Louis+XIV

=Louis XIV=

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King Louis XIV was French monarch of the late 17th century who personified absolute monarchy. He came to power at five years of age, but initially relied on Mazarin to rule for him. Once he was able to take control and rule his country, he signed the Treaty of Westphalia. This treaty ended the thirty years war and gave France a dominant force in Europe. The Frond Rebellion also occurred during his reign which was a rebellion by the nobility against monarchy. This rebellion led to his hatred of France and the creation of his palace at Versailles. Louis took many steps to unite France. Louis was a true absolute monarch; he was able to increase his own power while decreasing that of the nobles. Louis required all nobles stay at Versailles at least six months a year and forced them to finance themselves. The palace was built for both beauty and protection. Louis also used the intendants system. He created bureaucrats form the third estate. They were from the bourgeois (educated middle class). These bureaucrats were sent out to make sure nobles did what they were supposed to be doing and were loyal to the king. These bureaucrats could become "nobles of the robe" which were different from the old, feudal aristocrats who were known as "nobles of the sword." Louis gave privileges to the Catholic Church, but then the Edict of Nantes revoked this. He had to force all of the Catholics out of France to unify the culture. Mercantilism became popular (Colbert) and led to expansion and the creation of colonies. He fought three wars of expansion. The first was versus Spain and the Netherlands. The second being versus the League of Augsburg (all countries unified against Louis). And the third, the War of Spanish Succession when Louis tried to place his grandson on the throne in Spain after the Hapsburg died out from inbreeding. His strong military was crucial to Louis remaining a strong absolute monarch. He was a major patron of the arts and gave government a cultural role beyond previous levels seen in the West. He encouraged science and worked to standardize French as a language. The rivalry with England. By the end of Louis's reign, the country possessed lots of debt (from Versailles, war, etc.). The third estate was forced to take on this burden through taxes and military burdens. Created by Allie Pinosky 2.12.09 Edited by Becca Ellison 2.12.09 Edited by Frances Grimball Feb 16, 2009