French AbsolutismFrench Absolutism

LOUIS XIVLOUIS XIV

• 17th century was a period of great transition

• European climate was getting colder - less food

• Governments spent more - mostly on armies and raised taxes on the poor

• France and Spain gained control over the papacy

• England and Germany establish national churches

• We see the start of absolutism - rulers with absolute power

• They reigned by divine right not like medieval monarchs, by the grace of God

• They:a) controlled the churchb) law courtsc) abolished freedoms and libertiesd) maintained permanent armiese) used secret police and spiesf) established huge bureaucracies focused on the kingg) secured the cooperation of the nobility

• Not total rule because the lacked the resources

• But it did foreshadow totalitarianism in 2 respects:i) glorification of the state over all elseii) use of war and expansionism to divert attention from domestic problems

• Henry IV and his advisor the Duke of Sully laid the foundations for absolutism in France

• Sully:a) revived the paulette tax- a tax on hereditary positionsb) started a highway systemc) and dreamed of an international organization to keep the peaced) also indirect tax on salt and sales

• But the number of taxes actually declined – and revenues increased

• Henry died; Marie de Medici ruled for the boy-king Louis XIII

• In 1624 she appointed Cardinal Richelieu her Council of Ministers

• Richelieu:a) subordinated all offices to the monarchyb) weakened the power of the noblesc) recruited for the armyd) supervised tax collectione) checked on nobilityf) regulated economic activity

• Richelieu’s policy was to weaken the Habsurgs who surrounded France

• 1631 France joins Sweden in the Thirty Years’ War against the Catholics

• Richelieu wrote Political Testament which said power is based on revenue

• French monarchs couldn’t tax at will so they would never have complete control

• “raison d’etat” - what is done for the state is done for God

• Richelieu persuaded the king to appoint Jules Mazarin as his successor

• Richelieu and Louis both died

• Queen Anne of Austria governs for her son Louis XIV

• Mazarin continues Richelieu’s policies but leads to a civil war - The Fronde (1648-53)

• The war was between the king and the nobility - the frondeurs

• Violence continued for 12 years and had three significant results:a) government would have to compromise with the nobilityb) the economy was ruined and would take years to rebuildc) Louis XIV would never forget the trauma

• Under Louis (Sun King) absolutism reached its height

• 1661 Mazarin died and Louis took control of the economy

• “When Louis sneezed, all Europe caught cold”

• Reigned for 72 years

• Married Maria Theresa because of a diplomatic arrangement with Spain

• Had complete control over all classes of society• Ruled from Versailles where he required the

nobility to reside for several months each year• 60% of revenue was spent on the maintaining

of Versailles

• Never called the Estates General

• Other monarchs imitated Louis and French replaced Latin as the language of the educated

• But his weakness was always finances

• He appointed Jean-Baptiste Colbert Controller of Finances

• Colbert believed the wealth of the country should serve the state

• He applied the theory of mercantilism to France

• Mercantilism - government policies for the regulation of economic activities by and for the state

• Colbert sent 4,000 people to Canada

• Marquette and Joliet - Mississippi RiverLa Salle - Louisiana

• Commercial class prospered while agriculture declined

• Because of war, bad harvests, deflation of currency, and emigration Colbert’s goals were never attained

• 1685 Louis revoked the Edict of Nantes

• Closed schools, destroyed Protestant churches, and exiled those who would not renounce their faith

• “one king, one law, one faith”“un roi, une loi, une foi”

• The revocation won Louis enormous praise

Louis XIV’s WarsLouis XIV’s Wars• Kept France at war for most of his reign

• Appointed Marquis de Louvois secretary of State for War

• Louvois created a professional armyA) feed the troopsb) an ambulance corpc) standard weapons and uniformsd) rationalized traininge) regulated promotion

• 1667 Louis invaded Flanders no success• 1672 he invaded Holland but the Dutch saved themselves

by flooding their land• 1681 he seized Strasbourg and parts of Lorraine• 1689 William of Orange - king of England• William joined the League of Augsburg, but neither side

won• Claude Le Peletier, Colbert’s successor devalued the

currency and sold offices and titles to the nobility

• Between 1688-94 bad harvests sent the price of wheat skyrocketing

• 1694 Lord Pontchartrain imposed the capitation raise money

• 1701-1713 The War of Spanish Successiona) old territorial disputesb) dynastic question of Spanish throne

• 1700 Charles II was king of Spain - he was insane• Charles died in 1700 and left the throne to the

grandson of Louis XIV, Philip of Anjou• The Dutch and British

refused to accept Frenchcontrol of the Spanish colonies and Netherlands

• English, Dutch, Austrian and Prussians formed the Grand Alliance

• Even though the were all fighting the French internal conflicts developed

• Two soldiers dominated:Eugene, prince of Savoy representing the HREJohn Churchill representing England

PEACE OF UTRECHTPEACE OF UTRECHT• Philip of Anjou remains king of Spain• Spain and France must never unite• France gave Austria Spanish Netherlands• France gave England Nova Scotia, Hudson Bay,

Newfoundland• France recognizes the Hohenzollern rulers of Prussia• Spain gave England Gibraltar• Spain gave England -asiento- the rights to the slave

trade

The TreatyThe Treaty

• Represented the balance of power principle

• Saw the decline of Spain

• Saw the rise of the British Empire

• Marked the end of French expansionism

French ClassicismFrench Classicism• Poussin was the greatest classicist

painterRape of the Sabine Women

• Absolutism and Classicism melded • Art glorified the king• Lully, Couperin, and Charpentier created great

orchestral works• Moliere and Racine wrote powerful plays on

controversial issues• Les Femmes Savantes - Tartuffe, mocked

intelligent women

Spanish DeclineSpanish Decline• No middle class• Agricultural decline• Population decline• Failure to invest wisely• Intellectual isolation (religious reasons)• Increase in Dutch and English trade with Americas• Americas develop local industries• Increasing royal expenditure

• 1715 Spain a second-rate power• Several times the king declares bankruptcy and cancels

national debt• People dropped out of society or turned to religion• High rents and taxes drove peasants off the land• Philip IV left control to Count-Duke Olivares• Olivares believed in imperialism• Imperialism meant conflict with the Dutch