Louis Xiv

Research Notes

Louis XIV - http://www.girouard.org/cgi-bin/page.pl?file=louis14&n=7

• Born 1638
• Was king in 1643 – ruled for 72 years
• His father died when he was 8 and he was named king technically
• Inherited a divided, bankrupt nation with a poor military
• He believed his power as king was a gift from god and he would rule as an absolute monarch

Louis XIV - http://history.wisc.edu/sommerville/351/351-13.htm

• Did not officially take leadership until death of Cardinal Mazarin in 1661
• Had a great appreciation for the arts – later built Palace of Versailles
• Married Maria Theresa, daughter of Philip IV of Spain, as to connect the 2 nations
• Very religious – attended mass everyday
• Replaced his mother from the high council with powerful clergymen and bureaucrats
• Louis blamed parliament of Paris for the Fronde – in 1673 he forced it to register edicts before it prepared remonstrates
• When the war with Spain ended in 1659, direct taxation and many arrears were written off – indirect taxation rose as France grew more prosperous
• Louis moved into Versailles in 1682 which set standards for royal palaces across Europe and acted as a showpiece of French monarch power
• The French Academy founded in 1634 extended artistic creativity

King Louis XIV - http://www.spanishsuccession.nl/louis.html

• Louis is remembered for raising French arts to peak level
• Also remembered for being a power hungry king attempting to submit everyone to his authority
• Cultural effects are in part a side effect to his political agenda
• Success in war with Spain brought high fiscal pressure which lead to the revolt of the Fronde in 1648 – ended with signing of Peace of Rueil in 1649
• Spanish conde was arrested which lead to revolt of several princes – this civil war ended with the surrender of the Bordeaux to the crown in 1653 – peace concluded in 1659 when france gained considerable territorial advantages
• At 21, louis had seen 5 years of civil...