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Guided Notes: The Reign of Louis XIV
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A. Background- 1559- Henry II of France died leaving 4 sons. 3 eventually ruled but were
incompetent.
1. Real power=
2. Her goal was to preserve royal power, but conflicts between Catholics and Protestants
(called Huguenots) led to chaos throughout France.
3. Between 1562-1598 = 8
B. Henry of Navarre: Huguenot Prince who married Catherine de Medicis daughter becomes Henry
IV.
1. In 1572, at his wedding reception, Catholics attacked Huguenot nobles attending the
reception= St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre. Henry was able to escape.
2. The Massacre
3. Henry took the throne in 1589, Catherine and her last son both died. Became Henry IV.
4. He was
5. Many Catholics were opposed to Henry so he converted to Catholicism (majority).
6. He passed the Edict of Nantes=
7. Worked to rebuild Stability- Enacted wise economic policies and worked to strengthen
the monarchy.
8. Assassinated by a person upset by his religious policies-
C. Louis XIII and Cardinal Richelieu- Louis XIII was Henry IV’s son but was a weak ruler who was
smart enough to choose a strong/clever advisor.
1. Cardinal Richelieu:
2. Moved against the Huguenots (Protestants)- by declaring that no Huguenot city could
have walls for protection.
3. Moved to weaken
4. Increased government agents who came from the middle class.
5. Moved to limit the power
D. New Ideas in French Society- Skepticism:
1. French Thinkers (Intellectuals) had seen the horrors of the wars of religion.
2. Doubted
3. Skeptics believed that doubting old ideas was the first step to truth.
4. Montaigne:
5. Descartes: wrote Meditations on First Philosophy: explained Skepticism. Begin by
doubting everything, find one thing that you can trust, and build on it. This became the
basis of the scientific method. “I think; therefore I am.”
E. Louis XIV: the most powerful king in French History- “L’etat, c’est moi”= I am the state.
1. Became king at 14, country was ruled by an advisor- Cardinal Mazarin
2. 1648-1653:
3. Rebellion failed because the nobles didn’t get along with each other, the government
fought back aggressively and
4. At 22, Louis took control of the government himself and worked to limit the power of
the nobles ever more: excluded the nobles from his councils and increased the power
of government agents called intendants: who collected taxes and administered justice
who reported directly to Louis.
5. He also worked to strengthen the economy with his main advisor Jean Baptiste
Colbert: believed in mercantilism:
6. He gave tax breaks and government grants to French companies and placed high tariffs
on goods from other countries. Encouraged migration to France’s colony in North
America=
7. After Colbert’s death,
F. Louis XIV’s Grand Style: surrounded himself with luxury. Each meal was a feast and he employed
500+ waiters, cooks and servants.
1. Nobles
2. Lesser nobles would wait in the hall to see if Louis would look or nod at them.
3. If Louis was displeased with you-
4. Louis required hundreds of his nobles to live with him at VERSAILLES:
5. Louis was huge patron (supporter) of the arts. He believed the chief purpose of art was
to glorify himself and promote his values. He promoted opera and even danced in his
own ballet. Loved the writer Moliere’s comedies like Tartuffe.