The Royal State
Absolutism in Western Europe (1589-1715)
 Derived from the assumption of “Divine Right of Kings”
 Absolutism was most successful in France under Louis XIV
Characteristics of Western European Absolutism
 Sovereignty of the state was embodied in the ruler
 Monarchs were not subordinate to national assemblies
 Established nobility (Nobles of the Sword) was brought under
control of the monarch who limited their power.
 New nobles purchased their titles from the monarch (Nobles of
the Robe) and were loyal to the crown.
 Bureaucracies were composed of officials appointed by the crown
and who were accountable to the king.
 Absolute states maintained large standing armies to protect
against foreign aggression.
 Secret police weakened political opposition
Bourbon France
Establishment of the Bourbon Dynasty
 Between 1562 and 1589, civil war broke out
in France between Catholics and protestant
Huguenots (French Calvinists).
 In 1589. a Huguenot leader Henry
Bourbon seized control of the French
throne and became Henry IV.
 He established the Bourbon dynasty that
would rule France for the next two
hundred years.
 Following the civil war, France was in
chaos. Henry began rebuilding the country
into the strongest nation in Europe.
Henry IV 1589-1610
 Henry
converted to Catholicism to
gain support of the country’s majority.
 Issued the Edict of Nantes in 1598
proclaiming toleration of Huguenots.
 His finance minister the Duke of Sully,
instituted mercantilist policies and
began major economic reforms and
public works programs to enrich the
nation and rebuild from the damage of
the civil war.
 In 1610, Henry was assassinated by an
fanatic monk as he rode in his
carriage.
Louis XIII 1610 - 1643
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Henry was succeeded by his ten year old son who
became Louis XIII.
His mother Marie de Medici served as his regent
and arranged his marriage to a Hapsburg
princess, Anne of Austria. She dismissed Sully
leaving France without strong leadership.
With this void in leadership Huguenots and
nobles took advantage to strengthen their own
positions and threaten royal authority.
In 1521 Marie appointed a strong chief minister
Cardinal Richelieu to aid the king.
Louis had little interest in ruling and spent most
of his time at his hunting lodge at Versailles.
Richelieu ran the country on behalf of Louis and
re-strengthened the monarchy.
Hunting Lodge of Louis XIII (Versailles)
Cardinal Richelieu
Richelieu was a member of the clergy
and a shrewd politique. He had three
main goals:
1. Reassert royal power over the
nobility.
2. Destroy the political power of the
Huguenots.
3. Build France into the most
powerful nation in Europe
Cardinal Richelieu (1585-1642)
To achieve his goals Richelieu
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Sent royal officials (intendants) into the
provinces to strengthen royal authority.
Appointed members of the middle class
(bourgeoisie) to government positions
rather than nobles.
Weakened the power of the Huguenots by
destroying their walled cities that had been
allowed under the Edict of Nantes. He still
allowed their freedom of religion to avoid
another civil war. (Peace of Alais, 1629).
Enriched the monarchy by imposing heavy
taxes on the lower classes.
Entered the Thirty Years War on the side of
German protestants to weaken Frances
rivals.
Foreign Affairs under Richelieu and Louis XIII
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Cardinal Mazarin
r. 1642-1661
Richelieu revived French opposition to the
traditional rival Hapsburg rulers in the
Holy Roman Empire.
In 1635, Catholic France entered the
Thirty Years War on the side of the
protestants rather than the Catholics.
Hapsburg power was severely weakened
by the war. It ended in 1648 with the
signing of the Peace of Westphalia.
Although Richelieu (1642) and Louis
(1643) died before the war ended, France
emerged as Europe’s most powerful
country
Richelieu was succeeded by Cardinal
Mazarin who continued his policies
Louis XIV “The Sun King”
1643 - 1715
Louis XIV as a Child
 In 1643, following the death of Louis
XIII, his five year old son became
king as Louis XIV.
 His mother, Anne served as his regent
aided by Cardinal Mazarin. Mazarin
continued the policies of Cardinal
Richelieu
During his childhood French nobles rebelled against royal power
(1648-1653) in what was known as The Fronde.
• Louis would never forget this and he become the ultimate
absolute monarch.
• Louis XIV would become one of the strongest and most colorful
monarchs of all time. He was known as the Sun King.
Louis XIV “The Sun King”
Through the Years
Louis XIV “The Sun King”
1643 - 1715
Louis’ Reign is noted for:
 Absolute Rule
 Blossoming of French Culture
 Religious Persecution
 Strong Economic Policy
 Ongoing warfare
Louis XIV “The Sun King”
1643 - 1715
Absolute Rule
 Louis claimed Divine Right
 Exercised unlimited power
 Never convened the Estates
General during his reign.
 Forced the nobles to live at
Versailles so he could keep
them busy, watch them, and
assure their loyalty and
allegiance.
Louis XIV The Sun King
Louis XIV “The Sun King”
1643 - 1715
Blossoming of French Culture
 Built Versailles into the most
magnificent palace in the world.
 France became the center of art
and culture in Europe.
 French became the most widely
spoken language in Europe.
 The greatest cultural and
political figures of the time
visited the court at Versailles.
The Palace of Versailles
Original Hunting Lodge of Louis XIII
The Palace of Versailles
The Palace of Versailles
The Gardens and Fountains of Versailles
The Palace of Versailles
The Queen’s Chamber
The Theatre
The King’s Chamber
The Palace of Versailles
The Hall of Mirrors
Louis XIV 1643 - 1715
Strong Economic Policy
 In 1661, Louis appointed Jean Baptiste Colbert , to
oversee and stimulate the French economy.
 Colbert was an ardent mercantilist and a strong
advocate of Bullionism.
 He established French colonies abroad and
strengthened the French Navy and commercial fleet.
 He restructured the tax system including the taille,
which led to drastic increased revenue.
 He ordered construction of new roads and canals to
improve trade.
Jean Baptiste Colbert
 Supported new industries with government funds,
1661-1683
reduced internal tariffs, and government supported
monopoly powers.
 Despite the heavy spending of the crown, Colbert was
able to keep the French government solvent
 Louis did not replace Colbert after his death in 1683.
Due to other royal expenditures the French economy
began to spiral downward.
Louis XIV
1643 - 1715
Religious Persecution
Persecution of
Huguenots
 In 1685, Louis revoked the Edict of Nantes with the
Edict of Fontainebleau
 He ordered the destruction of Huguenot churches and
closing of protestant schools
 Only Catholicism was tolerated as a state religion.
 Huguenots persecution was sanctioned by the king.
 Over the next two decades hundreds of thousands of
Protestants left France, taking with them skills and
knowledge vital to the French economy.
 Many of Frances wealthiest merchants left. This would
later deeply hurt France economically and contributed to
the economic growth in other European states.
 18th century Enlightenment philosophes stressed
religious toleration which was eventually restored
during the latter part of the century.
 The Edict of Tolerance was issued by Louis XVI in
1787, just prior to the French Revolution. Calvinist,
Huguenots, Lutherans, and Jews were given legal
recognition and right to open worship.
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The Wars of Louis XIV
European countries feared the growing power of Louis and France.
During his reign Louis fought four major wars and many smaller skirmishes
against these countries.
The wars were initially successful but continuously drained the country’s treasury.
The last of these was The War of Spanish Succession (1701-1714).
 It centered over who would assume the Spanish throne when the
last Spanish Hapsburg Charles II died without an heir in 1700.
 HRE Emperor Leopold I favored his son Charles. Louis favored
his grandson Philip of Anjou.
 The war raged for 13 years and ended with the Treaty of Utrecht
 Louis’ grandson became Spanish king but France lost territory
including colonies in North America.
 A balance of power was re-established in Europe
By the time of Louis’ death in 1715, France was facing severe financial crisis.
Louis great grandson Louis XV inherited the French throne.
He and his successor Louis XVI were crippled by debt, war, and civil unrest. They
were much weaker rulers than the “Sun King”.
France moved closer to revolution. It finally erupted in 1789.