Similarities Between Louis Xiv And Peter The Great

Both Louis XIV and Peter the Great aimed to subjugate the powerful nobility, but did so using very different approaches. Louis XIV experienced a Fronde rebellion, a revolt of the nobles, as a child, which caused him to flee Paris and resent the nobles ever since. Peter the Great experienced a similar situation, also as a young man. While Peter was visiting western Europe to learn from his neighbors, the Russian military commanders of the streltsy, made up of politically powerful nobles, led an uprising and caused chaos. Like Louis’s Fronde rebellion, for Peter, the streltsy Uprising left a lasting impression on Peter affecting his policies during his reign. In response to their countries’ respective rebellions by the aristocracy, each ruler

sought to crush the nobles and to remove any possible claims to the throne. Louis treated the nobles to a royal “vacation” at his palace, taking them out of duty and power. On the other hand, Peter largely tortured, killed or exiled many of the nobles to scare the remaining few into submission.
In France, Louis built a massive palace called Versailles and relocated the French government there. French nobles were compelled to visit Versailles, where Louis could control the nobility. By requiring the presence of the nobility at Versailles, Louis both distanced and distracted the nobles from their political duties at home, preoccupying them with his royal lifestyle. In the elevated political positions where ostentatious and greedy nobles historically had worked, Louis selected previously non-elite middle class citizens who would otherwise have held less influential positions. These suddenly prosperous political workers were mainly put in the position of intendants, or tax collectors. Louis hoped that by elevating unqualified bourgeoisie into this important and lucrative role, these commoners would be sufficiently grateful to Louis and, therefore, less likely to embezzle the tax money they collected. Furthermore, Louis and his minister of finance, Jean-Baptiste Colbert, imposed three taxes on the French: gabelle, a salt tax; taille, a property tax; and corveé, obligatory unpaid labor, serving the king. Nobles and clergy were exempted from two of these three taxes in a gesture to earn their love and submission. Although at the time Colbert’s financial reforms cut France’s deficit, promoted industrial growth, and helped Louis’s centralization of power, ultimately the varied taxation by social class would anger the peasants, who suffered the most under the tax burden. This unequal taxing, as an attempt to appease the nobles, would be a contributing factor leading to the gory French Revolution of 1789.
Peter the Great also aimed to subjugate the Russian nobility. The nobility consisted of boyars, the aristocratic tier of Russian society, as well as the commanders of the streltsy, made up of nobles. After the streltsy rebellion caused huge chaos, Peter took steps to disband the streltsy by torturing some and exiling streltsy. Peter did not spare the even more politically powerful boyars, who opposed westernization. Peter imposed new taxes on them to both help finance his country’s westernization, as well as to subjugate the nobility. A particularly infuriating new tax was placed on beards. Russian men traditionally grew long flowing beards, which was considered by many to be a sign of manhood. Western European men at the time were largely clean shaven. Peter the Great began requiring men to either shave their beards or to pay a tax. By imposing the beard tax, Peter prodded his nation toward westernization, helped to finance that societal transformation, and emasculated the haughty boyars. Lastly, like Louis XIV’s method of elevating the middle class into positions of power, Peter the Great changed how nobles were ranked by implementing the “Table of Ranks”. Family would no longer be the determining factor of who was considered to be nobility. Rather, even a talented and diligent commoner could rise to high political positions. Thus during Peter’s reign, previously untitled commoners began to displace the boyars, in Russian bureaucracy. Also, in order to acquire a high social position and enjoy its privileges, all were required to participate in this ranking, thereby requiring the nobles to serve the state and not their own private interests. Louis XIV’s and Peter the Great’s autocratic strategies required the aristocracy to be both loyal, as well as submissive to its respective King or Tsar.
Louis believed that as a divine right ruler, he was entitled to expand France up to its natural borders: the land from the Pyrenees mountains to the Rhine river, continuing east to the Alps.

Louis fought his early wars for defensive purposes— to secure France’s northern border and to remove the Spanish from strategic towns. However, the Sun King pursued many subsequent wars to increase his power and influence. For example, Louis believed that if France had once historically controlled a region, France was justified in winning the region once again. Louis believed, as a divine right ruler, that he had the authority to break truces at will. Consequently, Louis made many enemies out of nearby countries, including Spain, England, and the Netherlands. After Louis won the Campaign in the Franche-Comte region in 1668, Europe was not interested in having France become the preeminent power in Europe. Louis believed that trade would generate wealth and by keeping trade within his own colonies, he could capture the profits that would have been otherwise outside of his control. By reorganizing the administrative and financial aspects of his kingdom and developing trade and manufacturing, he improved the prosperity of his empire. Louis sought to finance his military objectives from this new income stream, but ultimately, it was not enough. Louis XIV’s many wars, and the lavish life at Versailles, exhausted France of funds. Since only the lowest French classes such as the farmers paid the

brunt of the taxes, the Country’s tax base was insufficient; Louis’ expenditures outpaced his income. Eventually, Louis and his descendants would be unable to pay off the heavy debt France had accumulated, thereby weakening the Monarchy.
Peter the Great as an autocrat, hoped to achieve his goals by limiting the powers of the boyars, securing his authority from the streltsy, creating a new military system, and expanding his territory. Russia was a historically backward country that was previously cut off from western Europe due to its geography, Mongolian-dominated past, and Eastern Orthodox religion. He felt that Europe’s technological advances were a major factor in Europe’s power and so by westernizing Russia, he can push his country into modern times and earn respect of western nations. Peter successfully gained territorial access to the Black Sea, and began a slow expansion. Russia, a geographically cold nation, lacked a port that remained passable throughout the seasons. In order to spark trade and diplomatic connections with western Europe, Russia would have to acquire a consistently accessible port. Peter the Great instigated the Great Northern War against Sweden in order to gain this warm-water port. In winning that war, Peter created a new city called St. Petersburg; he relocated his capital there to be closer to western Europe. Thereafter, Russia began to trade and form strong alliances across the European continent. Thus, under Peter the Great, Russia was able to expand geographically and economically, while in France, Louis’s sphere of power was decreased.
During the reign of Louis XIV, France enjoyed one of its most brilliant time periods, but towards the end of the Sun King’s reign, France’s brilliance began to unravel in a number of ways. Louis XIV revoked the Edict of Nantes, repealing the rights previously granted to Protestants such as the Huguenots, who subsequently emigrated, and reduced France’s workforce. The revocation not only decreased civil unity and religious tolerance within France, but also alienated the Protestant nations bordering France. When rumors of Huguenot persecution spread, critical French-Dutch trade was cut, which harmed France’s economy. Louis also persecuted Jansenists, the staunch Catholics who believed in predestination and refused to observe Gallicanism, or the belief that Louis was both the head of the church and head of the state. Louis XIV was forced to reach religious compromise, as spiritual uniformity was not a feasible goal. The tax system Louis XIV and Colbert had created led to extreme class conflict, and the suffering of peasants. France’s rapid economic demise was followed by a reduction of French influence in Europe, and a decline in the quality of life in France. Louis XIV’s successors were unable to continue the Sun King’s legacy, rid France of debt, or appease its lowest classes, thus ultimately leading to the French Revolution in the eighteenth century.
Peter the Great forced Russia to become modernized through transforming its military, government, and culture.

Observing that European technological superiority allowed it to enjoy extraordinary benefits, he adopted many European practices to assert his own dominance and increase Russia’s protection against its adversaries. In doing this, Peter the Great formed himself a lasting legacy. Although Peter the Great originally mimicked Louis XIV in his staunch practice of absolutism, he ultimately surpassed Louis XIV in his goal of supremacy. Peter replaced the previous head of the Orthodox Church, and had both religious and earthly supremacy. Thus, Peter achieved something that Louis could never manage: a control of both church and state. Outside of Russia’s borders, Peter succeeded in his endeavors to a much greater extent than Louis XIV. The Great Northern War against Sweden effectively gave Russia access to a warm water port: Saint Petersburg, where Peter created his own Versailles, the Winter Palace, that fulfilled goals similar to those of Louis. Thus, where Louis fell, Peter

triumphed.