Absolutism in France

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Absolutism in FranceLetat cest moi-- Louis
XIV
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France in the 17th Century

• Population
• 3 times that of England
• 2 times that of Spain
• Uneven very wealthy, very poor
• Large merchant class
• Self-sufficient economy
• India, North America and Caribbean

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Absolutism(Absolute Monarch)

• Unlimited power
• No limits
• No constitution
• Tradition and custom
• Theory People must have complete trust in
  well-bred and well-trained monarchs who were
  raised for the role from birth
• Divine Right to Rule
• Examples Russian Tsars, French Kings

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Henry IVHenry the Great

• Ruled 1589-1610
• Born Protestant (Huguenot)
• Converted to Catholicism
• 1598 Edict of Nantes
• Freedom to the Protestants
• Ended French Wars of Religion
• Murdered by a fanatical Catholic

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Louis XIII

• Ruled 1610-1643
• Ruled during 30 Years War
• Cardinal Richelieu
• Intrigue Three Musketeers
• http//www.youtube.com/watch?vGuKudT1bM68feature
  related
• Married Anne of Austria
• Absolute Monarch
• French nobility under control
• No privileges for the Huguenots
• Built powerful navy
• No tax reform

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Cardinal Richelieu

• 1585-1642
• Believed in the State above all else

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Richelieu and Government

• Cardinal Richelieu was Louis XIIIs Chief
  Minister
• Consolidated royal power
• Crushed domestic dissenters
• Created stronger economy
• Restrained the power of the nobility
• Transformed France into a strong, centralized
  state

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Richelieu and France

• Main foreign policy objectives
• limit Hapsburg Dynasty
• Alliances with Protestant rulers
• Thirty Years War
• France emerges more powerful than other nations
• Decline of HRE
• Legacy King Louis XIV
• Further suppressed aristocracy
• Edict of Fontainebleau in 1685
• Nullified Edict of Nantes (1598)
• Ordered destruction of Huguenot churches
• Closed Protestant schools
• Result nearly 500,000 Protestants left France
  over the next 20 years
• Went to England, Netherlands, Denmark, Germany,
  North America

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Young King Louis XIV

• Born 1638
• Ruled 1643-1715
• Assumed power at age 23

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Cardinal Mazarin

• Advisor to Louis
• De facto ruler of France
• Italian. Not popular.
• Father-figure to Louis XIV

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Thirty Years War Causes

• 1618-1648
• Mostly religious conflict between Catholics and
  Protestants
• Also political conflict between Holy Roman Empire
  and France

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European Results Thirty Years War

• Dutch independence from Spain
• France gains Alsace from HRE
• Protestant German princes ally themselves with
  France
• Peace of Westphalia
• Everyone must recognize the Peace of Augsburg
• Catholics and Protestants are legally equal
• Calvinism is permitted
• Decline of HRE
• Doesnt end conflict between Spain and France

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Thirty Years War Results for France

• Treasury nearly bankrupt
• 1659 Spain cedes territory (mostly land in the
  Spanish Netherlands) to France, ending the
  conflict
• Balance of Power changes. Spain begins to
  decline, France is rising in power

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Just when things are getting better . . . . Le
Fronde

• 1648 -- 1653 Civil War
• Rebellion nobles vs. the king over traditional
  rights
• Long term results
• Louis distrust of nobility
• Louis XIV must enforce absolutist rule
• French realize benefit of a strong monarch

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A brief history of Louis

• http//www.youtube.com/watch?vybgRY8bUAV4

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Jean Baptist ColbertFinance Minister

• Believer in Mercantilism
• prosperity depends on supply of capital.
• Positive balance of trade with other nations
• Tariffs to control BoT
• Other gov. controls

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Colbert and the Domestic Economy

• More taxation to enrich treasury
• Destroyed domestic commerce
• Farmers, small manufacturers penalized
• Restricted movement of goods and labor
• Unfair tax system reinforced
• Gentry, clergy exempt from taxation
• Capitalists have favorable taxes
• Ag. Land used for export industries (wine, wool)

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Louis XIV Domestic Problems

• Weak economy
• Civil Unrest
• Nobles too powerful. Louis must punish them.
• Filled government positions with commoners
• Reduced nobles to courtiers
• Required nobles to spend the majority of the year
  with him
• Rewarded nobles with time spent with him

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L etat cest moi!

• I am the State
• 1643-1715
• France became world power, leader in the arts.
• Fashion Clothing is large and showy to emphasis
  the kings personality

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Le roi soleil

• http//www.youtube.com/watch?vHWjHUEdw8TI

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Louis XIV the Sun King

• Overall brilliance
• Nobles stayed within the kings orbit
• Ruled for 72 years
• Great influence on French culture
• French is language of diplomacy
• French style imitated

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Life of Opulence and Grandeur

• The Daily Routine of the King

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Louis as the sun god Apollo
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Louis as Apollo
by Jean Nocret, 1670
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1673 Louis represented as a classical hero
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The sun symbol was everywhere at Versailles
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Family Life

• His wife and cousin Marie Therese (a Hapsburg)
• Seven children, one son survived

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Mistresses of the King

• Mistress is a public role sits next to the
  queen at court.
• Mademoiselle de la Vallière 3 children, convent
• Madame de Montespan 7 children, also retired
  to a convent
• Madame de Maintenon no children, but married
  Louis in secret.

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Versailles

• Glory of the monarch glory of the state

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Versailles Statistics
550,000 square feet 2,153 windows 700 rooms
67 staircases 6,000 paintings 2,100
sculptures 5,000 pieces of furniture 6,500
Acres
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Temple of Love
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Hall ofMirrors
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The Kings Chapel
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Opera Stage at Versailles
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Furniture Louis XIV Style
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Imitators
Winter Palace in St. Petersburg and Peterhof
summer palace near St. Petersburg
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Blenheim Palace England
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Schonbrunn Austria
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La Granja Madrid
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Marie Antoinettes Peasant House

• Looks rustic, but opulent on the inside
• Many aristocrats mimicked this style
• Revolution wiped out that idea

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Marie Antoinettes Peasants Hut
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War of Spanish Succession

• Carlos II (1669-1700)
• Descended from Joanna the Mad 14 times

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• War of Spanish Succession
• 1702-1713
• France and HRE want to share Spanish territory
• Spanish kings will favors France
• This would make France too powerful, disrupt
  balance of power
• War
• Two sides
• Grand Alliance (led by England, Holland, HRE) vs.
  France
• France loses war, but gains Spanish throne

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1713 Treaty of Utrecht

• The Grand Alliance
• England finally becomes one of the great powers
  of Europe
• Made Louis XIV unpopular at home, but his
  grandson is now king of Spain
• Spain loses Italian possessions
• France gives England Hudsons Bay territory
• Balance of Power is preserved

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Death of Louis XIV

• "Je m'en vais, mais l'État demeurera toujours."
  ("I am going away, but the State will always
  remain")
• Advice to Louis XV "Do not follow the bad
  example which I have set you I have often
  undertaken war too lightly and have sustained it
  for vanity. Do not imitate me . . . may you apply
  yourself to the alleviation of the burdens of
  your subjects".

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1715 Death of Louis XIV

• War left France in need of revenue
• Spread of French culture and style throughout
  Europe
• Other monarchs mimicked his lifestyle
• French is the lingua franca of Europe, the
  language of diplomacy

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Louis XV Reigned 1715-1774

• Great-grandson of Louis XIV
• Mismanagement of finances
• Loss of colonial possession during the 7 Years
  War with England
• Scandalous private life
• Where did all this lead? To questions about
  Absolutism.

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Limits to Royal Absolutism

• Must be reasonable, conform to the will of God
• Still limited by traditions, customs
• Must operate under a recognized body of law