As you wrote in the assignment sheet, Louis XIV and Peter the Great both wanted to do great things. They had many goals in common, as well as many different goals, and, though the two had much in common, worked in very different ways to achieve said goals. They were both autocrats, believing that all decisions concerning the countries in which they lived should be made by them. They both wanted to expand their countries—not only physically, in the context of gaining more and more land, but also building up strong armies and increasing their countries prestige. They both invested a lot of time and money into the creation of their own “places,” for Louis XIV, Versailles, and for Peter the Great, St. Petersburg (specifically the Hagia Sofia.) They both also put a great deal of time, effort and energy into the military forces where they ruled. Louis IV did this with the help of Turenne, the marshal general of France. Peter the Great created the first Russian navy, reorganized the army, got rid of the Streltzky, and adopted the western idea of colleges. To provide for all this expanding of his military, Peter the Great introduced many new taxes, including a soul tax—a tax for simply being alive. Peter preferred to live comfortably, and didn’t have a need for extravagance as much as Louis XIV did. But that didn’t mean he didn’t think big. Peter’s main goals were to modernize Russia, and to make it a major European power—a force to be reckoned with—and also to gain control of the church. He tried to achieve these in many different ways. One way he attempted to make Russia more powerful was by westernizing the country. He traveled all over Western Europe, learning about the culture, more modern practices and way of ... ... middle of paper ... ... left France bankrupt. Louis had to compromise—he and his heirs could never combine the Spanish and French crowns, but his grandson would be king. In conclusion, though the goals and outcomes were different in many ways, Louis XIV and Peter the Great both sought to do great things. Louis XIV died unpopular in his country, having had the spotlight on him for years in Europe. He hadn’t made the huge leaps that he had hoped as far as land goes, but he had made small gains of land, and had gained the crown for his grandson, Phillip V of Spain. He also built fortresses around the country and reshaped the French economy. Peter the Great succeeded in modernizing and westernizing Russia. By his death, Russia was considered much more of a leading state in Europe than ever before. He modernized the army, created a navy, and succeeded in centralizing the government.
Louis had a controller of general finances named Colbert, and he “reduced the annual treasury deficit by economies and more equitable, efficient taxation, although tax exemptions for the nobility, clergy, and some members of the bourgeoisie continued. Louis led many military attacks and wars to expand his territory and build up his economy. He started to tax the people and use this money to build palaces and other architectural structures. Louis added nobles to his army so they would not think that their power was declining. This also helped to strengthen his army and thus he led several military attacks to build his state. In the War of “Devolution (1667-1668) he claimed that those provinces had "devolved" by succession to his Spanish wife rather than to her half brother Charles II, who had inherited the Spanish crown.” By doing this, he received some valuable towns, and this helped to expand his territory. But Louis did not always win battles, there were a few times where his army was defeated. In 1683, Colbert died and several disasters happened thereafter. After several defeats, Louis XIV decided to settle down to a more “sedate
Peter the Great was trying ultimately to make the Russian Empire more Europeanized or Westernized. He wanted to protect and enhance the vulnerable Russian Empire. Peter the Great saw that other European countries are colonizing in other regions like the New World, Asia, and Africa. Peter saw this as a threat and didn’t want for the Europeans to conquer Russia. Through decrees to shave and provisions on dress, he was trying to make them European. He also wanted to make military and economic reforms that could help the empire itself. If they built factories, they didn’t need to get supplies from Europe.
During Peter the Great’s reign a major problem in Russia was serfdom. Serfs were peasants that were forced to work on a noble’s land and were basically slaves. Serfdom was a major organization in Russia up until 1723 when Peter converted the household slaves into house serfs. Unfortunately, conversion to serf status and the later ban of the sale of serfs without land did not stop the trade in household slaves, it simply changed its name. Peter the Great was generally well liked by his nobles, even though he taxed them for absurd things like beards, beehives or corners in a house. The fact that the nobles still sided with Peter on everything after being taxed for ridiculous things showed their loyalty. However, Louis XIV had economic difficulties. To help fix this he hired Jean-Baptiste Colbert who invented Mercantilism, an economic system where exports exceed imports to maximize profit and create a self-sufficient state--great for an absolute monarch. However Colbert did not address Louis’ real issue which was him not taxing the nobles. The nobles refused to pay taxes and also did not like Louis; they just couldn’t do anything about it. Since, Louis could not sufficiently tax his nobles instead he relied on the bourgeoisie and peasants to pay excessive taxes. As you can see,
Louis and Peter had quite a balance of similarities and differences between their politics. Louis and Peter both viewed themselves as above the law, however Louis thought this a bit more so than Peter. Louis XIV was quite arrogant and
I believe that there was so much attention given to Peter the Great because of his extensive reforms. Peter brought both social and economic changes to his country. He wanted to make Russia big. Peter transformed the culture; he wanted his people to wear the western European fashion. Many of the people were not thrilled with the change because they did not like the ways of the western European societies. He made his navy stronger, he reformed his army to meet the western standards, and he gained control over the church.
One way in which they were different was in their personalities. Louis XIV was a pleasant individual, whose “great qualities shone more brilliantly by reason of and exterior so unique and incomparable as to lend an infinite distinction to his slightest actions” (Document 2). He was a personable being and had “the very figure of a hero” (Document 2). Lastly, he was sympathetic and “showed a natural kindness of heart and a sense of justice” (Document 2), making him a great ruler and an even better person.
The palace of Versailles was built by King Louis XIV of France and the Escorial was built by King Philip II of Spain. The two kings each had their differences about their beliefs on how to rule, yet there are some similarities. Louis XIV believed in showing off his power and being open. Philip II was a simplistic guy devoted to Catholicism. They both had military to spread their beliefs and ideas. Despite the kings’ beliefs, their palaces reflected their ideals.
nation. In order to become a true absolute ruler Louis xiv needed to make sure
...s was from a military stand point, which was rare for him. In 1667, Louis attacked a portion of the Netherlands that was owned by the Spanish. This resulted in the gaining of 12 towns, which encouraged Louis to attack the Dutch Netherlands, which did gain him a few wealthy port towns, before ending in disaster. Louis’ last great success was the building of the Palace of Versailles, which as described earlier was a feat never before matched by a ruler.
...roblems and turned a great number of people against the monarchy. These events lead to the resentment that was another key factor in beginning the French Revolution. The end of King Louis XIV’s rule was especially disastrous. After the death of his advisor Colbert, King Louis XIV made even more horrible and costly decisions. He further enlarged the military and entered into many wars in which he lost a great deal of her newly acquired territories and increased the national debt even more.
King Louis developed and expanded his kingdom economically in many ways. He encouraged trade fairs and created helped to create jobs. This reorganization of the economy united France and also
Peter the Great had many goals during the time he ruled. One of his biggest goals was to modernize and westernize Russia. The main reason Peter the Great modernized Russia was because he did not want the country he ruled to be left vulnerable to expansionist powers in Europe. The powers were constantly at war, fighting to take over each other’...
Before Russia was ruled by Peter the Great, Russia was much less developed than other countries in Europe. Peter the Great determined that the best way to catch the European powers was to follow the European footstep. He looked for Western technicians and scholars while he simultaneously sent Russians to European schools and vocations so they could one day return as experienced Europeans ready to teach the next generation of Russians. He reformed Russia, turning it into a modernized empire relying on advanced military, efficient government, great education resources and extensive trading with other countries.
King Louis XIV created a legacy for himself and his family that would last for centuries to come. The King built an empire around himself, created a magnificent and unprecedented estate at Versailles, indulged himself in the most exquisite and unique ways of life (even for a king), and kept his country in relative check from imploding on itself. However, his reign was not without flaws and setbacks as he drove France into an extreme amount of debt through the many wars he had begun or by the lavish lifestyle through which he lived. As King, Louis had multiple events impact his way of conducting himself and his country in the future, some of which would lead to the debt of France and others that would leave the King with a unique mark on history.
Peter realized that his people were going to need to be educated about his advancements if he wanted to be successful. He hired experts to educate his people on these new advancements. Peter The Great also focused heavily on advancing industry and helped the middle class, as it was struggling at the time. He was focusing on industry because he realized that Russia needed industry in order to produce more. Peter was focusing on the future of Russia and not just the current time (late 1600’s and early 1700’s).