Louis XIV: The Sun King

During the 17th century, the ideals of absolutism is completely condensened in the statement by King Louis XIV “Un roi, un loi, un foi” which translates to “One king, one law, one faith”. As the model for the rest of European powers that wanted to achieve absolutist rule, Louis XIV achieved his goals (of one king, one law, and one faith) very well.
For the first portion of his quote, “one king”, Louis consolidated his power in many ways. France, as well as many other countries throughout the middle ages and early renaissance, had their power balanced between the nobles and the dynastic ruling class, where nobles controlled their individual provinces and the king would have to rely on his nobles to spread his royal decrees. This was highly demonstrated throughout the Holy Roman Empire during the 16th and parts of the 17th century, where the polygot of cultures, religions, and languages lead Charles V to have to rely on the nobles, confederacy, and a decentralization of government to rule. Because of these sacrifices, Charles V never really ruled his country, nor did he achieve any of his goals. He died a white haired old man, giving his domains to his son and brother. Louis XIV actually achieved his goal in a very different way, by defeating the power of the noble class, while strenghening the middle class, or the bourgeois. Louis built an internal beauracracy within France, and believed that a countries power came from it’s unification and military prowess. These beliefs were largely based on the early years of his rule. Louis XIV became king when he was only 5 years old, so his mother. Anne of Austria, and Cardinal Mazarin, rumored to be her lover, ruled in his place as a child. Mazarin was the ideological heir to Richelieu, w...

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...ded to amend the Edict of Nantes, in which they were not allowed to have their own armies and towns. Louis took this amendment one step further, by completely revoking the Edict of Nantes. Huguenots were then forced to leave France, as they were forebidden to worship or to have their own schools, and Huguenots were publically humiliated by Louis’ troops. Many Huguenots were tortured to get converts to catholicism. 1/5th of the Huguenots were able to escape France, many of which were skilled artisans, and brought their talents to Protestant friendly countries. Louis also surpressed a sect of Catholicism, the Jansenists, a group of Catholics that had a somewhat Calvinist ideaoligy. Louis believed that some of the Jansenists were at the center of the Frondes, so he took the center of Jansenists, Port Royal, and burned it to the ground.

Works Cited

Making of the west