Essay On King Louis Xiv

Many absolute monarchies have risen and fallen from power but none have been as great as King Louis XIV. He took up his kingdom at the age of five after the death of his Father, King Louis XIII and ruled for another seventy two years, the longest reigning of any monarch in Europe. He brought up France from an insignificant country in Europe to a great power. His great leadership was really prominent through his ability to centralize power, pacified nobility, increased revenue, and how he was able to control his army in the countless battles he fought. Even with his many flaw he still proved to be the one of the best absolute monarchs of the 17th century. The legacy he left behind is still studied and very well documented till this day.
King

Louis XIV never like the French Nobles since he was a young boy because the Fronde, a civil war that divided France while Louis XIV was still a young boy. Many different reasons lead up to this civil war but many saw common themes: “they had in common a defiance of the government of a foreign queen—Anne was Spanish by birth—and her principal minister, the Italian Cardinal Jules Mazarin” (Fronde). The French people were not to happy that France was pretty much being ruled by a Spanish woman and an Italian man. France’s Thirty Years’ War left it in a huge debt which leaded Cardinal Richelieu to have to ask other countries for money to keep with its military needs; Therefore having to raise tax and angering its people. Even after Richelieu death Anne and Mazarin kept tax high, but what made matters worse was that they were not French causing people to stand up against this. The people wanted to over throw the Louis XIV, still a boy at this time, and his mother. The rebellion turned nobles, Louis own family, against him. His cousin turned the castles own cannons against King Louis XIV and his army causing him to flee. Louis XIV would never forget this and would return to take back his kingdom. The Fronde shaped King Louis XIV rule from after it passed. When Mazarin passed and it came time to reelect a new adviser he took total control remembering on the events of the Fronde and looking back on how the nobles in Paris betrayed him. Louis XIV hated Paris and its nobles and proved it throughout his reign “the king took the opportunity to humiliate publicly some of his former enemies in order to impress on them his greatness and his authority.” (Fronde). He saw how broken France was and began to focus on uniting France.
King Louis XIV reign really starts after the death of his adviser Mazarin.

Instead of appointing a new adviser he took total control and became the head of France. Louis XIV planed to unify France, but they only way he could do that was to rid France of its non-christian people. His word was far superior than any law and so he revoked the Edict of Nantes. The Edict of Nantes provided “a measure of toleration, civil rights and liberties, and security for French HUGUENOTS.” (Nantes, Edict of). The law made the king pay for support of the reformed church and give money to many Huguenot leader. It gave Huguenots the right to live and worship anywhere in France, while also letting them hold nobel positions and attend college. The nobles saw the Edict as some way to take power away from the King rather than something that is right; providing a measure of toleration, civil rights and liberties, and security for French HUGUENOTS. (Nantes, Edict of). King Louis XIV in order to gain favor with the Church did away with the law but brought up many problems in France. The Huguenots were very talented in the arts and help boosted the economy but with them gone France suffered a huge hit to its financial problems it had been going through. Throughout King Louis XIV rule he demonstrates his total control over his government by issuing war and changing around laws but always with his country in

mind.
Louis XIV just like his father Luis XII is known for their multiple wars they fought.

His war like behavior is shown more prominently in the later parts of his life when saying “I will burn you….I will neither rest nor sleep until [Louis XIV] has done so.” (Horne). Although they would lead to France falling into huge debt they still proved to Europe that they were not a forced to be reckoned with. Louis XIV wanted to expand France but other countries opposed viciously; Alliances were formed in order to stop France from even trying like the Triple Alliance, the alliance was made up of England, Sweden, and the United Provinces were enough to scare them into stopping. Louis XIV wanted to go to war with Spain but his financial advisor Jean-Baptiste Colbert convinced him to instead fight the Dutch. The Dutch at that time were in control of the Dutch East India Company that monopolized trade with Asia. Jean-Baptiste Colbert knew that if they fought against the Dutch France would be able to gain “a larger share of European trade for French merchants.” (Dutch War). France won many battles and them seems almost unstoppable. They captured big Dutch cities during their war, “ Utrecht fell on 30 June, Nijmegen on 9 July” (Dutch War), further proving their dominance and strengthen over their enemy. The Dutch tried offering peace but Louis XIV kept fighting to destroy the Dutch. Although continuing to fight in this war proved to only worsen France’s financial state, France’s army were

still able to end any military activity in Germany. At the end of the war France came out victorious and because of this victory was able to establish France as a prominent force in Europe and expanded France into the size it is today. Jean-Baptiste Colbert and King Louis XIV saw these wars as a way to establish France as a country that is both militaristically powerful and sound in trade.
Without Jean-Baptiste Colbert King Louis XIV would have destroyed France with its many wars and the construction of the Palace of Versailles. Colbert knew how to manage money as he was the son of a merchant and therefore learned the necessary skills to control it. He wanted to allow for France to be able to compete with other trading nations so “Colbert erected protectionist tariffs” (Colbert, Jean-Baptiste). Thanks to Colbert King Louis XIV was able to double his revenue, saving France from falling to far into debt. Louis XIV and Colbert also help build up France’s Navy to further aid in oversea trade with countries like India and Asia. Colbert also saw many monopoly like “the East India Company (1664), the West India Company (1664), and the Company for the Levant (1670)” (Colbert, Jean-Baptiste), and help fund them ignorer to make more money even if he was suppling France’s enemies. Colbert really allowed for France to flourish in both its economy and education as he set up many schools and without him King Louis XIV would have been remembered less fondly as he is to this day.
No other achievement of King Louis XIV was as great as his Palace of Versailles. About seventeen acres it truly is till this day evidence of how powerful Louis XIV was. Louis chose Versailles to build his palace here because he lived most of his life because of the betray at Paris. “Originally built in 1624” (The Palace). King Louis would not move into the palace until 1682. The Palace of Versailles was no easy task and so it came at a huge cost. “Versailles can be blamed for most of the economic problems the country endured in the generations leading up to the French Revolution.” (The Palace). The palace placed the seeds that lead France to fall from its great power. King Louis had many parts built to it like its garden and The Grand Trianon. It was made sure to accommodate every need for King Louis XIV. It made sure he would never have to leave his palace for anything. The Palace of Versailles also served as a place to keep the nobility from turning on the king. King Louis XIV striped the nobility of all their power and has them ultimately turn on one another. Jobs like dressing the king and flushing his toilet became positions of power. The king had the nobles turn on one another to achieve higher status and maybe gain some influence on the King. In many ways this help keep his nobles at peace and avoided any conflict with them.
If there is one quote that tells us King Louis XIV rule it would be “L’Etat, c’est moi,” or “ I am the state.” (Louis XIV Moves). Louis XIV liked to show off how great of a ruler he was through his countless victories in war, and even by the way he lived. He wanted his country to be the best in all of Europe and achieved that even though its greatness wouldn't last forever. He did exactly as any absolute monarch would do except he did it better and more efficiently even with minor slip ups here and there. He centralize power through total rule, pacified nobility by turning them on each other, increased revenue with tax and trade, and destroy other nations with his immense army.