An absolute monarch is a strong, courageous ruler who cares for the people as much as the society. He has the option to rule alone or centralize power, but have absolute power. Even though the economy usually get put first, he is doing it to make the people's lives better. Louis XIV was an absolute monarch because he was able to centralize powers in France and make the economy better. He had given delegates some power. He was a strong military leader who lead France into multiple wars. In between these wars happening, he was able to keep the economy together. He built the palace of Versailles bringing together all the nobles and royal offices into one place to make working together easier because they were all together instead of being in different …show more content…
Versailles is a palace in France that was built by Louis. This palace was royal a office. Before it was built, the nobles and other royal officers had ruled from other places and had to all meet together and travel for months back and forth for no reason. After the palace was built they were able to live under one big roof and make working and collaborating easier. “Thousands of French nobles gladly endure discomfort to share the glamour of Louis’s court” (Louis XIV Created Versailles), nobles were discomforted by the fact that they were living in Louis’s court and had to live with his glamour, but they were happy that they had that opportunity. Versailles had become more of an attraction for the nobles because this was the place that had all control over France. Nobles had no problem being bribed to take a no spot in office although there was much criticism. Since many nobles did not appreciate that people sold their spots in office for money, so Louis had made a new law, “The new law guaranteed the inheritability of most judicial and financial offices, many of which conferred noble status if it held in the family for three generations” (Smith). Versailles was one of the main reasons Louis XIV was well known. With everyone living under the same roof it was easier to centralize powers of the nobles. Although the noble were there instead of in their territory, it …show more content…
He used war to obtain more land to have population increase. Another thing that increased revenue through war was the growth of jobs. Some of these kind of jobs could’ve been farm workers to grow crops. To show how much war/army was important to Louis was that he had very carefully prepared for every war he was sending his men into. War was a big topic back then because the technology had been changing. Guns had a big part in this because the took a long time to reload and a lot of the times they had missed their targets. “France: not only was it the strongest and most populated country in Europe, but it had also failed to reach what have been considered its natural limits…” shows that even though they are strongest and most populated in France doesn’t mean that it will be the most successful. All countries have their problems and obviously keeping up with their population was one of them. In 1668 the Dutch were trying to force Louis make peace with them. They wanted him to remove a menace for when the war with Spain had resumed. They had irked him so much that a war was about to break out. Louis XIV had carefully prepared for the war that was about to happen between them and the Dutch. June 12 was the day that Louis and his army reached Rhine, while defeating the Dutch. After this victory France’s army and France itself had an increase in their reputation. Later on, the Dutch had appointed a new commander in
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
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
While England lost its power to the nobles, France was able to control them .Instead of having the live among the peasants and the middle class, Louis XIV built the Palace of Versailles in order to force the nobles to be near the king to make sure that they were unable to create conflict with the will of the monarch. This way, the nobles no longer were the people that the middle class would run to when they had a
King Louis XIV was a showy and self-absorbed king. His palace was representative of his personality and ideals. The Versailles palace architecture displayed Louis XIV ideals of secular issues. He cared more about spending money to show off his power. Unlike the Escorial, Versailles was centered on “The Sun King” instead of religion. At one point Louis XIV stated that “he was the state”. This statement was saying that Louis XIV represented the center and best of France. An example of this was that King Louis XIV lived in the middle of Versailles. Versailles was also very ornate and had the atmosphere of freeness. However, the Escorial was very basic like Philip II.
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
In his book The French Revolution, William Doyle talks about the king’s power before the The French Revolution. Doyle explains that the king has an absolute monarchy over the citizens in France. An absolute monarchy is when a king or queen has full control over his citizens. The king is the judge, jury, and the executioner for his people. Whatever the king decides goes, no one has a say in what he has decided on. There are several examples that Doyle talks about in his book that shows how King Louis the 16th had an absolute monarchy over his citizens before 1787.
Louis XIV of France used his grand and gaudy Palace of Versailles as a “pleasure prison” for the nobles while Peter the Great sent all of his nobles to St. Petersburg – both of these actions made it difficult for nobles to rebel. In France, Louis XIV ridiculed the nobility by sending them to the Palace of Versailles and busying them with silly little jobs and knit-picky rituals. He gave them these useless jobs to prevent them from ban...
The Rise and Fall of Versailles (Part 1 of 3). N.d. YouTube. YouTube, 14 July 2013. Web. 26 Mar. 2014. .
A Comparison of the Characteristics of the Absolutist Rule of Charles I of England and Louis XIV of France
...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.
One of the most important elements of Versailles that affected Louis XIV’s reign was the use of propaganda. The Palace contained “paintings, statues, tapestries” (Page) and a general grandness that significantly promoted Louis’ name. Louis himself was a “prominent subject in the artwork” (Montclos 330) and was portrayed as handsome and god-like. Even in the aspects of the Palace where Louis wasn’t literally being represented, the grand nature of Versailles sent out a message that the King was living lavishly, and was therefore very powerful. Louis XIV used the grandiosity of his Palace and the art inside to promote himself to his people.
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.
People like King James I thought that the kings had the same power of God (James I). King James believed that that the kings could judge anyone and do anything without being held accountable for it. Just like God, they could create and destroy anything, they could kill or grant life to anyone. If they are not followed, if the members of the government do not follow their leaders’ orders, then they are worthy of death (Bossuet). The monarchs believed that whatever they did was right. They did not treat people with the respect they deserved. People at that time did not have the right to change anything in the government. Louis XIV made it possible for some of the nobles to have a voice in the government by building the Palace of Versailles where he would be able to control more of the
In this context, an absolute monarch would be revolve around a single leader (usually a king) that would make decisions without the assistance of the aristocracy, such as a the nobility, the parliament, or other organizations that include the interest of wealthy families or government officials. In this case, the king would act alone in deciding the political, economic, and military decisions of the people, which would illustrate the absolute power that is wielded by the individual making the decisions. This governmental interpretation of the term “absolute” defines how a king would rule without the interference or inhibitions of an aristocracy or democratic form of government. Of course, the realization of this type o government can be better explained through the context of the absolute monarchy in France, which was founded in the leadership of king Louis
The Palace of Versailles was the official home of the Kings of France from 1682 until 1790. Originally, a hunting lodge built in 1624 by Louis XIII, but then was expanded by Louis XIV in the beginning of 1669. With beautiful architecture and amazing landscape, it is one of the most well- known and beautiful palaces in France. Its garden is so unique and one of Europe's largest. It played a huge responsibility in French government and was used for some of the biggest meetings of Kings and Queens. It is a very reflective place for the French and showed a basis of culture for the people. The small structure became the base on which was constructed into one of the most extravagant buildings in the world. The Palace of Versailles is a famous French landmark due to its elaborate construction, its role as a center of government, and its influence on French culture.