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The Reign of Louis XIV

The Reign of Louis XIV. Mr. Beck World History. Kickoff Question. Would you submit to a ruler with absolute power if it meant your country being strong and wealthy?. Objectives. Analyze positive and negative aspects of Louis XIV’s legacy Outline Louis XIV’s and France’s rise to power.

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The Reign of Louis XIV

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  1. The Reign of Louis XIV Mr. Beck World History

  2. Kickoff Question • Would you submit to a ruler with absolute power if it meant your country being strong and wealthy?

  3. Objectives • Analyze positive and negative aspects of Louis XIV’s legacy • Outline Louis XIV’s and France’s rise to power

  4. Setting the stage • 1559, King Henry II of France dies • Left power to four sons who ruled one after the other (all incompetently) • Their mother (Catherine) actually held the country together but could not prevent a series of 8 religious wars between Catholics and Huguenots (French Protestants)

  5. Religious Wars and power struggles • 1572: St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre • Many Huguenot nobles were in Paris attending marriage of Catherine’s daughter to Henry of Navarre • Most nobles were slaughtered, Henry of Navarre survived

  6. Henry of Navarre • Became king when Catherine and her sons all died • Did not want to fight Catholics so gave up Protestantism and became Catholic • Edict of Nantes- act of religious tolerance which allowed Huguenots to set up their own houses of worship in certain cities • Was stabbed to death by a fanatic who did not agree with his religious compromises

  7. Question • Would you give up your religion if it meant saving your country from war? Why or why not?

  8. Louis XIII and Cardinal Richelieu • Henry’s son Louis took over the throne after Henry’s death • Louis was a weak king but appointed a strong minister (Cardinal Richelieu) to make up for his weaknesses • Richelieu essentially ruled France and took two steps to increase monarch power • Went against Huguenots (saw them as threat) • Weakened the nobles (tore down their castles)

  9. Question • Why did Richelieu go against the nobles?

  10. Richelieu • Wanted to make France the strongest state in Europe • Saw Hapsburg Dynasty (Spain, Austria, and Netherlands) as a threat • Waged thirty years’ war with Hapsburg Dynasty

  11. Louis XIV Comes to Power • Began reign when he was 4 years old • French monarchy had already been strengthened • Boasted “I am the state”

  12. Louis, the Boy King • When Louis took the throne the true ruler at the time was Cardinal Mazarin, the successor to Richelieu • Mazarin raised taxes and sparked a series of riots with the nobles who threatened to kill Louis • Louis would never forget his fear or hatred of the nobles • Nobles lost rebellion and people accepted Louis’ laws because rebellion was worse

  13. Question • Would you accept the rules of a tyrant because it was easier than rebelling? Why or why not?

  14. Louis gains total power • Mazarin died when Louis was 22 • Louis excluded nobles from his councils • Increased power of intendants-officials who collected taxes and administered justice

  15. Economic Growth • Jean Baptiste Colbert was Louis’s minister of finance • Wanted to make France self-sufficient • Taxed imports • Gave tax breaks to French companies • Encouraged people to move to France’s colony of Canada (fur trade) • Louis cancelled Edict of Nantes after Colbert’s death and many Huguenots fled (declined economy)

  16. The sun king’s grand style • Louis spent a fortune on personal luxuries • Surrounded himself with nobles as servants • Made the nobles rely on him • Kept nobles away from their families and increased power of his intendants • Was a patron of the arts for his Palace at Versailles

  17. Louis fights disastrous wars • 1667, Louis invaded Spanish Netherlands to gain land • War of Spanish Succession- England, Austria, the Dutch Republic, Portugal, and German and Italian states joined forces to prevent spread of the Bourbon Dynasty’s power • Causes by Louis’s grandson being given the throne of Spain • From war, Great Britain gained Gibraltar (key fort) and permission to participate in profitable slave trade

  18. Louis’s Death and Legacy • Louis died in 1715 and people celebrated due to the hardships and wars he brought the country • His enemies in Prussia and Austria had been experimenting with absolute monarchies

  19. Mixed legacy • France was power in Europe • Ranked tops in Europe in art, literature, statesmanship • France was military leader in Europe • Warfare and Palace at Versailles put France in huge debt • Resentment over taxing poor would plague Louis’s heirs and lead to revolution Positive Negative

  20. Homework/Closure Read page 600 and answer questions 1 and 2

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