French Absolutism Louis XIV

Jacques Bénigne Bossuet “Politics Drawn from the Very Words of Scripture” 1679 “The royal power is absolute…The prince need render account of his acts to no one…Without this absolute authority [he] could neither do good nor repress evil. It is necessary that his power be such that no one can hope to escape him… The prince… is not regarded as a private person: he is a public personage, all the state is in him; the will of all the people is included in his. As all perfection and all strength are united in God, so all the power of individuals is united in the person of the prince.”

Age of Crisis  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  England and Germany establish national churches  France and Spain gained control over the papacy

Age of Crisis  Two very different forms of government would evolve – absolutism and constitutionalism  Constitutionalism would exist in Britain and The Netherlands  Absolutism would exist in France, Prussia, Austria, and Russia  In France the process towards absolutism would start after the premature death of Henry IV in 1610

Absolutism  The 17 th century the start of absolutism - rulers with absolute power  They reigned by divine right not like medieval monarchs, by the grace of God  Their reign was also marked by the influence of great men like Richelieu, Mazarin, and Colbert  But even the actions of these men could not stop social disturbances, wars, political problems

Absolutism  Absolute monarchs: a) controlled the church b) law courts c) abolished freedoms and liberties d) maintained permanent armies e) used secret police and spies f) established huge bureaucracies focused on the king g) secured the cooperation of the nobility

The Bourbon Family Crest

Foundations of Absolutism  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 positions b) started a highway system c) and dreamed of an international organization to keep the peace - peace equated to profit d) also indirect tax on salt and sales  But the number of taxes actually declined – and revenues increased

Foundations of Absolutism  After the assassination of Henry (1610) by a deranged Catholic monk, the nobility revived their ambitions  Marie de Medici ruled for the boy-king Louis XIII who was 9 years old – she was incompetent and surrounded herself with those who sought favors  In 1614 Louis declared himself in-charge  In 1614 the Estates General was convened, but to no effect  In 1624 Louis was persuaded to make Armand Jean du Plessis, Cardinal Richelieu his chief minister

Richelieu ( )  Subordinated all offices to the monarch  Weakened the power of the nobles  Recruited for the army  Supervised tax collection  Checked on nobility  Regulated economic activity  Weaken the Habsburgs who surrounded France

Intendants  France divided into 32 generalites (districts)  Royal Commissioners –Could not be native of district –Recruited from newer judicial nobility (noblesse de robe “robe nobility”)  Performed specific tasks –Recruited men for the army –Supervised collection of taxes –Administration of local law –Regulated trade and commerce

Richelieu  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 could not tax at will so they would never have complete control  Richelieu believed in the phrase, “raison d’etat” - what is done for the state is done for God  He curtailed the power of the nobles and the Huguenots who had been granted limited religious freedom with the Edict of Nantes  In 1627 the Huguenot’s occupied the port at La Rochelle  Richelieu personally led the campaign against them and starved them into submission

“Raison d’etat” “Where the interests of the state are concerned, God absolves actions, which, if privately committed, would be a crime.”  Machiavellian?

Richelieu  In 1629 the Peace of Alais revoked part of the Edict that allowed the Huguenots to establish fortified towns and ports  To curtail the power of the nobility Richelieu had the Huguenot leaders executed  Richelieu’s major weakness was economics – he built roads, canals, and improved domestic industry  His involvement in wars kept draining the treasury and gained few tangible benefits  Richelieu persuaded the king to appoint Jules Mazarin as his successor  He died in 1642 (the same year as Galileo)

Cardinal Mazarin  Louis XIII died in 1643  Queen Anne of Austria governed for her son Louis XIV who was only 5  Their advisor was the Italian Jules Mazarin who was much more diplomatic than Richelieu  Mazarin was a staunch advocate of absolutism and he hated Spain  In the 1640s Mazarin increased taxes on the wealthy

The Fronde  The policies lead to a civil war - The Fronde ( )  The war was between the king and the nobility - the frondeurs  1st Phase- Began among robe nobility when judges of Parisian high court rejected idea to raise new taxes by rescinding judicial salaries  2 nd Phase- Spread to the sword nobility (noblesse d’ epée) who were angered by increasing power of central government

The Fronde  Violence continued sporadically for most of the time and had three significant results: a) government would have to compromise with the nobility b) the economy was ruined and would take years to rebuild c) Louis XIV would never forget the trauma  By 1653 nearly all the rebels had been suppressed and royal authority had been re-asserted

Young Louis XIV

Louis XIV  1661 Mazarin died and Louis took control of the economy  Louis told his advisors he would rule alone  Had complete control over all classes of society and became the envy of monarchs across Europe, but most Frenchmen spent their time just trying to survive  Many Frenchmen died before reaching their first birthday  He reigned for 72 years and it was said that “When Louis sneezed, all Europe caught cold”  Married Maria Theresa because of a diplomatic arrangement with Spain

Marie Theresa & the Dauphin

Louis XIV

 Louis may not have said “L’état c’est moi!” but it summed up his reign  Never called the Estates General  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  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

L’ etat c’est moi! By Hyacinthe Rigaud By Hyacinthe Rigaud

Louis XIV’s Carriage

Louis XIV as Apollo

by Jean Nocret, 1670

The Sun Symbol

Colbert  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  Nation’s international power based on its wealth, gold supply  Essential to sell more goods abroad than it bought

Colbert  He built roads and canals to enhance communications. He established industries to eliminate imports, and he improved tax collection  Colbert sent 4,000 people to Canada  Marquette and Joliet - Mississippi River  La Salle – Louisiana  Commercial class prospered while agriculture declined  Because of war, bad harvests, deflation of currency, and emigration Colbert’s goals were never attained

Jean-Baptiste Colbert

State Religion  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 but it proved to be a great mistake as over 200,000 Huguenots left France for England, The Netherlands, or the United States taking with them skills and resources

Louis XIV’s Wars  Because he felt the need to be victorious in war and to control Europe he kept France at war for most of his reign  Appointed Marquis de Louvois secretary of State for War  Louvois created a professional army A) feed the troops b) an ambulance corp. c) standard weapons and uniforms d) rationalized training e) regulated promotion

Louis XIV’s Wars  In 1667, during the War of Devolution, Louis invaded Flanders no success  In 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

Louis XIV’s Wars  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 Holy Roman Empire and John Churchill representing England

dia/en/c/c3/War_of_the_Spanish_S uccession_family_tree.jpg

Louis XIV’s Wars  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 War of Spanish Succession a) old territorial disputes b) dynastic question of Spanish throne  The Dutch and British refused to accept French control of the Spanish colonies and Netherlands

Peace 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  Marked the end of French expansionism

Peace of Utrecht  Spain gave England Gibraltar  Spain gave England -asiento- the rights to the slave trade  Represented the balance of power principle  Saw the decline of Spain  Saw the rise of the British Empire

Louis XIV Gian Lorenzo Bernini, 1665

Versailles Statistics f 2,000 acres of grounds f 12 miles of roads f 27 miles of trellises f 200,000 trees f 210,000 flowers planted every year f 80 miles of rows of trees f 55 acres surface area of the Grand Canal f 12 miles of enclosing walls f 50 fountains and 620 fountain nozzles f 21 miles of water conduits f 3,600 cubic meters per hour: water consumed f 26 acres of roof f 51,210 square meters of floors f 2,153 windows f 700 rooms f 67 staircases f 6,000 paintings f 1,500 drawings and 15,000 engravings f 2,100 sculptures f 5,000 items of furniture and objects d'art f 150 varieties of apple and peach trees in the Vegetable Garden

Louis XIII’s Old Chateau

Versailles Today

Palais de Versailles

Versailles Palace, Park Side

Garden View of Versailles

Chateau de Versailles

André Le Nôtre, Royal Gardener

Versailles’ Northern Gardens

Gardens at Versailles

Chateau de Versailles Gardens

The Orangery

Grounds at Versailles

The Lightening of the Belvedere by Claude Chatelet, 1781

Fountains, Fountains, and More Fountains!

And More Fountains!

And Even More Fountains!!!

Temple of Love

Hall of Mirrors

The Queen’s Bed The King’s Bed

Louis XIV’s Chapel

Louis XIV’s Chapel Altarpiece

Organ in Louis XIV’s Chapel

Louis XIV’s Opera Stage

Cabinet with Views of Versailles, 19c

Louis XIV Furniture

The Gallery of Battles

Louis XV [r – 1774]

The “Hunts” of Louis XV

Madame de Pompadour

Madame de Pompadour’s Bedroom

Petite Trianon, Madame de Pompadour’s Chateau

Marie Antoinette & Her Children

Marie Antoinette’s Boudoir

Marie Antoinette’s “Peasant” House

Marie Antoinette’s “Peasant’s Hut”