Thursday, July 9, 2020

Western History 108: What were the key events in Louis XIV’s reign?


What were the key events  in Louis XIV’s reign?
Louis XIV ascended to the French throne in 1643 at  our years of age. Until he came of age France was under the de facto control of his mother, Anne of Austria, and Cardinal Mazarin. Louis was for the most part a forgotten figure and was almost killed during the Fronde revolt of 1648.He suffered neglect during a turbulent time that helped shape his hatred of Paris and the nobility.
However under Mazarin’s tutelage Louis developed a passion for the Arts and high culture. He also honed his administrative skills which would be a strong feature of his rule. Still in his early days he was largely a figurehead with Mazarin directing policy.

Louis XIV - Brother, Spouse & Accomplishments - Biography


Louis XIV - Source: biography.com

In 1661 Mazarin passed away and Louis would emerge as King in both right and practice. He had three years earlier married Marie Theresa, the daughter of the Spanish king, Philip IV.
Louis was a strong believer in the Divine Right of Kings. His position in his eyes was ordained by God and he saw the state as a manifestation of himself. The Sun King sobriquet typifies this.

Jean-Baptiste Colbert | Palace of Versailles

Jean-Baptise Colbert source: en.chateauversailles.fr

On the day-to-day administration level Louis relied on two ministers – Jean-Baptiste Colbert and Hugues de Lionne. Colbert was very influential in driving French economic growth. He worked to reform France’s tax system especially with respect to the direct tax known as the Taille by reviewing exemption criteria that were biased in favour of the nobility and clergy. Collection protocols were also improved to reduce corruption (which was endemic to the system).

 In trade Colbert followed a mercantilist approach that was later discredited by economists such as Adam Smith and David Ricardo. Mercantilism saw trade as a zero sum game that worked best if a country’s exports were maximized and its imports minimized. The tariff function became an important tool to substantiate such policy.  While the results of such policy had short term benefits they proved to be destructive in the long run.

Hugues de Lione’s influence was felt more in the theatre of foreign policy. He encouraged Louis to embark on an expansionist  policy that ultimately catalyzed many of the wars that defined Louis’s reign (to be discussed later).. 

Hugues de Lionne

Hugues de Lione source: nga.gov

One of the great achievements of Louis’ reign was the building of the magnificent Palace at Versailles. Louis saw the palace as a symbol of French prestige and brilliance. He loathed Paris and used Versailles as a way of housing and checking the nobility whose loyalty he did not trust. However the palace also isolated the king from the common people with its construction incurring a large debt.

Official website - Palace of Versailles

Palace of Versailles source:  en.chateauversailles.fr

In his role as an administrator Louis kept to a very rigid schedule that worked to make France more successful as a marine and manufacturing power. He was not shy of detail and actively engaged himself in both road and canal construction supervision.

Louis himself was very much a patron of the art. He was a protector of both Moliere and Racine and had a love for the visual beauty of painting

However his legacy was tainted in another respect. In 1685 Louis XIV's Edict of Fontainebleau revoked the Edict of Nantes, that guaranteed religious toleration for Protestants in France. This would result in religious persecution of the Huguenot minority (French Calvinists) and a max exodus of this sub-group, many of whom were artisans, from France. They would serve to strengthen the economic foundations of those countries that gave them refuge.

The Huguenot Society of America – Established 1883


Huguenots leaving France source: huguenotsocietyofAmerica. org

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