AP European French Absolutism by David Tucker

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Slide Notes

Louis XIV reign was 72 years and 110 days, the longest still of any monarch in Europe. He chose the Sun emblem to evoke Apollo the Greek god of the arts and to signify that his reign, like the sun regulated all living subjects within his kingdom. He is the example of Absolutism that others in Europe and Russia would seek to emulate.

AP European French Absolutism

Published on Nov 18, 2015

French Absolutism, Louis XIII, Louis XIV, Versailles, Jean Baptiste Colbert, Mercantilism

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PRESENTATION OUTLINE

French Absolutism

Louis XIV - The Sun King (1643-1715)

Foundations of Absolutism

Louis XIII and Cardinal Richelieu

Cardinal Richelieu as an adviser to Louis XIII would put the French monarchy on the path to absolute rule but would never achieve it. Richelieu became known as a politique during the 30 Years War because of his alliance with Protestant German provinces in order to undermine Hapsburg power despite his own staunchly Catholic beliefs. Within France, Richelieu would become known for suppressing Protestantism especially during the siege of La Rochelle.

Photo by jean louis mazieres

Cardinal Richelieu

Brought nobility under control
Intendant system
French Academy
Tried to crush Protestantism -- Siege of La Rochelle

Richelieu brought several problems to the attention of Louis XIII who had, for the first part of his reign, suffered under his mother's, Marie de'Medici, near constant political intrigues and arbitrary personal rule. Louis XIII would banish his mother and execute several of her former advisers. That Cardinal Richelieu could boldly bring these problems up and continue in Louis' service until his retirement is a testament to his skill as a politician. The problems he outlined in his Political Testament were: too much power in the hands of the nobility, too much political power within the Huguenot population, and foreign alliances formed on personal interests rather than interests of the state. To combat these issues he instituted the Intendant System, which employed the newly rich merchants and members of the bourgeois to collect taxes and enforce royal policy rather than depend on the nobility for local enforcement of law. He also instituted the French Academy, responsible for standardizing the French language and serving as a center for French culture and science. This gave authority to a new sense of French national identity, crucial to state consolidation in this time period.

Civil War

The Fronde

The Civil War broke out after Louis XIII's death and under the rule of regent Queen Anne on behalf of her son Louis XIV. Louis XIII and Richelieu's policies angered two groups in French society, the nobles who feared their power was waning and commoners and farmers who suffered under the increasingly high taxes necessary to maintaining a growing centralized state apparatus. These resentments caused a Civil War in France that Louis XIV would experience as a young boy and it would serve to crystallize his belief that absolute rule was the only way to prevent his country from descending into anarchy or devolving into localized factions.

Louis' Legacy - Greater administrative, financial, military, and religious control of the state

Louis XIV inherited the throne at age 4, but personally took control of the rule of France after the death of his mother's main adviser, Cardinal Mazarin (Richelieu's successor) in 1661 (at age 23).

Photo by Chris.Lloyd

Versailles
Centralized Authority
Controlled the Nobility

Louis XIV built his palace at Versailles outside of Paris in order to assist in his consolidation of power. Louis required nobles to live at Versailles for some of the year and was extremely attentive to habits of attendance. He used the close quarters to control the nobility and play them off of one another often creating intense jealousy among them. In this environment of personal favors and snubs, Louis could elevate the status of the nobility while at the same time stripping them of real political power or any notion of sovereignty over their feudal lands. This separation of the ideas of status and power is a crucial development in the consolidation of state power under a single absolute ruler.

Photo by jebimasta

Big Idea: limit nobility's participation in governance but preserve their status

Photo by John Kroll

Untitled Slide

Photo by ajagendorf25

Jean Baptiste Colbert

Louis' Minister of Finance

Jean Baptiste Colbert served as Louis XIV's minister of finance from 1665 to his death in 1683. He encouraged the development of new industries within France in order to decrease the importation of foreign goods most notably in the textile and glass industries. He also encouraged the growth of the French merchant marine which served as both a carrier for French exports and as an effective navy that could compete with the Dutch and English. Colbert's economic policies were in alignment with Mercantilism.

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Colbert's Policies

High taxes on common people
Mercantilism
Merchant Marine - French Navy

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One King, One Law, One Faith

Revocation of the Edict of Nantes

As Louis XIV aged he became more and more devout as a Catholic and more convinced that the Huguenots represented the powerlessness of the monarchy to unify the country. He also was influenced by the idea enshrined by the Peace of Augsburg and reaffirmed by the Peace of Westphalia that whoever ruled determined the religion of the land. To achieve religious unity Louis began to put increasing pressure on protestant populations by quartering his troops in their houses. One would be exempt from housing these soldiers by converting to Catholicism. The financial strain of housing troops forced hundreds of thousands of Protestants to convert. By the time Louis XIV issued the Edict of Nantes so many Huguenots had either converted or emigrated that one of his reasons for the Edict was the Edict of Nantes was no longer even necessary.

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Constant Warfare

State-employed standing army
Used war to centralize authority and distract
Caused high taxes, bankruptcy, and revolts

France was expansionist under Louis XIV seeking land gains in the Netherlands to the north and in the Holy Roman Empire (German lands) to the east. French colonies also rapidly grew in number during this time period. Another feature of constant warfare is the need for a state-employed standing army. This is a national army at the behest of the King and employed by national taxes rather than by the nobility. In previous eras, armies would have to be gathered together with the agreement of the nobility because they personally employed them. The state army is an important feature of absolutism and an important feature of a modern centralized state. Despite Colbert's reforms, Louis XIV's war constantly threatened to bankrupt France.

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War of Spanish Succession 1701-1713

Louis' grandson claimed Spanish throne
Opposed by Dutch, English, Austrians, and Prussians
Peace of Utrecht 1713
Balance of Power preserved in Europe

In a last second change of will by Spanish King Charles II, the throne of Spain was left to Philip V (Philip of Anjou), the grandson of Louis XIV. Charles II had no male heirs and the throne could legitimately be claimed by the Austrian Hapsburgs as well as the French Bourbons. The rest of Europe, having arranged itself in the League of Augsburg (members would include England, the Dutch or the Netherlands, Austria, and Prussia), opposed the Bourbon family's claim on the Spanish throne. This started a war between France and the League of Augsburg which would stretch France financially to the breaking point. With neither side able to achieve absolute victory the Peace of Utrecht gave Philip V the throne of Spain but divided Spain's empire with the Spanish Netherlands going to Austria and some of its possessions in the Americas going to England. This treaty preserved the Balance of Power in Europe by not allowing any one country to gain too much power.

See the Voltaire source in your Absolutism sources for a great evaluation of Louis XIV's reign.

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