Louis XIV was one of the winners in the Seventeenth century France. Louis the XIV was only five years old when he was ascended to the French throne after his father death. Louis’ mother Queen Anne selected Cardinal Mazarin as his regent. However, Mazarin lacked Cardinal Richelieu shrewdness that was Louis XIII’s most important adviser. Marazin attempted to increase the royal revenue, which led to the civil war called the Fronde; the war lasted from 1649 to 1652. After Mazarin’s death, Louis had to deal with an aristocracy that resented the increasing powers of the French monarchy. In order for Louis to achieve his goal, he adopted the concept of the “divine right of kings”. “They claimed that kings were placed on earth by God to uphold piety and justice” (Kishlansky, pg. 494).
Knowing this, he established the absolute sovereignty of Louis and his monarchy. Louis’ statement, (I am the state) represented that there was no higher level of authority that could ever control him (Kishlansky, 503).
During Louis XIV 72 year reign, France became a dominant power in Europe. Many countries envied France’s success in industry and agriculture. Louis chose Jean-Baptiste Colbert (1619-1683) to administer the government of France. He helped in reviving trade and economy of France. “Colbert’s fiscal reforms were so successful that in less that six years a debt of 22 million French pounds had become a surplus of 29 million. Colbert achieved that astonishing feat not by raising taxes but by increasing the efficiency of their collection” (Kishlansky, pg 508).
The Essay on Napoleon Russia France French
Napoleon was born on August 15 th, 1769 in Ajaccio (Capital of Corsica) which is an island 70 miles west of Italy. His parents were Carlo Bonaparte and Letizia Ra molino. They got married when Carlo was 18 and Letizia was 14, this was in 1764. Letizia was the one who was always putting food on the table, Carlo was way to lazy. His father was interested in politics. Napoleon got sent to military ...
Colbert organized factories and systems of productions, trading companies and colonies, which were known as mercantilism. The main idea of this was to build up the nation’s supply of gold by exporting goods to other lands and by earning goods in return.
With all this power, Louis XIV wanted to strengthen France by controlling its economy as well. He believed that there should only be no more then one religion and that religious unity was essential for absolute control. Therefore in 1685, Louis revoked the Edict of Nantes, which meant limiting toleration to Huguenots. He destroyed Huguenot schools and churches and took away their civil rights. Many of these Huguenot were exiled from France, which led these people to settle in Holland, England and America. Louis XIV had a strong desire to increase his kingdom that he also took control of the military actions of the state. By doing so, the French armies were able to gain some territory in Germany and the surrounding areas.
By establishing absolute control over every aspect of the government, Louis epitomized the “absolute monarchy”. As king, he controlled the economics, religion, foreign and domestic policies and military exploits of France. Louis did take that statement “I am the state” into great termination. He definitely ran the state and acted as if the state was there to serve him, he lived an extravagant life. He built a magnificent palace at Versailles, which was surrounded by great art and beautiful landscaping. “His residence at Versailles was the most glittering court of Europe, renowned for its beauty and splendor. It was built on a scale never seen before, and Louis took personal interest in making sure it was fit for a king” (Kishlansky, pg.508).
Louis XIV, France’s Sun King, had the longest reign in European history (1643-1715).
During this time he brought absolute monarchy to its full potential, established a glittering court at Versailles and fought most of the European countries in four wars which were the First Dutch War (1667-1668), the Second Dutch War (1672-1678), the War of the League of Augsburg (1681-1697) and the Fourth War- War of the Spanish Succession. Although his reign had some negative aspects on balance, Louis’ reign was primary a benefit to France. I believed that he was truly a great and powerful king because he always insisted on his beliefs as being a god given ruler.
The Essay on King control
After 400 AD, there was no central power in the West, but a central ecclesiastical power, which claimed primacy from the earliest times. The barbarian invasions and the ensuing anarchy resulted in a tremendous growth in the power of the papacy. With the appearance of strong political powers in Europe, a struggle between the papacy and the kings started to grow. The principal disagreement was the ...
Cardinal Richelieu was another winner in the Seventeenth century in France. Richelieu was Louis XIII chief minister. Richelieu’s goal was to establish the supremacy of the king and French domination of the European continent. He achieved these objectives by destroying fortified castles of the French nobles, which had long been a symbol of their independence. Richelieu defeated the Huguenots and took away many of the military and political privileges granted them by Edict of Nantes. “They were allowed to maintain their religion, but not their special status. They would have no privileges other than to be subjects of the king of France. Richelieu’s program was a vital prelude to the development of absolute monarchy in France (Kishlansky, pg.507).” Richelieu involved France in Thirty Years War, supporting the Protestants in order to weaken the domination of the Spanish Habsburgs and establish French control on the continent. “Richelieu provided his sovereign a rationale for the harsh rule he knew to be requisite with strengthening and maintaining the authority of the French State.” (http://www.lucidcafe.com/library/95sep/richelieu.html)
