World History 9
Notes – “The Reign of Louis XIV (21-2)
1. Who was Henry IV? What religion was he? What religion did he change to
and why?
 The King of France 1589
 1st Bourbon King
 A French Protestant or a Huguenot
 He switched to Catholicism since he wanted to unite France and stop
all the religious conflicts and fighting
2. What was the Edict of Nantes?
 A law which granted religious tolerance to the Huguenots (French
Protestants)
3. What was Henry IV’s goal during his reign?
 To rebuild France
 To make France prosperous
 To strengthened the monarchy
4. Who as Louis XIII? What kind of ruler was he? Who “really” ruled France
during Louis XIII’s reign?
 Henry V’s son
 A weak leader
 Cardinal Richelieu – his minister and a leader in the Catholic church
5. How did Cardinal Richelieu strengthen the monarchy in France?
 Restricts Huguenots - no walls around the cities so they couldn’t defy
the king
 Weaken the power of the nobles (wealthy landowners) – by not
allowing them to fortify their castles to keep them from rebelling or
rising up to over through the king
 Gave government jobs to the middle class – this kept them loyal to
him and kept the power from the nobles
6. What is skepticism?
 The idea or philosophy that nothing can be known for certain. This
lead to people questioning things even the Church
7. What did Descartes help develop?
 The scientific method
8. Who was Louis XIV?
 Louis XIII’s son
 The most powerful ruler in France’s history
9. What is meant by the Louis XIV’s statement “L ‘etat, c’est moi” (I am the
state)?
 That all power came from him
 He and the state were one and the same
 Without him there would be no France as he controls everything
10. Why did Louis XIV call himself the Sun King? (read the sidebar on page 598)
 He like to be called the Sun King as all power radiated or came from him
11. Who helped rule until Louis XIV was old enough?
 Cardinal Mazarin who replaced Cardinal Richelieu
12. Why were the people of France willing to put up with the oppression of an
absolute king?
 The people wanted to stop the constant warfare, and the fighting and
chaos of all of the rebellions
13. What were intendants?
 They were selected middle class people who were appointed by the king
to collect taxes and administered justice
14. How did Louis weaken the power of the nobles?
 He excluded them from his councils
 Increased the power of the intendants
 Made sure that local officials communicated with him regularly
15. Who was Jean Baptiste Colbert? How did he help France achieve economic
brilliance?
 He’s the minister of finance who believed in mercantilism
 He wanted France to keep its wealth by being self-sufficient by
o Helping expand manufacturing
o Placed high tariff (tax) on imported goods
o Recognized importance of colonies for raw materials and
market of French goods – fur trade from Canada
16. What did Louis do after Colbert’s death? What was the result?
 Cancelled the Edict of Nantes which protected religious freedom for
the Huguenots (French Protestants)
 Thousands of Huguenots artisans and business people left France
without many of its skilled works and economic progress slowed
17. What was Versailles? How did it reflect the political system of France in
the 17th century?
 A huge palace near France for Louis XIV
 France was ruled by an absolute monarch and the palace was
intended to show Louis’ wealth and power
18. How did keeping the nobles at the palace help Louis XIV control them?
 It made the nobility dependent on Louis
 Took them away from their homes and they lived at the palace so the
intendants had more power
 He wanted the them where he could watch them and keep them
busy so they couldn’t plot against him
19. What was the purpose of art under Louis?
 The purpose of art under Louis was to glorify the king and promote
values that supported his absolute rule
20. How did Louis attempt to expand France? In was way were his attempts
“disastrous”?
 By invading the Spanish Netherlands but after a lot of money and
time he only gained a small region
 Other countries joined together to keep France from becoming too
strong
21. What factors contributed to the weakening of France?
 Poor harvest
 High taxes to finance the wars
 Constant warfare brought suffering to the people of France
22. Briefly explain the causes of the War of Spanish Successions? How was it
settled?
 The War of Spanish Succession was to find who’d become the next
king of Spain
Causes:
 King of Spain dies with no heirs
 King promised throne to Louis XIV’s grandson
 Other countries were threatened by this increase in the Bourbon’s
power and joined together to stop it.
Settled by:
 After 11 years it ended with the Treaty of Utrecht which said that
Louis’ grandson could remain the King of Spain, but the thrones of
Spain and France could not be united
23. What were some positive legacies of Louis XIV?
Def: A legacy is something that you are remembered for after you die
 France was a great power
 Leader in European art and literature
 Military leader of Europe
 Had strong empire of colonies and a lot of wealth coming in from
them (the fur trade from Canada)
24. What were some negative legacies of Louis XIV?
 Left huge debt from all the wars and from building Versailles
 Resentment by the poor over taxes and Louis abuse of power which
eventually led to the French Revolution