FREE ESSAY ON LOUIS XIV

LOUIS XIV

1638-1715, king of France (1643-1715), son and successor of King Louis XIII.??
Early Reign
After his father's death his mother, Anne of Austria, was regent for Louis, but the real
power was wielded by Anne's adviser, Cardinal Mazarin. Louis did not take over the
government until Mazarin's death (1661). By then France was economically exhausted by the
Thirty Years War, by the Fronde, and by fiscal abuses. But the centralizing policies of
Richelieu and Mazarin had prepared the ground for Louis, under whom absolute monarchy,
based on the theory of divine right, reached its height.??
Domestic Policy
Louis's reign can be characterized by the remark attributed to him, "L'etat, c'est moi"
[I am the state]. Louis continued the nobility's exemption from taxes but forced its
members into financial dependence on the crown, thus creating a court nobility occupied
with ceremonial etiquette and petty intrigues. The provincial nobles also lost political
power. Louis used the bourgeoisie to build his centralized bureaucracy. He curtailed
local authorities and created specialized ministries, filled by professionals responsible
to him. Under his minister Jean Baptiste Colbert industry and commerce expanded on
mercantilist principles and a navy was developed. The war minister, the marquis de
Louvois, established the foundations of French military greatness.??
Religious Affairs
Louis increasingly imposed religious uniformity. His persecution of the Huguenots in the
1680s culminated (1685) in the revocation of the Edict of Nantes. The resultant exodus of
Protestants, many of whom were merchants and skilled artisans, intensified the kingdom's
economic decline and further alienated the Protestant powers. Louis also suppressed
Jansenism. Despite this concern with religious orthodoxy, he favored Gallicanism, and
controversy with the popes approached schism (1673-93) before Louis abandoned this
position.??
Foreign Policy
Louis strove vigorously for supremacy in foreign affairs. His marriage (1660) to the
Spanish princess Marie Therese served as a pretext for the War of Devolution (1667-68),
which netted him part of Flanders, although the Dutch then moved against him with the
Triple Alliance of 1668. Relations with the Dutch were exacerbated by commercial rivalry
and in 1672 Louis, determined to crush Holland, began the third of the Dutch Wars, which
depleted his treasury.For the next ten years the king limited his policies to diplomacy.
He set up "chambers of reunion" to unearth legal grounds for claims on a number of
cities, which Louis promptly annexed. Fear of Louis's rapacity resulted in a European
coalition, which confronted him when he attacked the Holy Roman Empire in 1688. This war
ended with the Treaty of Ryswick (1697), through which Louis lost minor territories.
Louis's last war, the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-14), left France in debt and
greatly weakened militarily; nevertheless, Louis's grandson retained the Spanish
throne.??
The Court
Although he had a series of mistresses, Louis XIV finally came under the influence of Mme
de Maintenon, whom he married morganatically (1684) after the queen's death. A great
supporter of the arts, Louis patronized the foremost writers and artists of his time,
including Moliere, Jean Racine, Jean de La Fontaine, and Charles Le Brun. The architect
Jules Mansart supervised the building of the lavish palace of Versailles. Because of the
brilliance of his court, Louis was called "Le Roi Soleil" [the Sun King] and "Le Grand
Monarque." He was succeeded by his great-grandson, Louis XV.