AGE OF
ABSOLUTISM
FRANCE
FRANCE
After the break up of CHARLEMAGNE’S empire,
France was under the feudal system
CAPETIAN DYNASTY
• 987 HUGH CAPET began it in PARIS
• UNITED France through WARS
• Monarchy ends with the
FRENCH REVOLUTION
FRANCE
HUNDRED YEARS’ WAR (1337-1453)
• France vs. ENGLAND
• Promoted NATIONALISM in both countries
• New weapons: LONG BOW
• JOAN OF ARC - woman who led battles, was
captured & burned at the stake
• 1453 - END of the war was the
end of the MIDDLE AGES
FRANCE
1500’s:
• France involved in severe RELIGIOUS wars
• Wars between Catholics & HUGENOTS (French
Protestants)
• Most severe in 1572
ST. BARTHOLOMEW’S
DAY MASSACRE
FRANCE
ABSOLUTISM:
• Absolute KINGS & QUEENS who had complete
AUTHORITY (power) over the government and
LIVES of the people in their nation
FRANCE
GOAL: CONTROL every aspect of society
• Absolute monarchs believed in DIVINE RIGHT
• 1610 Louis XIII took over when his father Henry IV
was killed
• He was a WEAK king so he appointed a strong
minister – Cardinal Richelieu – leader of the
CATHOLIC CHURCH in France
FRANCE
GOAL:
• Increased the power of the King by weakening
the power of : 1. NOBLES 2. HUGUENOTS
• RICHELEIU was the ACTUAL leader of France
• By 1600’s France replaced SPAIN as the most
powerful European nation – and it ruled by an
ABSOLUTE monarch
• Richeleiu’s efforts paved the way for the most
powerful ruler in French history:
LOUIS XIV
FRANCE
LOUIS XIV “THE SUN KING” (1638-1715):
• 1643 - Louis XIV becomes King - 4 years old
• Ruled for 72 YEARS
• Because he was so young, the TRUE leader was
Richelieu’s successor, MAZARIN -followed
Richeleiu’s policies
• Mazarin died in 1661 , and
Louis took over at 22
http://vimeo.com/37593727
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWQfb2vtxnA
FRANCE: LOUIS XIV “THE SUN KING”
• He demanded complete LOYALTY & OBEDIENCE
• Proclaimed “L’etat, c’est moi” - “I AM THE STATE”
FRANCE UNDER LOUIS XIV
1. Revoked the EDICT OF NANTES
2. LUXURY - used wealth for himself, not his people
Ex. Built the Palace at VERSAILLES
FRANCE UNDER LOUIS XIV
Palace at Versailles:
Used 36,000 laborers
Present day cost: $2.5 BILLION
FRANCE UNDER LOUIS XIV
3. MERCANTILISM Believed in importance of
colonies (Canada)
4. CULTURE - promoted art, music, opera, ballet
5. MILITARY- built a strong army but led France into
disastrous wars – few were successful
6. ECONOMY - France took on huge debt with high
taxes
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WORKS CITED:
Capet, Hugh. Photograph. Encyclopædia Britannica. Web. 15 May 2014.
<http://school.eb.com/levels/high/article/20140/media?assemblyId=166630>.
“Joan of Arc at the Coronation of Charles VII in Reims Cathedral”. IMAGE. Encyclopædia
Britannica. Web. 15 May 2014. http://media1.school.eb.com/eb-media/92/60892-00453D4AF1E.jpg .
Saint Bartholomew's Day, Massacre of . IMAGE. Encyclopædia Britannica. Web. 15 May
2014. http://media2.school.eb.com/eb-media/30/130530-004-AFADA439.jpg .
Wartburg.edu. Louis XIV of France.jpg. Digital image. Wikipedia. Wikimedia Commons, 26
Aug. 2012. Web. 15 May 2014. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Louis_XIV_of_France.jpg>.
Louis XIII. Photograph. Encyclopædia Britannica. Web. 15 May 2014.
<http://school.eb.com/levels/high/article/49066/media?assemblyId=12687>.
Louis XIV. Photograph. Encyclopædia Britannica. Web. 15 May 2014.
<http://school.eb.com/levels/high/article/49067/media?assemblyId=20874>.
Largillière, Nicolas de: “Louis XIV and His Family”. Photograph. Encyclopædia Britannica.
Web. 15 May 2014.
<http://school.eb.com/levels/high/article/49067/media?assemblyId=82291>.
Versailles, Palace of. IMAGE. Encyclopædia Britannica. Web. 15 May 2014.
<http://media2.school.eb.com/eb-media/06/5806-004-80AEFC3C.jpg>.
Versailles, Palace of . IMAGE. Encyclopædia Britannica. Web. 15 May 2014.
<http://media1.school.eb.com/eb-media/00/117600-004-139973FC.jpg>.
Marie-Thérèse: marriage to King Louis XIV, 1660. IMAGE. Encyclopædia Britannica. Web. 15
May 2014. <http://media2.school.eb.com/eb-media/38/123938-004-CDF1334F.jpg>.