-
Louis Xiv took the French throne when he was only 4 years old. He was born on September 5th, 1638, he took the role of king on the 14th of May in 1643.
-
Cardinal Mazarin, Louis's adviser while he was a child, did in 1661 when Louis was a little boy. After his death, Louis took the throne at the age of 22. Once in power, he weakened the noble's power by excluding them from his councils.
-
In 1667 Louis invade the Spanish Netherlands and captured 12 town for his country. After winning these towns he proceeded to invade the Dutch Netherlands, they signed the Treaty of Nijmegen was signed, France collected the land and named it Franche-Comté.
-
The Palace of Versailles was inaugrated on the 6th of May in 1682. Before they moved into the palace, the royal court changed often. That task of building his palace was given to entrusted artists like André Le Nôtre,
-
Versailles was at the center of the arts during Louis's reign. He made opera and ballet more popular. Louis like Molière’s French comedies in theater. Under Louis, art wasn’t to glorify religion, it was to glorify human potential.
-
Louis announced a policy that slowed down their economic progress. In 1685 he cancelled the Edict of Nantes, to which Huguenot’s fled. Leaving France rid of a lot of skilled workers.
-
By the 1680’s a European wide alliance had formed to stop France. The goal was to achieve a balance of power. In 1689 the Dutch prince William became the ruler of England. His country plus Austrian Hapsburg and the kings of Sweden and Spain, and a few other smaller states, equaled France’s strength.
-
In the 1700, the childless king of Spain died after promising his throne to Louis’s 16-year-old grandson. The two greatest powers were now ruled by the French Bourbons. In 1701 England, Austria, the Dutch Republic, Portugal and several German and Italian states, joined together to prevent the union of French and Spanish thrones. The long struggle was called the War of Spanish Succession. The war went until 1714 where the Treaty of Utrecht was signed.
-
In Louis’s last years, he realized his wars ruined France and he regretted the suffering he caused his people. He died in 1715. News of death caused rejoice in France. Louis left a split legacy.
