1. The Foundations of Absolutism in France
Henry IV, Sully, Cardinal Richelieu, & Louis XIV

2. Characteristics of Absolutism
Ruled by “Divine Right”
Cooperation with the nobility
Creation of Government Bureaucracies
Permanent Standing Armies

3. Henry IV (r.1589 -1610) Henry IV inherited an enormous mess
Starvation, war, pillage and plunder
He promised a “chicken in every pot”
Tried to gain protestant support by appointing protestant Maximilien de Bethune, duke of Sully as chief minister
He and Sully helped France get back on its feet

4. Henry IV and Sully The Edict of nantes (1598)
He tried to keep France out of war
Brief but successful war with Savoy in 1601
Lowered taxes on the peasants
introduced the paulette
Annual fee paid by officials to guarantee heredity in their offices
Subsidized the Company for trade with the Indies
Started a country-wide highway system

6. The King is Dead
Henry was assassinated in 1610 by a “crazed fanatic” (Francois Ravaillac)
Queen-regent Marie de Medici ruled for their son Louis XIII
Feudal lords and princes began to assert control
Marie appointed Cardinal Richelieu to the council of ministers in 1624

8. Cardinal Richelieu (1585 -1642)

9. Richelieu’s Domestic Policies
Main Goal = total subordination to the monarchy
Leveled castles (to put down feudal symbols of independence)
Dealt with threats (duke of Montmorency, Godson of Henry IV)
Divided France into 32 generalites (districts)
Appointed royal commissioners (intendants)
Not locals from the district
Became the eyes and ears of the king

10. French Generalites

11. Strengthening the Monarchy
Henry IV created the Edict of Nantes (1598)
Allowed for 150 Huguenot towns
Louis XIII saw this as “a state within a state” and called for a unification of faith
Battle ensues- La Rochelle (1628)
Protestant district with ties to the English and Dutch
The city fell and the Catholic liturgy was reinstated
First mass was celebrated by cardinal Richelieu himself

12. The Siege of La Rochelle

13. Richelieu Continued The creation of the French Academy
Foreign policy = The destruction of the Habsburgs
Example: Participation in the Thirty Years’ War
Major limitation = couldn’t tax at will so…cooperation with local elites
Raison d’etat = Reason of state
“Where the interests of the state are concerned, God absolves actions which, if privately committed, would be a crime.” (p536)

14. From Richelieu to Mazarin
Mazarin was not as strong as Richelieu
Period of civil wars ( ) known as the Fronde
3 results of the Fronde
Government would have to compromise with the social elites and the bureaucracy
Economy was devastated
Was a traumatic experience that left a mark on the young Louis XIV

15. Louis XIV (b d.1715)

16. Louis XIV “The Sun King”
Longest reign in European history (r )
Responsible for the “complete domestication of the nobility”
Built the Royal Court of Versailles
Kept the nobility close at hand
Never called the estates general
Nobility had no means of united expression
Appointed Colbert as the controller general of finances

17. Mercantilism under Colbert
Theory = A nation’s international power was based on the amount of gold they possessed
France should sell products to other countries (for gold) and make everything it needs within France = self-sufficiency
The government subsidized industry
Set standards and regulations
The Creation of a powerful merchant marine
Invested $ in shipbuilding and the training of sailors
Helped make Canada and eventually Louisiana part of the French empire

18. Colbert’s Projects Canal des Deux Mers
240 km in length (connects the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean)
An example of cooperation with local elites (nobility)
Finished in 1681 (fifteen years to construct)

19. Religious Issues: The Revocation of the Edict of Nantes (1685)
First, the French monarchy never intended religious toleration to be permanent
Religious pluralism was still not accepted
Louis was basically tolerant but wanted one faith for political reasons
“One king, one law, one faith”
Second, religious liberty was not a popular policy
Aristocrats wanted Louis to crackdown on Protestants

20. The revocation cont. Following the Revocation:
Destruction of Huguenot churches
closing of schools
baptism of Huguenots
the exile of pastors
Huguenots fled to Holland, England, Prussia, Cape Town
The Huguenots leaving had little impact on the economy of France

21. Louis XIV’s Wars
Louis XIV kept France at war for 33 of his 54 years of personal rule
France’s military grew from 25,000 men in 1635 to 250,000 in 1659
Furthered the creation of a professional military
New methods of feeding the troops
Ambulance corps
Standardized weapons and uniforms
Rational system of promotion

22. Louis XIV’s Wars War of Devolution (1667)
Low Countries should go to his wife
Triple Alliance
Sweden, England, Holland
Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle 1668
Gained commercial towns
Lille and Tournai

23. Wars Continued The Dutch War (1672-1678)
To save Amsterdam the Dutch flooded the countryside
Treaty of Nijmegen (1678/79)
France gets Franche-Comte
Parts of Flanders

24. Charles II of Spain

25. Wars Continued The War of Spanish Succession
Charles II of Spain (r )
No heirs
Philip of Anjou (Louis XIV’s grandson) was the next closest relative
Union of Spain & France would upset the balance of power w/in Europe
Grand Alliance (1701)
Prussia, Austria, Dutch, England
War ends in 1713

26. Peace of Utrecht (1713) Philip of Anjou = King of Spain
France and Spain never united
England receives territory from France
The English get the Slave trade from Spain
Dutch gain very little
Austria receives Spanish Netherlands
Completed the decline of Spain as a great power
“Balance of Power” principle