The Reign of Louis XIV

1. Section 2 The Reign of Louis XIV

2. The Reign of Louis XIV Religious Wars and Power Struggles • 1562-1598Huguenots and Catholics fought 8 religious wars, during this time chaos spread through France • Huguenots were French Protestants • 1572St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre sparked 6 week war between Catholics and Protestants • 1589 Henry IV (a Protestant king) takes throne and gives up Protestantism and becomes Catholic to bring peace • 1598 Henry issues the Edict of Nantes that allowed Huguenots to live in peace across France and set up their own churches • After a generation of war people welcomed peace and Henry began to restore French monarchy and prosperity

3. The Reign of Louis XIV • After the death of Henry his son, Louis XIII took over • 1624 he appointed Cardinal Richelieu as his minister • Richelieu was the real power in France • Took steps to increase the power of the Bourbon monarchy in France • Took power from Huguenots, dictated their living conditions • Took power from nobles, made them more dependent on the king for protection • Put middle class in more powerful government positions • Richelieu also became involved in wars with the most powerful European dynasty the Hapsburgs (the Thirty Years War)

4. The Reign of Louis XIV Writers turn toward Skepticism • New French intellectual movement grew at this time, they had witnessed the religious wars • Many turned to the idea of skepticism (nothing can be known for certain), and the began to doubt the teaching of the church • Montaigne- developed new for of literature, the essay, to express a writers thoughts and feelings • Believed that humans could never have an absolute knowledge of what is true • Descartes used observations to determine that we could never know what was true • Influenced modern thinkers by developing the scientific method

5. The Reign of Louis XIV Louis XIV Comes to Power • Louis became king at age 4 in 1642 and ruled for 72 years • Believed that he and France were one (“I am the state”) • When Louis was young the real power behind the throne was Cardinal Mazarin • The nobles hated him because he raised their taxes and made the central government stronger • 1648- 1653 many riots broke out across France protesting Mazarin’s policies • Louis felt threatened and he never forgot about this, he decided to make the monarchy so strong that this would not happen again • Rebellions failed because peasants and townspeople grew tired of the fighting • Because they were tired of wars they accepted Louis oppressive laws

6. The Reign of Louis XIV • When Mazarin died Louis took control of the government himself • Weakened power of the nobles by removing them from his government • Increased the power of government agents who collected taxes and administered justice (intendants), they were not part of the nobility • Louis made sure local officials kept in touch with him regularly

7. The Reign of Louis XIV Economic Growth • Louis used finance minister Jean Baptiste Colbert to help France attain economic and political power • Colbert wanted France to become self sufficient and used mercantilist policies to meet his goals • Expanded manufacturing • Placed a high tariff on goods from other countries • Recognized importance of colonies to help economy • After Colbert’s death in 1685 economic progress slowed • Louis canceled Edict of Nantes • Many Huguenot businessmen and artisans left France and it took many skilled workers out of the economy

8. The Reign of Louis XIV • Louis surrounded himself with luxury at his palace Versailles • Palace became a symbol of wealth, seat of government, home for nobles • Made nobles dependent on Louis • Kept intendants in power in other parts of the country • By keeping nobles at Versailles it kept them from fighting each other, they fought for favor of Louis • Louis was a patron of the arts and he made ballet and opera more popular • The purpose of art was to glorify the king and promote his absolute rule

10. The Reign of Louis XIV • Under Louis France was the most powerful country in the world • France had the largest, best trained and equipped army in Europe • 1667 Louis invades Spanish Netherlands to expand French boundaries • Dutch defeat French • 1680’s European alliance established to stop French and achieve a balance of power across Europe (no single country could dominate others) • Alliance called the League of Augsburg (England, Spain, Hapsburg Austria, other smaller countries) they equaled French strength • Poor harvests and constant warfare and higher taxes weakened France at this time

11. The Reign of Louis XIV War of Spanish Succession • War fought between Spain and France, the two greatest European powers • Other European countries joined in • War lasted for 14 years, ended by the Treaty of Utrecht • Big winner was Great Britain • British took over Gibraltar that controlled the entrance to the Mediterranean • Also gave the British French controlled territories in the Americas

12. The Reign of Louis XIV Louis Death and Legacy • Louis death was good news across France, they were tired of the Sun King • Legacy • Made France a European power • France became a military power • Led other nations in the promotion of art, literature • Constant warfare left France in debt • Tax burden and the abuse of power by Louis would eventually lead to rebellion against the monarchy by the end of the 1700’s