During the 15th and 16th centuries, absolutism was at the peak of its popularity in Europe. A country that was ruled by an absolutist ruler during this time was France, under the rule of Louis XIV. He consolidated power in France, he built Versailles, he limited the nobility, and increased the power of the king. Because of these facts Louis had positive effects on France under his rule. Louis was born in 1638 and had taken over as king at the young age of only four years old. When Louis took over as King he did not rule, he was king but was obviously to young to make decisions for 19 million people he was responsible for (Britannica). The person who made the decisions was Prime Minister Jules Cardinal Mazarin. While Mazarin made decision …show more content…
the French Parliament and nobles rose against the crown, this led to a long civil war called the Fronde (Britannica) The Fronde left young Louis in poverty, and also suffered misfortune, fear, humiliation, cold and hunger.
“These trials shaped the future character, behaviour, and mode of thought of the young king. He would never forgive either Paris, the nobles, or the common people” (Britannica). It stated in Britannica Louis’ own mother the Spanish queen, Anne of Austria neglected to take care of him and he nearly drowned in a pond at a young age. Instead of being raised by his mother, his mother left it up to the servants to take care of the very young King of France. Before Louis had complete control as king he interfered very little with public relations. Everything in France was running smoothly politically, economically, and socially so Louis left things alone until he had total control over the …show more content…
whole country of France. When Louis took over as king France was a world power and continued to be a world throughout his rule but there were some struggles. The economy started to struggle as Louis became involved in wars such as the Fronde which led to debt and more economic struggles. As Louis grew older he would have to accept more responsibility as king to effectively rule over France. During the many years of his rule Louis learned to separate his private life from his public life as king and make decisions that would attempt to better France. Louis wanted total power throughout the entire country of France, but he did not have complete power because of the Parliament and the other French nobles. Louis was a extremely intelligent man and devised a plan to have a palace so enormous that all the nobles in France would come live with him in the palace he named Versailles. The palace was built in 1682 and all the nobles lived with him there (World History Collection). He would show favoritism to some nobles and this led to a competition between them to be the king's favorite and be the closest to the king. To gain complete absolutism Louis need to dissolve the French Parliament but the only way to Parliament could meet was if the king called them to meet so Louis never called meetings making the Parliament not needed. Louis adopted the idea of divine right to rule and this gave him an acceptable reason to be an absolute ruler (World History Collection). Divine right was the belief that God gave Louis the right to rule and Louis’ actions were the actions God wanted. To rule with the idea of divine right there needed to be religious unity throughout the entire country of France. The issue was that Huguenots also known as Protestants were protected by the Edict of Nantes that was put into place in 1598 to put an end to religious persecution and to the many years of religious wars that were happening in France (World History Collection). To achieve religious unity Louis revoked the Edict of Nantes leading to official religious intolerance and persecution of the Huguenots. Almost all the Protestants left France and migrated to other surrounding countries. Though many people left the numbers were too small to have any effect on the economy of France. “But the revocation was a brave move, revealing Louis's determination to define and control the character of the nation” (World History Collection). Louis devoted 8 hours a day for 54 years to serving as the king of France, during those 54 years not the smallest task escaped his attention. Louis did not always live an extravagant, wealth filled life.
He once lived in poverty, he suffered misfortune, fear humiliation, cold, and hunger at one point also (He had some rough times during his life even though he was king. In 1648 the nobles and Paris Parliament rose against the crown. This marked the beginning of a long French civil war called The Fronde. He would never forgive the nobles, commoners or the Parliament because they had already turned against him once. That event in his life shaped his character and how he would lead the country of France throughout his long rule as king. He wanted to have total control over France because he was worried that the rest of the country would try to raise up against the crown again. This led to him ruling as an absolutist so he could ensure that was not an option. Louis went against tradition and took complete control of the government. He used divine right and absolutism to lead France to a prosperous time during France's rich
history. Louis was a strong ruler who did positive things for France. He built Versailles, consolidated power, limited the nobles power, and made himself more powerful. Louis ruled almost his entire life and did many great things during his reign as a French king. Louis was one of the rulers that paved the way for more absolute rules who came after his time.
He moved his court because he did not feel safe in Paris and could watch over his court officials due to living so close to one another. This piece certainly provides evidence of what Louis himself valued, but perhaps these attributes are needed to effectively rule with absolutism. Throughout this entire document, the author is implying how great Louis is as a person and an effective ruler. He even goes to list his issues: “All his faults were produced by his surroundings...soon found out his weak point, namely, his love of hearing his own praises” (Saint-Simon). Louis cared deeply regarding his personal image and these weaknesses do not seem that drastic, but according to him, “It was this love of praise which made it easy for Louvois to engage him in serious wars” (Saint-Simon). The text gives historians information about Louis’ love-affair with Mademoiselle de la Valliere, compelling his courtiers to spend more than they earned creating a dependency, and other interesting details regarding his life that are excluded in textbooks. Overall, this document provides a deeper insight to King Louis XIV personality and justifications for why he chose the actions he did. Duc de Saint-Simon, someone that resided at the Palace of Versailles, can provide information about a man that ruled with an iron fist over his
Absolutism was a period of tyranny in Europe during the 16th and 17th centuries because monarchs had complete power to do whatever they pleased. Since absolutism is a "monarchical form of government in which the monarch's powers are not limited by a constitution or by the law" essentially there are no boundaries for actions the monarch can and cannot take. The absolutists did not focus on the people under their rule, they ruled by fear and punishment, and believed they were equal to God.
During the reigns of King Louis XIV of France and King Peter I of Russia, also known as Peter the Great, the nobility was under strict control to limit its power and status in society and government. Both autocrats, or absolute rulers, put the nobles in an area separate from the rest of society to keep them under close watch. The kings’ opinion in religion also impacted the status and power of the nobility because most of them were skilled Protestants. This would prove itself as a problem in the long run for Louis XIV. Overall, Peter the Great and Louis XIV despised the nobility and their power in the government and went to many measures to subdue them.
A Comparison of the Characteristics of the Absolutist Rule of Charles I of England and Louis XIV of France
In order to finance the wars, taxation had to be raised, and everyone including the nobility had to pay (they used to be an exempt). Nearing the end of King Louis’s reign, France was bankrupt, resulting the people of the state to be at odds with their king. “France’s resources and finances were ultimately drained, leading King Louis and the state of France in debt, which made the people turn against him” (Eggert). Regardless, when it came to the arts, his rule as an absolute monarch has led him to contribute so much in various branches of creative activity today. Comparing the given examples, his use of the arts was one of the most important ways King Louis XIV introduced and glorified his rule as an absolute monarch to his people.
In order to gain the power he desired as an absolute monarch, Louis used a few key techniques that were very successful. His first and most necessary step to get all control was to take all of the nobles’ power, and make it so they were completely under his control. He first did this by taking the nobles’ positions of power, and either getting rid of them by doing it himself, or giving the jobs to loyal middleclass or some nobles who were completely loyal and under his control. Louis had very simple reasoning for doing this, which was that if the nobles had any power or control, they would have a better chance of overthrowing him, and that since there can only be so much total power, the more they had, the less ...
... move, defunding any revolts they might plan, and preoccupying their time with petty social matters instead of matters of the state. If Louis’ reign was not supported by the enabling qualities of the Palace of Versailles, his reign would certainly not be as absolute as it was.
would change became reality. This was a threat to the power of the king. The different
O: Rage and revolt can describe the country of France at the time of the Revolution faced because of turmoil and struggle they faced. Different estates were formed based on what you did and your class in society. The people of society wanted more say in the government and decisions that King Louis XVI made. The public didn't approve with much of what King Louis did. His lack of ability to be a strong king and leader affected his reputation to the public eye. King Louis was tried for committing treason to the country of France. Treason is the attempt to kill a sovereign and overthrow the government. Some of the reasons were his attempt to flee to Varennes, living in Versailles which was not in Paris, and reforms he passed as a ruler. These actions performed by King Louis isn’t what a King does, but that doesn’t prove any
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...
Politically, Louis was corrupt because of his greed. He fought costly wars--in the high numbers of casualties and monetary encouragement--at the drop of a hat. His country was the most powerful, and was very populous. His armies were large in size at peacetime, and even larger in wartime. Their strength, though, was no match for the failure Louis faced in wars. His wars left France almost bankrupt. He wanted larger borders, went to any extent to get them, but lost all of the three times he tried.
When Louis the XIV began his rule in 1643, his actions immediately began to suggest and absolute dictatorship. Because of the misery he had previously suffered, one of the first things he did was to decrease the power of the nobility. He withdrew himself from the rich upper class, doing everything secretly. The wealth had no connection to Louis, and therefore all power they previously had was gone. He had complete control over the nobles, spying, going through mail, and a secret police force made sure that Louis had absolute power. Louis appointed all of his officials, middle class men who served him without wanting any power. Louis wanted it clear that none of his power would be shared. He wanted "people to know by the rank of the men who served him that he had no intention of sharing power with them." If Louis XIV appointed advisors from the upper classes, they would expect to gain power, and Louis was not willing to give it to them. The way Louis XIV ruled, the sole powerful leader, made him an absolute ruler. He had divine rule, and did not want to give any power to anyone other than himself. These beliefs made him an absolute ruler.
During the late 17th and early 18th century, many European nations such as France and Russia were absolute monarchies. Even countries such as England had kings who at least attempted to implement absolutism. Indeed the concept of absolutism, where the monarch is the unquestionably highest authority and absolute ruler of every element in the realm, is certainly appealing to any sovereign. However, this unrestricted power was abused, and by the end of the 18th century, absolutism was gone. Absolutism failed because the monarchs' mistreatment of the population caused the people to revolt against their rule and policies. There are many factors which caused this discontent. For one, there was a great loss of human lives. Louis XIV of France participated in four wars, while Peter of Russia ruthlessly executed anyone who stood against his will. Secondly, monarchs attempted to change religious beliefs. This was notable in England where rulers such as James II desired to convert the Anglican nation into Catholicism. Finally, the burden of taxation was more than the population could support. France was brought into huge foreign debt, English kings constantly attempted to raise money, and Peter of Russia increased taxes by 550 percent. These are some of the key reasons why absolutism failed in Europe.
An Analysis of the Absolute Monarchy of France in the 17th Century This historical study will define the absolute monarchy as it was defied through the French government in the 17th century. The term ‘absolute” is defined I the monarchy through the absolute control over the people through the king and the royal family. All matters of civic, financial, and political governance was controlled through the king’s sole power as the monarchical ruler of the French people. In France, Louis XIII is an important example of the absolute monarchy, which controlled all facts of military and economic power through a single ruler. Udder Louis XIII’s reign, the consolidation of power away from the Edicts of Nantes to dominant local politics and sovereignty
Over the course of Louis’ rein, he showed that he was a bad monarch because he abused his power. Ultimately, he made the citizens unhappy. Louis believed that Kings “are born to possess all and command all” and their power should not be questioned. This caused him to make impulsive decisions without thinking of the citizens opinions because they were not supposed to question him. If his power was questioned Louis was quickly able to say that God gave him the power to make decisions therefore they were right.