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Louis XIV

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Synopsis

Louis XIV was born on September 5, , in Saint-Germaine-en-Laye, France. He became king in As of , he started reforming France. In he invaded the Spanish Netherlands. From – he engaged France in the Franco-Dutch War. In , he led a war between France and the Grand Alliance.

Louis xiv brother: Louis's early years were marked by a series of rebellions against his mother and Mazarin, which were known as the 'Fronde'. He was buried at the Basilica of St. Another effect of the war the overexertion of France which may have led to the Anglo-Saxon world domination that followed. Along with his changes to the government, Louis XIV created a number of programs and institutes to infuse more of the arts into French culture.

By the s, Louis XIV generated public hostility. He died in Versailles, France, on September 1,

Childhood and Early Reign

Louis XIV was born on September 5, , in Saint-Germaine-en-Laye, France, and christened Louis-Dieudonné—French for "Gift of God." His mother was the Hapsburg Spanish queen Anne of Austria, and his father was Louis XIII, king of France.

Louis XIV had a brother named Philippe, who was two years younger.

On May 14, , when Louis XIV was just 4 and a half years old, his father passed away. Not much more than a toddler, Louis XIV succeeded his father to the throne, becoming the leader of 19 million French subjects and a highly unstable government. Over the course of his childhood, Louis XIV was primed as a leader, receiving a practical education rather than a scholarly one.

Louis XIV's godfather, Italian-born Chief Minister Cardinal Jules Mazarin, was responsible for tutoring the boy in history, politics and the arts. Louis XIV's governor, Nicolas de Neufville, was appointed to keep watch over the lad, but incidents like young Louis XIV’s near drowning indicate that the monarch was overlooked as a child, if not as a ruler in the making.

In , when Louis XIV was still shy of 10 years old, the Parlement of Paris rebelled against his chief minister, Mazarin.

In an attempt to overthrow the crown, they waged a civil war, called the Fronde, against its supporters.

Louis xiv biography summary form pdf This was largely due to the fact that he always had new ideas about ways to expand the palace. His mother served as regent until he was educated enough to become ruling king. This status, coupled with Louis XIV's campaigns to continually expand territorial claims through the use of military force, positioned France as a threat to other European nations. In light of these wars, the growing size and might of the French army and other rising political tensions in Europe, many countries stopped being allies with France during this time.

Throughout the long war, Louis XIV suffered many hardships, including poverty and starvation. To Louis XIV's relief, Mazarin finally achieved victory over the rebels in After the civil war ended, Mazarin began to build an elaborate administration as Louis XIV stood by and observed his mentor. By then, Louis XIV had come of age, but he was still afraid to question Mazarin's authority.

A few years later, Louis XIV fell in love with Marie Mancini, Mazarin's niece.

Ultimately choosing duty over love, in he married the daughter of the king of Spain, Marie-Thérèse of Austria, instead. The marriage ensured ratification of the peace treaty that Mazarin had sought to establish with Hapsburg Spain.

Reforming France

Although Louis XIV’s mother, Anne, had become his regent when he took the throne as a child, Chief Minister Cardinal Jules Mazarin held the true power throughout Louis XIV's early reign.

It wasn't until Mazarin died in , when Louis XIV was in his 20s, that the young king finally took control of the French government. Upon assuming full responsibility for the kingdom, Louis XIV quickly set about reforming France according to his own vision.

His first goal as absolute monarch was to centralize and rein in control of France.

With the help of his finance minister, Jean-Baptiste Colbert, Louis XIV established reforms that cut France's deficit and promoted industrial growth.

Louis xiv biography summary form 2 This had several implications. The Louvre was originally intended to be built upon and expanded as a royal residence, but it was given over to the arts and to the public after court relocated to Versailles. Although emigration of Protestants was explicitly forbidden by the Edict of Fontainebleau, thousands of people—estimates range from , to ,—fled in the decades that followed, settling in England, Switzerland, Germany and the American colonies, among other places. The Palace of Versailles Versailles was a country suburb about 20 kilometers from the capital of France.

During his reign, Louis XIV managed to improve France's disorganized system of taxation and limit formerly haphazard borrowing practices. He also conveniently declared members of nobility exempt from paying taxes, causing them to become even more fiscally dependent on the crown.

In implementing administrative reforms toward a more orderly and stable French government, Louis XIV forced provincial nobles to relinquish their former political influence.

In so doing, he constructed a more centralized administration with the bourgeoisie, or middle class, as its foundation.

Along with his changes to the government, Louis XIV created a number of programs and institutes to infuse more of the arts into French culture. In this vein, the Academy of Inscriptions and Belle-Lettres was founded in , followed by the Royal Academy of Music in Louis XIV also had Colbert oversee the construction of the Paris Observatory from to

Foreign Relations

Louis XIV is notorious for his overbearing approach to foreign policy.

In , he launched the invasion of the Spanish Netherlands, deeming it his wife's rightful inheritance.

Marie antoinette biography You can opt out at any time. Louis XIV shocked the country of France by becoming his own chief minister. Louis was born on 5 September at St Germain-en-Laye. The revocation and the new edict served to alienate Protestants, prompting many to leave France and seek religious freedom elsewhere.

The War of Devolution, as the conflict was named, lasted a year and ended when the French surrendered and gave the land back to Spain. France's only conquest was to occupy a few towns in Flanders.

Dissatisfied with the outcome, Louis XIV engaged his country in the Franco-Dutch War from to , during which France managed to acquire more land in Flanders and the Franche-Compté.

The victory promoted France to the status of a dominant power. This status, coupled with Louis XIV's campaigns to continually expand territorial claims through the use of military force, positioned France as a threat to other European nations.

Near the end of the s, those nations, including Spain, England and the Holy Roman Empire, responded by banding together to form the Grand Alliance.

A war between France and the Grand Alliance broke out in and waged on for nearly a decade, leading to its becoming known as the Nine Years' War.

Decline and Death

By the s, Louis XIV had begun to generate public hostility, due, in part, to his efforts to establish religious uniformity throughout France.

The king was a devout Catholic, and his persecution of the Huguenots came to a head with his revocation of the Edict of Nantes, which had formerly granted the Huguenots rights as a religious majority.

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Under the Edict of Fontainebleau, Louis XIV orchestrated the destruction of Protestant churches and schools throughout France and forced all children to be educated and baptized as Catholics. The revocation and the new edict served to alienate Protestants, prompting many to leave France and seek religious freedom elsewhere.

After the war against the Grand Alliance, France still held most of its original territory, but the country's resources were significantly drained.

The War of the Spanish Succession, from to , further hastened Louis XIV's decline as a leader. In this conflict, Louis XIV appeared to many of his subjects to place his personal interests above his country's, as his goal was to defend the right of his grandson, Philip V, to inherit the Spanish Empire.

Louis xiv biography summary form He regarded himself as an absolute monarch, with his power coming directly from God. Spain and several adjoining territories had a ruling king with issues complicating who would be next heir to the throne. Napoleon and Josephine Had a Stormy Relationship. He was unable to get over the many tragedies that had been suffered, both personally and by the country he ruled.

The long war was so costly for France that it prompted famine and placed the country deep in debt. The public went from hailing Louis XIV as a hero to blaming him for France's financial devastation.

On September 1, , a few days before what would have been his 77th birthday, Louis XIV died of gangrene in Versailles, France.

Following Louis XIV’s death, his 5-year-old great-grandson, Louis XV, who was the last male heir of the Duc de Bourgogne, inherited the throne.