Lesson 2 - The Reign of Louis XIV

• 1562-1598 – France had 8 religious wars
• Henry of Navarre, a Huguenot prince married the daughter of Catherine de Medicis (wife of King Henry II & mother of 3
French kings)
• 1572 St. Bartholomew’s Day
Massacre in Paris began as a protest vs. this wedding – 6 weeks of violence followed!

• 1589 – Catherine and her last son died; King Henry IV is the 1 st
Bourbon King of France.
• To satisfy Cath. he gave up
Protestantism & became Cath.
• 1598 – Edict of Nantes –
Huguenots could live in peace & build churches in some cities
• He restored the monarchy and brought peace to France
• 1610 – He was killed by a religious fanatic Francois Ravaillac.

• Louis XIII (1624-1643) = weak king
• Cardinal Richelieu, head of Cath. church, was his minister
• To increase Bourbon power he removed walls from Huguenot cities
& increased power of agents from middle class to curb power of nobles who had to take down fortified castles
• He wanted to make France the greatest power in Eur. vs. Hapsburgs as a result he involved France in the
Thirty Years War (1618-1648)

• King at 4 yrs. old & real ruler was
Cardinal Mazarin who followed
Richelieu
• Greatest triumph- he ended the
Thirty Years War in 1643
• He was hated by nobles b/c he taxed & strengthened central gov’t (violent riots 1648-53 & even threatened little Louis).
• Riots failed b/c nobles didn’t trust each other, gov’t was ruthless, & peasants grew tired of violence

• 1661-Louis (22 yrs) takes control
• Excluded nobles from his councils
• Appointed gov’t agents called intendants who taxed, adm. law, & recruited soldiers for the king
• Reorganized army & assigned ranks; it went from 100 K to 400 K
• He kept intendants in touch with him on a regular basis
• “L’etat, c’est moi”

1. How did Henry of Navarre end the religious wars in France?
a. Edict of Nantes b. Skepticism c. Asked the Pope
2. Who was Louis XIII’s minister who worked to strengthen the
Bourbon monarchy?
a. Cardinal Mazarin b. Cardinal Richelieu c. Colbert
3. How old was Louis XIV when he began his reign?
a. 3 b. 4 c. 12 d. 31
4. Louis XIV increased the power of the ________ to improve communication through the empire.
a. Nobles b. Cardinals c. intendants

• Louis’ goal was to make Fr. an economic power
• Jean Baptiste Colbert – finance minister & mercantilist worked to make France become self-sufficient
• Expanded manufacturing by financing
& giving tax breaks to Fr. companies
• Set tariffs high on imported goods
• Raised taxes & reduced corruption
• Emphasized importance of colonies & fur trade in New France
• He died in 1683 & Louis repealed the
Edict of Nantes & exodus hurt growth

• 500 cooks, waiters, & servants!
• Each meal was a feast! (4 soups, 1 pheasant, 1 partridge in garlic, 2 slices of ham, 1 salad, pastries, fruit,
& 2 boiled eggs for 1 meal!
• 8:30 AM – 100 of most privileged nobles at bed side to wait on him!
• Only 4 allowed to help dress him.
• If nobles didn’t show to flatter him
Louis turned against them.

• 11 miles SW of Paris; & cost $ 2.5 B today’s $!
• 36 K workers & 6 K horses 27 yrs. to build it!
• 5,000 acres of gardens, lawns, & woods!
• 1,400 fountains and Hall of Mirrors (17 huge mirrors opposite 17 windows looking on gardens) considered most impressive room.
• 4 K candles & silver + crystal chandeliers in Hall were lit on special occasions.
• King’s BR furniture contained 1 ton of silver!
• Cost more than 50% of all taxes collected in Fr!

Virtual Tour of Versailles

• 30/54 yrs. France was at war!
• 1667 (after death of Mazarin)
Louis invades Sp. Neth. & took several Dutch towns by 1678.
• 1689 – Wm. of Orange became
King of England and joined
League of Augsburg – an alliance to protect each other from
France (Austria, Sweden, Spain,
& smaller states = France’s strength.

Spanish Musketeers
• 1700 – King Charles II (Spain) died childless & Louis XIV’s grandson,
Phillip of Anjou (16 yrs) promised throne. This would join Fr. & Sp.
• 1701 – Eng., Austria, Dutch R., & several Ger. & Itl. States said no.
• Treaty of Utrecht (1714) said Phillip could be king if thrones not united.
• Eng. Got Gibraltar and slave trade + N.
Scotia & Newfoundland
• Austrian Hapsburgs took Sp. Neth.
• France was ruined & Louis died 1715.

• People of France rejoiced when he died
• France did become a world power and a showcase for art, lit. & culture in Europe
• $21 Billion in debt!
• He advised his great gr. son
(Louis XV) “Do not imitate me”
• Planted the seeds for the
French Revolution (1789)