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In the 14th and 15th century France underwent
several difficulties:
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War
Disease
Famine
Religious division
As feudal government was unable to deal
with these issues a new worldview started to
evolve.
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This was known as the Renaissance (rebirth)
 This was a rediscovery of the ancient beliefs of the
Greeks and Romans.
 This led to a shift in the way political decisions
were made
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The semi-independent feudal lords now
started to become answerable to a
centralized power.
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The shift in government was based on several
beliefs
These were characterized in The Prince by
Nicolo Machiavelli
 He believed that men were basically evil and
required strong leadership to civilize society.
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Women began to become more subservient
(serving or acting in a lesser capacity)to their
husbands and fathers.
Women were removed from all power
positions.
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In France the centralization of power under
the king was overseen by the Cardinal
Richelieu, the King’s chief minister
Richelieu would resort to extreme measures
to centralize power
Louis XIII (13th) became an absolute monarch
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▪
Cardinal Mazarin
Louis XiV
In 1643 Louis XIII(13th) died and his five
year old son became King Louis XIV.
(14th)
 Louis was too young to rule so power
was held by his mother and Cardinal Mazarin.
 The nobles took this opportunity to challenge
the growing power of the monarchy
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An armed rebellion by the nobles against the
monarchy
It involved a series of civil wars in France
between 1648 and 1653.
This civil war lasted twelve years and would
be the last attempt by the nobles to
challenge the king
The nobles were upset about the rising taxes
After the war Louis was determined to never
share power again
At the age of 23 Louis XIV assumed full power as
King of France.
 He reigned for 72 years, 54 of them he personally
controlled the French government
 He embarked on a series of expensive projects:
 Wars in Europe
 The Palace of Versailles
 Under his rule he denied the nobles the ancient right
of advising the king
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Middle class (common)
bureaucrats were selected to
advice the king
 He created a secret police to
root out any disloyalty
 Louis even refused to call the
Estates General
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He was unable to raise money to cover his
spending
He was unable to accept religious diversity in
France
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Read Pg. 392 – 395 in your textbook.
Answer the focus questions on pg. 392
Answer section review questions 1- 4 on pg.
395
I will check homework next class.