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 - 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-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 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.
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.
Huguenots leaving France source: huguenotsocietyofAmerica. org
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