French Absolutism

1
French Absolutism

• LOUIS XIV

2

• 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
• France and Spain gained control over the papacy
• England and Germany establish national churches

3

• We see the start of absolutism - rulers with
  absolute power
• They reigned by divine right not like medieval
  monarchs, by the grace of God

4

• Theya) controlled the churchb) law courtsc)
  abolished freedoms and libertiesd) maintained
  permanent armiese) used secret police and
  spiesf) established huge bureaucracies focused
  on the kingg) secured the cooperation of the
  nobility

5

• Not total rule because the lacked the resources
• But it did foreshadow totalitarianism in 2
  respectsi) glorification of the state over all
  elseii) use of war and expansionism to divert
  attention from domestic problems
• Henry IV and his advisor the Duke of Sully laid
  the foundations for absolutism in France

6

• Sullya) revived the paulette tax- a tax on
  hereditary positionsb) started a highway
  systemc) and dreamed of an international
  organization to keep the peaced) also indirect
  tax on salt and sales
• But the number of taxes actually declined and
  revenues increased

7

• Henry died Marie de Medici ruled for the
  boy-king Louis XIII
• In 1624 she appointed Cardinal Richelieu her
  Council of Ministers

8

• Richelieua) subordinated all offices to the
  monarchyb) weakened the power of the noblesc)
  recruited for the armyd) supervised tax
  collectione) checked on nobilityf) regulated
  economic activity
• Richelieus policy was to weaken the Habsurgs who
  surrounded France

9

• 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 couldnt tax at will so they
  would never have complete control
• raison detat - what is done for the state is
  done for God

10

• Richelieu persuaded the king to appoint Jules
  Mazarin as his successor
• Richelieu and Louis both died
• Queen Anne of Austria governs for her son Louis
  XIV

11

• Mazarin continues Richelieus policies but leads
  to a civil war - The Fronde (1648-53)
• The war was between the king and the nobility -
  the frondeurs
• Violence continued for 12 years and had three
  significant resultsa) government would have to
  compromise with the nobilityb) the economy was
  ruined and would take years to rebuildc) Louis
  XIV would never forget the trauma

12

• Under Louis (Sun King) absolutism reached its
  height
• 1661 Mazarin died and Louis took control of the
  economy
• When Louis sneezed, all Europe caught cold
• Reigned for 72 years

13

• Married Maria Theresa because of a diplomatic
  arrangement with Spain
• Had complete control over all classes of society
• 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

14

• Never called the Estates General
• 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

15

• 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

16

• Colbert sent 4,000 people to Canada
• Marquette and Joliet - Mississippi RiverLa Salle
  - Louisiana

17

• Commercial class prospered while agriculture
  declined
• Because of war, bad harvests, deflation of
  currency, and emigration Colberts goals were
  never attained

18

• 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 faithun roi, une loi,
  une foi
• The revocation won Louis enormous praise

19
Louis XIVs Wars

• Kept France at war for most of his reign
• Appointed Marquis de Louvois secretary of State
  for War
• Louvois created a professional armyA) feed the
  troopsb) an ambulance corpc) standard weapons
  and uniformsd) rationalized traininge)
  regulated promotion

20

• 1667 Louis invaded Flanders no success
• 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, Colberts successor devalued
  the currency and sold offices and titles to the
  nobility

21

• Between 1688-94 bad harvests sent the price of
  wheat skyrocketing
• 1694 Lord Pontchartrain imposed the capitation
  raise money
• 1701-1713 The War of Spanish Successiona) old
  territorial disputesb) dynastic question of
  Spanish throne

22

• 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 Dutch and British refused to accept
  Frenchcontrol of the Spanish colonies and
  Netherlands

23

• English, Dutch, Austrian and Prussians formed the
  Grand Alliance
• Even though the were all fighting the French
  internal conflicts developed
• Two soldiers dominatedEugene, prince of Savoy
  representing the HREJohn Churchill representing
  England

24
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
• Spain gave England Gibraltar
• Spain gave England -asiento- the rights to the
  slave trade

25
The Treaty

• Represented the balance of power principle
• Saw the decline of Spain
• Saw the rise of the British Empire
• Marked the end of French expansionism

26
French Classicism

• Poussin was the greatest classicist painterRape
  of the Sabine Women

27

• Absolutism and Classicism melded
• Art glorified the king
• Lully, Couperin, and Charpentier created great
  orchestral works
• Moliere and Racine wrote powerful plays on
  controversial issues
• Les Femmes Savantes - Tartuffe, mocked
  intelligent women

28
Spanish Decline

• No middle class
• Agricultural decline
• Population decline
• Failure to invest wisely
• Intellectual isolation (religious reasons)
• Increase in Dutch and English trade with Americas
• Americas develop local industries
• Increasing royal expenditure

29

• 1715 Spain a second-rate power
• Several times the king declares bankruptcy and
  cancels national debt
• People dropped out of society or turned to
  religion
• High rents and taxes drove peasants off the land
• Philip IV left control to Count-Duke Olivares
• Olivares believed in imperialism
• Imperialism meant conflict with the Dutch