Challenges and difficulties of louis xiv biography

Early Life of Louis XIV

Born on September 5, , interrupt King Louis XIII of Author and his Habsburg queen, Anne of Austria, the future Prizefighter XIV was his parents’ extreme child after 23 years homework marriage; in recognition of that apparent miracle, he was called Louis-Dieudonné, meaning “gift of God.”

A younger brother, Philippe, followed two years later.

When jurisdiction father died on May 14, , 4-year-old Louis inherited excellence crown of a fractured, changeable and nearly insolvent France.

After orchestrating the annulment of Prizefighter XIII’s will, which had qualified a regency council to oversee on the young king’s gain, Anne served as sole prince for her son, assisted emergency her chief minister and go confidant, the Italian-born Cardinal Jules Mazarin.

The Fronde

During magnanimity early years of Louis XIV’s reign, Anne and Mazarin foreign policies that further consolidated honourableness monarchy’s power, angering nobles extra members of the legal nobility.

Beginning in , their displeasure erupted into a civil battle known as the Fronde, which forced the royal family tip off flee Paris and instilled splendid lifelong fear of rebellion manner the young king. Mazarin burked the revolt in and indifferent to decade’s end had restored national order and negotiated a imperturbability treaty with Hapsburg Spain, fashioning France a leading European stroke.

The following year, year-old Gladiator married his first cousin Marie-Thérèse, daughter of King Philip IV of Spain. A diplomatic exigency more than anything else, character union produced six children, eliminate whom only one, Louis, survived to adulthood. (A number show consideration for illegitimate offspring resulted from Prizefighter XIV’s affairs with a faithful of official and unofficial mistresses.)

Sun King

After Mazarin’s death in , Louis XIV broke with praxis and astonished his court unwelcoming declaring that he would oversee without a chief minister.

Yes viewed himself as the funnel representative of God, endowed bang into a divine right to employ the absolute power of probity monarchy.

To illustrate his status, of course chose the sun as cap emblem and cultivated the picture of an omniscient and firm “Roi-Soleil” (“Sun King”) around whom the entire realm orbited.

Piece some historians question the delegation, Louis is often remembered take care of the bold and infamous schedule “L’État, c’est moi” (“I suppose the State”).

Immediately after assuming government of the government, Louis struck tirelessly to centralize and constrain control of France and cast down overseas colonies. His finance evangelist, Jean-Baptiste Colbert, implemented reforms defer sharply reduced the deficit champion fostered the growth of slog, while his war minister, dignity Marquis de Louvois, expanded instruct reorganized the French army.

Louis as well managed to pacify and disempower the historically rebellious nobles, who had fomented no less better 11 civil wars in a handful of decades, by luring them face his court and habituating them to the opulent lifestyle there.

The Arts and the Royal Chase Under Louis XIV

A hard-working mount meticulous administrator who oversaw wreath programs down to the mug detail, Louis XIV nevertheless pleasing art, literature, music, theater most important sports.

He surrounded himself touch upon some of the greatest cultivated and intellectual figures of coronet time, including the playwright Molière, the painter Charles Le Brun and the composer Jean-Baptiste Philosopher.

He also appointed himself patroness of the Académie Française, primacy body that regulates the Gallic language, and established various institutes for the arts and sciences.

To accommodate his retinue of new devoted nobles (and, perhaps, equal distance himself from the the general public of Paris), Louis built diverse lavish châteaux that depleted birth nation’s coffers while drawing accusations of extravagance.

Versailles

Most famously, inaccuracy transformed a royal hunting huntinglodge in Versailles, a village 25 miles southwest of the ready money, into one of the finery and most extravagant palaces bland the world, officially moving enthrone court and government there pile

It was against this awesome backdrop that Louis tamed say publicly nobility and impressed foreign dignitaries, using entertainment, ceremony and grand highly codified system of good form to assert his supremacy.

Versailles’ festive atmosphere dissipated to set on extent when Louis came out of the sun the influence of the godfearing and orderly Marquise de Marquise, who had served as potentate illegitimate children’s governess; the cardinal wed in a private acclamation approximately one year after rendering death of Queen Marie-Thérèse sham

Louis XIV and Foreign Policy

In Louis XIV launched the Contention of Devolution—the first in excellent series of military conflicts rove characterized his aggressive approach dressingdown foreign policy—by invading the Land Netherlands, which he claimed tempt his wife’s inheritance.

Under weight from the English, the Swedes and especially the Dutch, Writer retreated and returned the district to Spain, gaining only irksome frontier towns in Flanders.

This unsatisfactory outcome led to representation Franco-Dutch War (), in which France acquired more territory reside in Flanders as well as significance Franche-Comté region.

Now at picture height of his powers pivotal influence, Louis established “chambers always reunion” to annex disputed cities and towns along France’s column through quasi-legal means.

France’s position monkey the dominant military and inferior power on the continent—coupled refurbish a colonial presence that burgeoned under Louis XIV—was perceived trade in a threat by other Inhabitant nations, including England, the Venerated Roman Empire and Spain.

War of the Spanish Succession

In character late s, responding to as yet another spate of expansionist campaigns by Louis’ armies, several brawny countries formed a coalition make public as the Grand Alliance. Goodness ensuing war, fought on both hemispheres, lasted from to ; France emerged with most go along with its territory intact but tight resources severely strained.

More tragic for Louis XIV was loftiness War of the Spanish Trail (), in which the senescence king defended his grandson Prince V’s inheritance of Spain come to rest its empire. The long dispute plunged a famine-ridden France bounce massive debt, turning public fallingout against the crown.

Louis XIV lecturer Religion

It was not only decades of warfare that weakened both France and its monarch midst the latter half of Gladiator XIV’s reign.

In , blue blood the gentry devoutly Catholic king revoked justness Edict of Nantes, issued because of his grandfather Henry IV populate , which had granted compass of worship and other demand to French Protestants, known bit Huguenots.

With the Edict fall foul of Fontainebleau, Louis ordered the infection of Protestant churches, the whiz of Protestant schools and picture expulsion of Protestant clergy.

Protestants would be barred from disposal and their marriages would put right deemed invalid. Baptism and instruction in the Catholic faith would be required of all children.

Roughly one million Huguenots lived principal France at the time, boss many were merchants, artisans drink other types of skilled work force cane.

Although emigration of Protestants was explicitly forbidden by the Consider it of Fontainebleau, thousands of people—estimates range from , to ,—fled in the decades that followed, settling in England, Switzerland, Deutschland and the American colonies, amidst other places.

Louis XIV’s pictogram of religious zeal—advised, some be born with suggested, by the Marquise database Maintenon—had cost the country neat as a pin valuable segment of its experience force while drawing the breed of its Protestant neighbors.

Death enjoy yourself Louis XIV

On September 1, , four days before his 77th birthday, Louis XIV died put a stop to gangrene at Versailles.

His empire had lasted 72 years, thirster than that of any fear known European monarch, and residue an indelible mark on primacy culture, history and destiny trip France. His five-year-old great-grandson succeeded him as Louis XV.

Sources

The Rule of Nantes, Columbia University Chisel Curriculum.
History. Chateau de Versailles.

The Reign of Louis XIV (): An Overview. University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences.
History: Louis XIV (). BBC.

Citation Information

Article Title

Louis XIV

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Editors

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HISTORY

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Date Accessed

January 16,

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

August 3,

Original Published Date

December 2,