The France of Louis XIV, 1643 to 1715:

The Triumph of Absolutism 

Day 28-30 Chapter 16 (p. 532-44) (4.21) French Absolutism

Agenda for Today

• Return Test Ch 12-15

• Watch “Dream of a King”– Begin at 23:00

• Absolutism Slide Show

• Homework

• Read 532-548

• Quiz on this stuff Wednesday

Let’s Review (Again and Again)

1. central idea of Calvinism that said that one's fate had already been set by God

2. reactionary Protestant group who advocated religious toleration and adult baptism

3. Italian Renaissance goal to attain a quality of greatness, genius, of reaching one’s full potential

4. Luther's list of grievances against the Catholic Church

5. Spartan palace of Philip II

6. where Luther said, “to go against conscience is neither right nor safe”

7. treaty in 1555 which recognized Lutheranism and Catholicism in HRE

8. Muslim converts to Catholicism in Spain

9. central idea in Lutheranism which said the individual must save his own soul

10.Queen of England who attempted to recatholicize her country

1. said "Paris is well worth a mass"

2. "get out of hell free" cards which led to Reformation

3. Massacre of French Calvinists during wedding in 1572

4. art of the Counterreformation

5. massive Spanish fleet which was partially destroyed by "Protestant Wind" in 1588

6. meeting of Catholic authorities from 1545-1563 that reformed Catholic Church

7. Monks who wiped themselves as form of penance for society’s sins

8. the "father of humanism"

9. Renaissance humanist who said man is rightfully named a magnificent miracle and a wondrous creation

10.granted Huguenots some civil and religious rights in 1598

11.secular French politicians who advocated a strong absolute monarchy in order to bring about peace

12.brutal tribunal of the Duke of Alva meant to eradicate Calvinism in Netherlands

13.Said “I speak Spanish to God, Italian to women, French to my men, and German to my horse.”

14."house" from which Henry of Navarre came

15.King of England who broke away from the Catholic Church in order to secure a male heir to the throne

1. Predestination

2. Anabaptist

3. Virtu

4. 95 Theses

5. Escorial

6. Diet of Worms

7. Peace of Augsburg

8. Morisco

9. Priesthood of All Believers

10. Bloody Mary

11. Henry of Navarre (Bourbon, IV)

1. Indulgences

2. St. Barts Massacre

3. Baroque

4. Spanish Armada

5. Council of Trent

6. Flagellants

7. Petrach

8. Mirandola

9. Edict of Nantes

10. Politiques

11. Council of Troubles (Blood)

12. Charles V (HRE)

13. Bourbon

14. Henry VIII

Rise of Western Absolutism

1589 1598 1604 1629 1643 1649 1701 1715

Henry IV

Edict of Nantes

Stuart Reign Begins

Peace of Alais

Sun King’s Reign

Begins

Fronde

Treaty of Utrecht

War of Spanish

Succession

Absolutism• Defined: Monarchy posses exclusive

sovereign power over the State– Sovereignty- a monopoly over the

instruments of power• Executive, Judicial, legislative• Characterized by increased

government control over religion, economy, army

• L’etat, c’est moi” (the state is myself)- Louis XIV

• Absolutism is Not Totalitarianism• Absolutism Lacked ability to enforce

total regulation of art, culture, press, education, etc.

• Totalitarianism emphasizes• Nationalism• Insignificance of the individual• Darwinist emphasis of

competition & survival of the fittest among nations

Characteristics (of Western Absolutism)• Rule by Divine Right of Kings

– the king is the earthly representative of God

• Bureaucracies – utilized to enforce monarch’s will– Intendants from bourgeoisie class

• Nobility effectively brought under control

– Nobility lived with King Louis XIV at Versailles

– Eastern European nobility became more powerful (as officers in army)

• Large Standing Army– Uniformed, disciplined,

professional under monarchs control

– Royal power was absolute but not arbitrary

Theory of Absolutism• Jean Bodin (1530-1596)- a politique

– Wrote Les Six livres de la République (The Six Books of the Commonwealth) during French civil wars of 1500s

– Believed only absolutism could bring stability to country (Wars of Religion)

– Said that monarch can not be subject to outside force (nobility)

• Nobility have “Special Interests”– But said monarch is subject to reason

• Bishop Jacques Bossuet (1627-1704)– Created principle of divine right of kings– King placed on throne by god

• Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679)– Leviathan– Pessimistic view of man in a state of nature

• “Nasty, brutish, and short”• Everyone seeks power, gain

– Rejected idea of “divine right”– Purely secular reasons for absolutism– Believes monarch should have supreme power

based on Social Contract

Louis XIV of France as the Sun.

Jacques Benigne Bossuet, Political Treatise

• It appears from all this that the person of the king is sacred, and that to attack him in any way is sacrilege. God has the kings anointed by his prophets with the holy unction in like manner as he has bishops and altars anointed. But even without the external application in thus being anointed, they are by their very office the representatives of the divine majesty deputed by Providence for the execution of his purposes. Accordingly God calls Cyrus his anointed. "Thus saith the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him." Kings should be guarded as holy things, and whosoever neglects to protect them is worthy of death . . . But kings, although their power comes from on high, as has been said, should not regard themselves as masters of that power to use it at their pleasure ; . . . they must employ it with fear and self-restraint, as a thing coming from God and of which God will demand an account.

Roots of Absolutism • Henry of Navarre (Bourbon)• Laid foundation for French absolutism• Duke of Sully (1560-1641)

– Henry’s chief economic adviser– Promoted mercantilism

• Granted monopolies on gunpowder and salt

• Revived trade• Nationalized mines• Rebuild roads, canals

– Lowered taxes for peasants• Promised a “chicken in every pot”

– Taxed Nobility• Paulette

– Annual fee paid to retain hereditary rights

• Ended Religious/Civil Wars in France– “Paris is well worth a mass”– Edict of Nantes

• Weakened nobility– Nobles of the Sword

• Ousted from Royal Council– Nobles of the Robe

• Nouveau riches who purchased their titles

• Appointed to Parlement– Laws courts

• More loyal to king – Avoided calling an Estates General

• Parliamentary-type Meeting composed on the Three Estates (social classes) of France

• Assassinated by fanatical Catholic monk in 1610

Henry IV

Note the spelling

Cardinal Richelieu (1585-1642)• Following assassination of Henry IV, nobles

attempted to regain power over monarchy• Marie de Medici ruled for Louis XIII until 1617• Nobles banished Marie de Médici

– She had ruled as regent for her young son• Cardinal Richelieu

– Solidified the process of absolutism in France– A Politique– Gained power over Royal Council and became

chief adviser to King Louis (13)– Built French monarch into an absolute monarchy

• Raison d’etat (Reason of State)– Richelieu rationalized his sometimes

ruthless/unchristian like behavior– “Where the interests of the state are concerned,

God absolves actions which, if privately committed, would be a crime.”

• How did he do it?

• Prohibited private warfare and ordered the destruction of fortified castles not used by the king (symbol of feudalism)

• Richelieu went to war with Huguenots over Edict of Nantes– (EofN) Allowed them to

possess private armies, fortified castles

• Peace of Alais (1629)– Amended the Edict of Nantes – Huguenots can not share

political power, can not keep private armies

– Huguenots can practice Protestantism

Step 1: Control over armed force

Siege of Huguenot town, La Rochelle

Step 2: Took Power away from the Nobles• Richelieu created a

government bureaucracy to run France

• Intendants– Civil Servants used to

administer the country’s 32 districts

– From Nobles of the Robe (not Sword)

– Reported directly to king

– Never worked in home region

– Collected taxes, recruited soldiers, administered justice, kept eye on nobles

Step 3: Control the Economy• Richelieu used mercantilism

– Command economic structure whereby government tried to become self sufficient

• Main Characteristics– Bullion (gold)– Gain colonies– Grant monopolies– erected large tariffs

to prevent foreign competition

– Encourage domestic manufacturing

– Have favorable balance of trade

The Fronde (1648-1653)• Refers to a Parlement &

Nobility of Sword -led revolts against monarchy

– Wanted to stop absolutism

• Nobility (especially Sword)– resented loss of power

during reign of Louis XIII– Wanted an Estates

General (Parliament)• Parlements (law courts)

– Demanded the right to declare certain edicts unconstitutional (taxes) (judicial review)

• Believed that new King (Louis XIV) who was only a small boy could be controlled

Louis XIV

• Nobles had just returned from campaigns of 30 Years War

• Army was not directly under King’s control• Claimed Cardinal Mazarin (the New Richelieu)

had violated their ancient liberties• Bourgeoisie backed King

– Liked mercantilism and security of absolutism• Results of Fronde

– Louis XIV won– Left France badly damaged (Economy) – Louis XIV never trusts nobles

• Forced them to live with him at Versailles• Slowly emasculated them

– Made himself the center of French Absolutism

• Ruled directly as the Sun King

The Fronde (1648-1653)Historical Context

Louis XIV (1643-1715)• Quintessential absolute monarch• The Sun King• reigned for 72 years (1715)

– Began at age 5

• took personal direction in 1661 at age 23• Grand Monarque• More than a figurehead

– took over the institutions created by Richelieu

• ability to see and stick to policy, extremely methodical, worked hard

• Extremely narcissistic • Lavish and opulent displays• “every inch and at every minute a King.”• Reigns during France’s pinnacle of power

The Palace of Versailles• Louis vast palace located about 10

miles from Paris• monument to worldly splendor (Hall

of Mirrors, gardens, chandeliers)• Motived by need to keep eye on

nobles & showcase greatness of France

• Developed complex system of behaviors

– Lever, diner, coucher (rising, eating, going to bed)

– Every waking moment of King followed a series of complex rituals

– Six different ceremonies involved with lever (getting out of bed)

– Nobles of various rank had “privilege” of dress, undressing the king each day

– Induced great nobles to live a Versailles Click for Dream of a King (30:32-32)

• Following Fronde, Louis needed to centralized Army– created professional standing army

• Army during peace time– All armed men only fought for him– Put the artillery into the army– Systematized the ranks and grades– Defined the chain of command (Louis XIV at

the top)– Discipline and order become the rule of the day

• Led by Jean Martinet– 1st drillmaster – Introduced bayonet & depot (military

base)– Housed troops in barracks– French soldiers wore uniforms– Size created new bureaucratic demands

• increased army from 100, 000 to 400, 000

Absolutism and the Army

The Crossing of the Rhine by the Army of Louis XIV, 1672 1699 Musée du Louvre, Paris, France

Absolutism and the Economy• Jean Baptiste Colbert (1619-1683)

– financial minister• Needed way to raise money without taxing

nobility– Louis didn’t want to give up control to

nobles (so he didn’t tax them)• Mercantile System

– Increase textiles exports• Via Domestic System

• Great Five Farms – Free trade zone within France

• Commercial Codes – Required uniform standards of

manufacture (Quality Control)– More foreigners would trust buying

French goods– Edict required manufacturer of 3x

subpar standards tied to pillory with his faulty cloth

• Built Roads and canals

Louis Le Nain (French, 1603-1648)Peasant Interior with an Old Flute

Player c. 1642

Before Colbert’s reforms, goods moving from Paris to the English Channel, or from Switzerland to Paris, paid tolls at 16 places; goods moving from Orléans to Nantes(a distance of 270 km/170 miles), paid tolls at 28 points.

• Raised foreign tariffs – Imported NO foreign finished

goods• 16 thousand small

entrepreneurs executed for using foreign cotton cloth

• Subsidized development of certain manufactures– Silk, glassware, tapestries,

woolens• Founded colonies

– LaSalle claimed Mississippi basin for Louis (Louisiana)

• Granted Monopolies (corporations)– French East India Company

• Supplying large army drove much manufacturing

Absolutism and the Economy

Louis XIV visits the Gobelins (family who made tapestries) with Colbert, 15

October 1667

Absolutism and Religion• Edict of

Fontainebleau (1685)• Louis revoked of the

Edict of Nantes• Believed that religious

unity necessary for strength of his rule

– “One King, One Law, One Religion”

• Repressed Janenism (type of Calvinism in Catholic Church)

Revocation of the Edict of Nantes

• Pressure to re-Catholicize Huguenots increased• Dragooning (mounted infantrymen) were quartered in Huguenot

homes• In 1685 he revoked the Edict of Nantes• Persecution of Huguenots drives them out of France

– Went to Holland, Germany and America– Loss of Huguenots is economic blow to France

• At war most of his reign (1661-1715)

• Goal was to expand French territory and weaken Hapsburgs

• Expanded France via marriage and war

• Married to Charles II’s (of Spain) sister

• Annexed Spanish Netherlands, Franche Comte`, and Burgundy

– Expanded France’s borders

Absolutism and War

• Charles II of Spain coroneted in 1665• “The Bewitched”• Weak leader• Son of Philip IV & Mariana of Austria

(Phil’s niece)• Generations of inbreeding caused birth

defects– Mandibular prognathous (Hapsburg

Jaw)– Acromegaly- pituitary gland disorder

• Causes excessive growth in hands, feet, jaw

• Swollen tongue– Infertility

• On the throne until 1700• Reign marked Spain’s decline• His death led to War of Spanish

succession

War of Spanish SuccessionWar of Spanish Succession

Charles II was "short, lame, epileptic, senile, and completely bald before 35, he was always on the verge of death, but repeatedly baffled Christendom by continuing to live. American historians Will and Ariel Durant

• Charles II of Spain – Louis XIV is Charles II brother-

in-law– Leopold I (Austria) is Charles II’s

brother-in-law– Each have claim to throne

• Charles II of Spain died in 1700– left everything to Philip of Anjou

• Louis XIV’s grandson (17 yrs. Old)

• “The Pyrenees exist no longer”– Quote of diplomat after learning

of Philip’s accent to throne– Meant that Spain would become

a pawn of Louis XIV– French influence would run from

Belgium to Gibraltar

The War of the Spanish Succession (1702-1713)

Philip V

Balance of Power• Balance of power refers to

idea that there must be an equilibrium in power distribution among nations

– if one state grows too powerful, the others form a coalition against it

• Developed among city-states of Renaissance Italy

• Little to do with ideologies or sympathies (allies supported or rejected)

– later will become downfall of Europe (WWI)

The War of the Spanish Succession

• A Modern, formal war against states not against civilians– Professional soldiers, not

mercenaries did the fighting• Religion had nothing to do with

choosing sides• First “world war” events on

several continents are involved

• Louis XIV’s main foes = Netherlands & England– William III (of Orange &

England) – formed the “Grand Alliance”

of 1701

The Peace of Utrecht (1713-1714)• Treaty that ended War of Spanish Succession• Partitioned the world of Spain• France

– Philip of Anjou retains Spanish throne– Becomes Philip V– But thrones of France and Spain can never be joined– Retain Alsace and the French-Comte’

• Britain – got territory

• Gibraltar and Minorca, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, and Hudson Bay territory

• Gave British navy dominance over Mediterranean – Asiento

• British received exclusive rights to slave trade in Africa• right to supply slaves to Spanish colonies in America• very lucrative

• Austrian Habsburgs– get Milan, Naples, Sicily, and Spanish (now Austrian) Netherlands (Belgium)– Dutch

• Given right to erect “Dutch Barrier”

• string of forts and garrisons in Belgium are granted

• BUT Never play a prominent role in European political affairs

• Confirmation of the European system (Treaty of Westphalia)– Powers accepted each other as members

of the system– Recognized each other as sovereign

states• free to negotiate, make war, and

treaties– adjusted balance of power through

exchange of territories (third party territories?)

• Leaves France and England as the two major powers to export Europe to the world

• Louis XIV died in 1714– Left France extremely powerful yet

poisoned with traits that will lead to the French Revolution

Consequences of the war

Let’s Review• Term for exclusive sovereign power of state in hands

of monarch• Difference between Boussuetian and Hobbian

justification• Who said, “Paris is well worth a mass” and why• Why is the Peace of Alais an example of absolutism?• Other innovations of Richelieu• What was Fronde & its impact• Purpose of Versailles