Louis XIV was born September 5, 1638 to his parents Louis XIII and Anne of Austria. He was their first child after twenty-two years of marriage. His brother, Philippe, was born in 1640. His parents did not have a happy marriage as they were chosen for each other and the King’s duties often kept them apart. The Beginning At the age of four King Louis XIII became ill with tuberculosis and rushed to have his son baptized. His baptismal name was Louis-Dieudonne which means gift of God. At this period in time the baptism would normally have taken place at the age of seven.
King Louis XIII died about a month after the baptism, leaving his son to become King Louis XIV. Louis XIV became king on May 14, 1643, just short of his fifth birthday. Control of the government was handed over to his mother and the First Minister, Mazarin, due to his young age. Since Louis XIV became king at such a young age he did not have the education or background that most kings would have. Mazarin took it upon himself to try to pass on his knowledge to him. He focused his teachings on what he considered to be the necessities to run a country. Mazarin continued to run the overnment until his death in 1661. At this time Louis XIV took control and began running the government and country himself. A series of financial and administrative reforms were necessary to begin controlling the government on his own. One of the first changes was to sentence Nicolas Fouquet, the superintendent of finances, to life imprisonment. King Louis XIV had him charged with peculation. It is believed that Fouquet did not commit financial indiscretions but was charged due to his ambitions to become First Minister. He would have interfered with Louis plans to rule alone.
Louis appointed Jean-Baptiste Colbert as the controller of finances. Colbert then reduced the national debt by increasing taxation and improving the method in which it was collected. Wars, Gains, Losses and Alliances Early in his reign he wanted to establish himself as a warrior king. He planned to accomplish this by conquering and gaining land. He began this with a series of wars with the Dutch in which he formed an alliance with England. The Dutch army had been neglected so France had no trouble marching into the republic and taking Utretch.
France attempted to extort sixteen million guilders in order to obtain peace. This enraged the Dutch and pushed them to flood the land and form a alliance with the Elector of Bradenburg, the Holy Roman Emperor and Charles II of Spain. This left Louis with no choice but to abandon the war of six years. He accepted the areas he had gained and ordered his troops to retreat. The wars did continue with French victories in his neighboring countries. He Seized Strasbourg in 1681. This was followed by the War of the Spanish Succession. This war was a result of conflict over the succession to the throne of Spain.
Louis XIV believed that because he married Marie- Therese of Spain, a half-sister of the King of Spain, that upon the King of Spain’s death his wife should inherit Brabant. The King of Spain did not have any children which was the cause of the conflicts. Charles II, King of Spain, reached an agreement with Louis that upon his death Louis’s grandson Philip would become his sole heir. The other countries fought to protect their own claim to the Spanish inheritance. France continued to expand their territories and the other nations came together to stop them .
The War of Spanish succession was finally concluded with the treaties of Utretch and Rastatt. As a result of these treaties, Philip V remained the King of Spain. In order to prevent Spain and France from making a union Philip V was removed from the French line of succession. Religion King Louis XIV was a devote Catholic and believed that he should control the church. He believed he was God’s authority in France. Louis XIV would not allow anyone to challenge him, not even the Pope. This did bring him to quarrel with successive Popes and brought about suspicion as to whether he may contemplate a eparation. He was a strong believer that the Catholic church could be a tool used to assert his power over the people. He strove to have religious uniformity. Louis XIV believed he could use Catholicism as a way of enhancing his position and prestige. To this effect he had the pews in the Versailles church face him and not the alter. The pope could not send papal legates to France without the King’s consent.
They also would need further consent from the King in order to exercise their powers. Bishops could not leave France or have the ability to excommunicate any government fficial for acts done pursuant to their position. Any decisions made by the Pope were invalid until they had been approved by the King. Protestant In 1685 Louis XIV revoked the Edict of Nantes which had previously provided the Protestants with tolerance. He also ordered the destruction of the Huguenot churches, closing of Protestant schools and that all Protestant ministers cease practicing or leave the country. He did not believe in trying to convert Protestants. This was the end of religious toleration in France. Protestants in France began seeking asylum in England and other surrounding ountries.
Roughly 200,000 – 500,000 left over the next couple of decades. Louis XIV believed that only 1,000 – 1,500 Protestants remained in France. Louis XIV’s Army and Navy The earlier reforms in finance that Colbert brought about allowed France’s army to grow stronger. Colbert worked with Duke de Beaufort to increase the number of vessels in his navy. The King supported their efforts to create and maintain the largest bale fleet in Europe. Louis XIV took more interest in supporting the army. He relied on his son, marquis de Louvois, and Michel Le Tellier to compile regulations and a financial tructure that would allow their army to reach near 300,000. The War of Spanish Succession could brought their army to defeat but the earlier regulations and structure allowed their army to become one that was feared throughout the countries. He regarded being a soldier as an essential attribute of kingship. He devoted a lot of time to his military. He ensured that he was surrounded with great military leaders. In the mid-seventeenth century Louis XIV appointed his military engineer, Sebastien le Pestre de Vauban, to design and supervise the building of forts to protect the northern borders.
He wanted to ensure that France’s north-east border lands could not be recaptured. Vauban’s designs for the forts allowed the army time to organize reinforcements. They were built in a star shape form, made of brick, and lined with moats. They were engineered so that did not crumble as many other forts did. Hotel des invalids was built to provide to home for both officers and soldiers who served and became either injured or they could not perform due to their age. The medicine during this time period was quite barbaric but at Hotel des invalids they pioneered new treatments and methods. Versailles
The Chateau de Versailles, outside Paris, was originally a hunting lodge owned by his father. Louis XIV did not think to build such a lavish palace until after visiting the estate of Nicolas Fouquet. It was transformed into a royal palace in which the King would reside. It was built into the great palace it is today in four separate building campaigns. Versailles was a great place for developing state affairs and receiving foreign dignitaries. By moving into Versailles the King hoped to distance himself from Paris. He also hoped that by moving himself and his court into the palace that he could focus on aining total control of the government. The King had all of his advisors and rulers of different regions spend time here in order to keep them all near to him. He thought that if they were under his watch they would be less likely to rise against him. The building of Versailles is broken down into four campaigns. Each campaign had its own focus and reasons.
All of the major parts of the palace were built in campaigns one through three. It was not until the fourth campaign that the chapel was added on. The King’s second wife, Madame de Maintenon, seems to be the influence or the chapel as she was quite religious. There were two Grand apartments built, one for the king and one for the queen. They were decorated in an Italian style with rich fabrics and ornate decorations. Each apartments consisted of seven individual rooms. One apartment was expanded at a later time to include one other room. The cost of the construction of Versailles is something that is hard to pinpoint. It seems in the early phases of building that the funding came from the King’s own pocket. Once the building campaigns were embarked on Colbert was sure to document any and all spending.
The most expensive expenditure was the silver furniture for the two Grand apartments. The King did ensure that all building materials, art and decorations were manufactured in France. Death of King Louis XIV The final years of the king’s reign were marred by the persecution of the Protestants and failed wars. He lost his brother, son, grandson, and grand-daughter inlaw within a few years. He died on September 1, 1715 of gangrene. He ruled France of 72 years and died shortly before his 77th birthday. Citations Source material must be documented in the body of the paper by citing the authors and dates of the sources.
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