France’s Ultimate Monarch

KEY IDEA After a century of wars and riots, Louis XIV, the most powerful monarch of his time, ruled France

The Bourbons Gain the French Throne

France was torn by eight religious wars between Catholics and Protestants from 1562 to 1598.

In 1589, a Protestant prince, Henry of Navarre,

became King Henry IV of the Bourbon Dynasty. He changed religions in 1593, becoming a Catholic to please the majority of his people.

Henry of Navarre

The Bourbon Dynasty

The Bourbons are one of the most famous ruling dynasties of Europe. Beginning with Henry IV, a number of French kings came from this family. The Bourbons also held royal titles in Spain, Sicily, and other parts of Europe. The current king of Spain is a Bourbon-King Juan Carlos.

Henry Navarre’s Reforms

In 1598, he issued an order called the Edict of Nantes. It gave Huguenots—French Protestants—the right to live in peace and have their own churches in some cities.

 Henry rebuilt the French economy and brought peace to the land.

Henry was followed by his son, Louis XIII, a weak king. However, that son had a very capable chief minister, Cardinal Richelieu.

Richelieu ruled the land for Louis XIII and increased the power of the crown at the expense of the Huguenots and the nobility.

1. The cardinal ordered that Huguenots could not build walls for their cities.

2. He also said nobles had to destroy their castles.

Cardinal Richelieu Takes Control of France

Richelieu Continues to Lessen the Power of the Nobles

Richelieu also tried to curb the power of the nobility by banning the luxurious clothing and prohibiting sword fights which was a popular recreation of the noble lords.

 As a result, Protestants and nobles could

not hide within walls to defy the king’s power.

Richelieu used people from the middle class

not nobles—to work in his government. That

also cut nobles’ power.

French thinkers had reacted to the religious wars

with horror. They developed a new attitude— skepticism. Nothing could be known for certain, they argued. Doubting old ideas was

the first step to learning the truth, they said.

The Sun King: Louis XIVDespite his royal standing, Louis XIV was neglected as a child. Once, he nearly drowned in a pond because no one was watching him. Later, he became known as the “Sun King”. He believed that, as with the sun, all power radiated from him .

In 1643, Louis XIV, age five, became king. Cardinal Mazarin ruled for him until Louis was old enough to take the throne. Mazarin was very influential in Europe. He brokered the Peace of Westphalia to end the Thirty Years War.

Louis XIV Becomes Absolute Ruler

Louis became a powerful ruler, with total control. He once said “I am the State” As a king, he worked hard and paid great attention to the smallest details of government. Louis determined never to let nobles challenge him.

There were many rebellions against Louis XIV but they failed because the French government acted swiftly and violently to stop them

Colbert Louis froze the nobles out of his government. He gave more power to government officials and made sure that they answered only to him.

He hired men called intendants to collect the taxes and administer justice.

Louis also worked hard to increase the wealth of France. His chief minister of finance, Jean Baptiste Colbert, tried to build French industry.

Colbert and MercantilismColbert aimed to convince French people to buy French-made goods and not those from other countries.

Louis urged people to settle in the new French colony in Canada. The fur trade there brought wealth to France.

At this time, many Huguenot artisans and businessmen began to flee France because the Edict of Nantes was cancelled and Huguenots could no longer worship in safety.

MerchantilismEconomics: Mercantilism refers to the popular economic policy during the age of the absolute monarchs. The principal goal was to increase state power at the expense of other nations. Mercantilists believed that this was done by increasing exports and reducing imports by holding large stores of gold and silver and by exploiting the resources of the colonies.

 

Louis XIV Builds a Glorious Palace

Louis enjoyed a life of luxury at his court. He built a huge and beautiful palace at Versailles near Paris.

France’s Power Grows Louis also made sure that nobles had to depend on his favor in order to advance in society. He would force the nobles to help him dress, feed him, clean his shoes and perform other demeaning tasks.

Louis made France the most powerful nation in Europe. France had more people and a larger army than any other country.

The League of Augsburg

The League of Augsburg was formed to stop the French expansion. Leaders from the Holy Roman Empire (Hapsburgs), Sweden, Spain and smaller European nations joined together in order to defeat France.

War Takes Its Toll on France

Louis made some mistakes that later proved costly.

After winning some wars against neighboring countries, he became bolder and tried to seize more land. Other nations joined together to stop France by the late 1680s.

 The high cost of these wars combined with

poor harvests to produce problems at home in France.

The War Of Spanish Succession

The final war fought in Louis’s time lasted from1700 to 1713. In this War of the

Spanish Succession, France and Spain attempted to

set up united thrones.

The chosen successor for the throne of Spain was Philip of Anjou. He was a Bourbon and related to the French Bourbon Dynasty.

The rest of Europe felt threatened and joined in war against them.

The war waged on across western Europe until the question of succession was settled by the Treaty of Utrecht. Philip of Anjou was allowed to be king as long as France and Spain were not politically united.

Both France and Spain were forced to give up some of their American and European colonies to England, the new rising power. England gained colonies in the New world and control of the Straits of Gibraltar, the entrance to the Mediterranean Sea.

The Treaty of Utrecht

The King of Spain Was an Imbecile

Charles II, King of Spain, was mentally challenged (too much inbreeding among the royals) and never had control of any part of the Spanish government. His advisors made all decisions for him. He was so severely deformed that his food had to be chewed for him in order for him to be able to eat. It was his death that prompted the frenzy over the Spanish Throne.