The illustrious Voltaire made an analogy between the period of the reign of Louis XIV with that of the Roman emperor Augustus, understanding them both as two periods of splendor for the States they represented thanks to the great capacity of their respective leaders. This gives us a good idea of how important this period was in French and European history. Find out more about Louis XIV: life, events and exile of the monarch.
Early years and exile
Louis XIV was the eldest son of the marriage between Louis XIII and Anne of Austria. belonged to the bourbon family and, specifically, to the Capetian dynasty. His rise to the throne was difficult since shortly after the death of his father in 1643 a civil war broke out in the kingdom better known as the Fronde.
This war directly confronted the monarchy, represented by the prime minister of Mazarin origin, with the nobility, a social class from which the monarchy took more and more power in the centralization process initiated by Mazarin’s predecessor, Richelieu. The end of this first war was settled with two peace agreements: Westphalia and Rueil.
This was the reason that forced Louis XIV and his mother to go into exile, in fact, it is the reason why once they returned to Paris – the revolt by the prime minister having been put down – Louis XIV began to have misgivings towards the nobility.
The birth of Absolutism: general characteristics of the period
The fundamental axes of reign of Louis XIV They were the following ones:
- Control of the economy: basically what the monarchy sought in this period was to increase its income. For this reason we see that the fiscal pressure increased notably (example: the salt tax or «capitation» is imposed) and that the economic line that was followed in terms of the market was the mercantilist one, promoted by Minister Colbert (protection of the internal versus external, imports are limited).
- Judicial reform was made.
- A military reform was carried out: it stands out that at this moment the first steps are being taken towards the creation of a permanent (professionalized) National Army. It is also the moment in which the Navy was born. For the military power passed the politician.
- Control of religion: it is the moment in which the monarch also arrogated powers linked to religion such as the election of bishops (these are the Gallican liberties) and the edict of Nantes was revoked in order to achieve confessional unity in the kingdom .
- French foreign policy: continental hegemony
Foreign policy at the time focused on two aspects:
- Strengthen the continental borders of the kingdom.
- Be attentive to what was happening in the Iberian Peninsula (a policy was made against the House of Habsburg).
In this process of consolidating territories, the different peace treaties were key:
Both the Peace of Westphalia (1648) and the Pyrenees (1659) made France gain territories from the Holy Roman Empire and the Hispanic crown. In the seventies (post Peace of Aachen) of the seventeenth century we see that France won territories from the Netherlands (it is the Dutch War), although it had to return several after the Peace of Nijmegen (1678 – 1679). The decline came after 1680, since after the creation of the Habsburg League Louis XIV had to give in both territorially and in his protectionism (this is when the Nine Years’ War broke out). Finally, in his eagerness to fight against the Habsburgs, he intervened in the War of the Spanish Succession, although he was not aware of the new hegemonic threat: England.
End of his reign and death
The sun king was a despot monarch par excellence and although he led France to the top of Europe and was considered a vice-president, at his death on September 1, 1715, France was in a process of decline that generated great rejection of his figure.
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