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- Despite the use of pensions and punishments, the monarchy had been unable to subdue the nobles, who had started 11 civil wars in 40 years. Louis lured them to his court, corrupted them with gambling, exhausted them with dissipation, and made their destinies dependent on their capacity to please him.
www.britannica.com/biography/Louis-XIV-king-of-FranceLouis XIV | Facts, Biography, Children, & Death | Britannica
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Why was Louis XIV a prisoner of France's social structure?
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3 days ago · Finally, Louis XIV remained the prisoner of France’s social structure. It is sometimes alleged that the king ruled through the bourgeoisie , but, while a number of the most distinguished families of the reign were not of ancient nobility, their faithful and effective service to the king was rewarded in an entirely traditional way—by social ...
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Louis XIV, king of France (1643–1715), ruled his country, principally from his great palace at Versailles, during one of the country’s most brilliant periods. Today he remains the symbol of absolute monarchy of the classical age.
How old was Louis XIV when he acceded to the throne?
Louis XIV succeeded his father as king of France on May 14, 1643, at the age of four years eight months. According to the laws of the kingdom, he became not only the master but the owner of the bodies and property of 19 million subjects.
How did Louis XIV die?
Louis XIV died in 1715, four days shy of his 77th birthday, from gangrene associated with an infection in his leg.
Louis XIV (born September 5, 1638, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France—died September 1, 1715, Versailles, France) king of France (1643–1715) who ruled his country, principally from his great palace at Versailles, during one of its most brilliant periods and who remains the symbol of absolute monarchy of the classical age. Internationally, in a series of wars between 1667 and 1697, he extended France’s eastern borders at the expense of the Habsburgs and then, in the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–14), engaged a hostile European coalition in order to secure the Spanish throne for his grandson.
Louis was the son of Louis XIII and his Spanish queen, Anne of Austria. He succeeded his father on May 14, 1643. At the age of four years and eight months, he was, according to the laws of the kingdom, not only the master but the owner of the bodies and property of 19 million subjects. Although he was saluted as “a visible divinity,” he was, nonetheless, a neglected child given over to the care of servants. He once narrowly escaped drowning in a pond because no one was watching him. Anne of Austria, who was to blame for this negligence, inspired him with a lasting fear of “crimes committed against God.”
Louis was nine years old when the nobles and the Paris Parlement (a powerful law court), driven by hatred of the prime minister Jules Cardinal Mazarin, rose against the crown in 1648. This marked the beginning of the long civil war known as the Fronde, in the course of which Louis suffered poverty, misfortune, fear, humiliation, cold, and hunger. These trials shaped the future character, behaviour, and mode of thought of the young king. He would never forgive either Paris, the nobles, or the common people.
In 1653 Mazarin was victorious over the rebels and then proceeded to construct an extraordinary administrative apparatus with Louis as his pupil. The young king also acquired Mazarin’s partiality for the arts, elegance, and display. Although he had been proclaimed of age, the king did not dream of disputing the cardinal’s absolute power.
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The war begun in 1635 between France and Spain was then entering its last phase. The outcome of the war would transfer European hegemony from the Habsburgs to the Bourbons. A French king had to be a soldier, and so Louis served his apprenticeship on the battlefield.
Mazarin died on March 9, 1661. The dramatic blow came on March 10. The king informed his astonished ministers that he intended to assume all responsibility for ruling the kingdom. This had not occurred since the reign of Henry IV. It cannot be overemphasized that Louis XIV’s action was not in accordance with tradition; his concept of a dictatorship by divine right was his own. In genuine faith, Louis viewed himself as God’s representative on earth and considered all disobedience and rebellion to be sinful. From this conviction he gained not only a dangerous feeling of infallibility but also considerable serenity and moderation.
He was backed up first by the great ministers Jean-Baptiste Colbert, marquis de Louvois, and Hugues de Lionne, among whom he fostered dissension, and later by men of lesser capacity. For 54 years Louis devoted himself to his task eight hours a day; not the smallest detail escaped his attention. He wanted to control everything from court etiquette to troop movements, from road building to theological disputes. He succeeded because he faithfully reflected the mood of a France overflowing with youth and vigour and enamoured of grandeur.
Finally, Louis XIV remained the prisoner of France's social structure. It is sometimes alleged that the king ruled through the bourgeoisie. It is true that a number of the most distinguished families of the reign were not of ancient nobility, but their faithful and effective service to the king was rewarded in an entirely traditional way—by ...
Mar 22, 2022 · France was the richest country in Europe, with the largest population and the most professional army. It enjoyed a central location and was aggressive towards its neighbours. In 1685, wanting the entire population to follow his Catholic religion, Louis XIV decided to persecute French Protestants.
2 days ago · The authoritarian element of Louis XIV’s reign is undeniable: he was determined that no institution or social class would escape the supervision of the crown and its ministers. Thus, the power of patronage, which had been exercised for generations in provincial noble households, began to lose its political significance as the king’s ...
Louis XIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 1638 – 1 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great (Louis le Grand) or the Sun King (le Roi Soleil), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the longest of any sovereign.
Sep 19, 2019 · By the time Louis XVI came to the throne in 1774, France’s economy was growing and modernising but its political and social systems had scarcely changed. Government had become extremely complex and the royal authority established by Louis XIV had dwindled.
