Absolutism in France

By: Rebecca Zimberg, Alice Tiec, Grace Brink, Nadijah Pardue, and

Hannah McClure

Louis XIV

• Reigned from 1638-1715• King of France• Most powerful ruler on the European

continent in the later part of the 17th century

Versailles

• Palace for the rulers and royalty of France

• Near paris• Originally the hunting lodge

for King Louis XIII in the 1660• Made a palace in 1683

Dutch War• When France invaded the Netherlands in

order to try and shatter the Dutch control over international trade

• Started in 1672 and ended in 1678

Jean- Baptiste Colbert

• (1619-1683)• Louis XIV financial minister • He implemented French mercantilist policies• Developed a strategy for increasing France’s

national wealth.

War of the League of Augsburg

• (1689- 1697)• First of Louis VIX’s two GREAT wars• They fought against Austria, England, and the

Dutch Republic.

The Spanish Armies in the War of the league of Augsburg 1689-1697

Fronde

• (1648-1653)• Fronde was a rebellion of the French nobles

against Cardinal Mazarin and the regent, Queen Anne, during Louis XIV’s early years as king.

• This rebellion made Louis stronger as a ruler because it influenced him in his quest to unite France.

Four Gallican Articles

• The Four Gallican Articles were decrees of 1681 proclaiming church councils superior to the pope and denying Rome’s power to alter internal rules governing the French church.

Jansenists

• Jansenists were Austere Catholic reformers who were accused of holding views about human sin similar to the Protestant John Calvin and were condemned by the Pope.

Louis XV

• Reigned from 1715-1774• He was Louis XIV’s five year old great

grandson who became king on Louis XIV’s death.

• Continued his great grandfather’s absolutist policy of expanding the state’s activity in new directions.

War of Spanish Succession

• (1701-1713)• The War of Spanish Succession was Louis XIV’s

last great war, with France and the Spanish allied against the Austrians, Dutch, and English.

Treaty of Utrecht

• The Treaty of Utrecht was signed in 1713 between France and the states fighting France that ended the War of the Spanish Succession.

Louis XIV

• He was called the Sun King• Reigned for 72 years from 1638 to 1715• He was named king when he was four years old• His court was made up of 10,000 people and half of

them were nobles• He believed he ruled by divine right

» The idea that God had called Louis to rule, and if someone was to question his rule or go against his decisions, they were doubting or against God

French Court

• Very complex • The court was located at Versailles.

– It was in every part in the royalty’s lives.– Schedule:

• Got up (very late), all courtiers would be there to watch “the sun rise” (Louis get out of bed)

• Went to mass • King ate breakfast• Went to his council chamber• King went to dinner (lunch), where all coutriers were there watching him• Went for a stroll in the gardens • Then played games (billards, cards, danced)• Then they all ate dinner at midnight

French Fashion at the Court• Fashion and social standings were everything to these people

Forty Years of Warfare

• Louis XIV • Launched a series of wars

• Worried about the weakness of France's eastern border• Greatest campaigns : Dutch war (1672-1678)

• Dutch war• Dutch vs. Spanish• William (stadholder of the Dutch Republic) protected his

low-lying country and flooded it. (Like the government had against the Spanish in 1579).

• In 1679, a peace was signed because neither side could defeat the other. -_-

Mercantilism

• Jean Baptiste developed the strategy for increasing France’s national wealth know as Mercantilism.Mercantilism.

• Regulated economic policy for France’s benefit

• Colbert's Mercantilism:– Established new goals

for monarchy– Development of national

economic policy

War of the League of Augsburg

• 1683- Louis refused to declare war.• 1689- Went to war Against Austria – Later joined by the Dutch

The End

• After the War of Spanish Succession:– Treaty of Utrecht was signed in 1713– France was finically bankrupt – Economy in a shambles.

A Unified French State• The war had a unifying effect within France• Louis needed more money so he started to tax the people a.k.a. the “Capitation”

– He taxed ALL French subjects – He used intendants to collect the taxes

• Intendants = most important royal administrators

• Later in his reign he reduced the power of the parlements, France’s highest royal courts– He gave all the members rights to hold an office or enforce the law

• The relationship between the king and his subjects continued to improve– People even liked the army because they now were seem of protectors; opposite to th ereligious

wars when the army was feared because it was violent and unruly

• With Louis, the government was more fair and efficient than it had been in a long time

Cont’d

• Unity was important to Louis – At a young age, Louis had to flee twice for his safety

• When he became king he was determined to prevent rebelions– He did this by getting the powerful nobles to come to his court and promising them honors, careers,

and money

• Louis wanted to unite France in religion– “One king, one law, one faith”– Since the French Hugenots were a threat of being rebellious to Louis, he ended the religious

toleration – Hugenots were forced to convert or flee– They spread to the Dutch Republic, England, and America telling tales of how horrible the king was

• The peasants were forced to house the royal army– The army would burn some of the villages– The peasants would revolt in wars called the guerrila war– The royal army then made Louis look bad (From Sun King to a tyrant)

Cont’d• Louis argued with the pope by supporting the Four Gallican Articles

– These said that the church councils were superior to the to the Pope

• He improved his relationship with the Pope when we supported the condemnation of Jansenists– Catholic reformers that were accused of holding views about human sin similar to the Protestant

John Calvin

• During the famine of 1709, Louis wrote a letter to his subjects asking for help – This totally went against the principles of absolutism– The subjects and king worked together to end the crisis– After this event, the people thought of themselves as more unified

• In 1715, Louis told his Five year old great-grandson and heir the following– “Try to remain at peace with your neighbors. I loved war too much. Do not follow me in that or

overspending”

Louis XV

• Louis XV continued his great-grandfather’s absolutist policy of expanding the state’s activity in new directions.

- one was policing: under Louis XV, the army’s policing role declined, and professional police forces were created.

- Paris saw the first changes.

• The other area that Louis XV was concerned with was poor relief.

- The State assumed care of poor children and the elderly, who were housed, clothed, and fed in urban “hospitals.”

Louis XV Cont’d

• Louis XV struggled with religious policy due to the remaining Jansenists.

- The Parlement of Paris, following the Four Gallican Articles, declared that the pope was illegally intruding into the French church’s affairs.

- By 1730, the Parlement of Paris was openly defying Louis on the Jansenist issue and challenging the absolutist principle that the king along made law.

• Absolutism in France made the state more demanding, as well as more responsive.

The EndThe End