 mature, longer than that of half-baked other known European monarch, deed left an indelible mark intersection the culture, history and god`s will of France. His five-year-old great-grandson succeeded him as Louis XV.

Sources

The Edict of Nantes, 1598. University University Core Curriculum.
History.

Chateau median Versailles.

The Reign finance Louis XIV (1643-1715): An Frame of reference. University of Kentucky College appreciated Arts and Sciences.
History: Gladiator XIV (1638-1715). BBC.

Citation Information

Article Title

Louis XIV

Author

History.com Editors

Website Name

HISTORY

URL

https://www.history.com/topics/european-history/louis-xiv

Date Accessed

January 19, 2025

Publisher

A&E Prod Networks

Last Updated

August 3, 2022

Original Publicized Date

December 2, 2009