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The Birth of Louis XIV
Louis XIV was born in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France and was christened as Louis-Dieudonné, French for "Gift of God." He was saw as a miracle child since he was the first child out of a 23-year marriage his parents had. His parents are King Louis XIII of France and Anne of Austria. -
Louis XIV is crowned
When Louis XIV was about five years old, his dad passed away, so he inherited the crown. Being pretty much a toddler still, it was crazy for him to have control over 19 million French subjects and a highly unstable government. Since Louis XIV didn't have power, it went to his mother & Italian-born Chief Minister Cardinal Jules Mazarin who is said to be his godfather. -
The Fronde
Louis XIV's mom & Mazarin introduced policies that further fortified the monarchy’s power, angering nobles & other individuals. The Parlement of Paris began to rebel against Mazarin & tried to overthrow the crown, resulting in the war. Louis XIV and his family had to leave Paris until the war was over. Mazarin finally ended the revolt in 1653 & followed up by restoring internal order and settling a peace treaty with Hapsburg Spain which took time but France was now a leading European power. -
Louis gains all power
Mazarin dies & that means that Louis gains all the power at the age of 22. He finally took full control over the French government & began to reform the kingdom on how he felt it should be. The first major thing he did was break tradition by declaring that he'll rule without a chief minister. His first goal as an absolute monarch was to centralize & reign control over France. With the help of his finance minister, Jean-Baptiste Colbert, & war minister, Marquis de Louvois France was reformed. -
Louis gains all power (pt. 2)
Jean-Baptiste Colbert executed changes that pointedly lessened the shortage & encouraged the development of industry & Marquis de Louvois extended & revamped the French armed force. Louis additionally figured out how to mollify & impair the defiant nobles, who had incited no under 11 common wars in four decades, by baiting them to his court & habituating them to the rich way of life. He also fixed France's corrupt taxation system & had members of nobility exempt from paying taxes. -
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Changes from Louis XIV
Although Louis XIV changed the government, he also made programs to infuse more of the arts in French culture. He was very hard-working & made sure his organizations were perfect down to the very last detail. He had a great appreciation for art, literature, music, theater, & sports which were included in his programs. He created the Academy of Inscriptions & Belle-Lettres (1663), Royal Academy of Music (1666) & he even had Colbert oversee the construction of the Paris Observatory (1667- 1672). -
The War of Devolution
The War of Devolution was the characterization of Louis XIV's aggressive approach to foreign policy. He invaded the Spanish Netherlands which he claimed as his wife's inheritance. The war ended with the French surrendering and giving back Spain & only gaining some frontier towns in Flanders since they were under pressure from the English. -
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The War of Devolution
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Franco-Dutch War
The French were unsatisfied with results from The War of Devolution, so the outcome was the Franco-Dutch War. The war lasted six years & ended with France gaining more land in Flanders as well as the Franche-Compté. France's position was now known as the dominant power on the continent. That position messed with Louis XIV's campaigns to expand territorial claims through the use of military force, so France was now a threat to European nations such as Europe, the Holy Roman Empire, & Spain. -
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Franco Dutch War
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Removal of Edict of Nantes
Louis XIV was devoutly Catholic, so he didn't like the fact that other people weren't. His grandfather, Henry IV created the Edict of Nantes in 1598 which granted French Protestants freedom of worship & other rights. Louis XIV then built the Edict of Fontainebleau which was the destruction of Protestant churches, closure of Protestant schools, & expulsion of Protestant clergy. It also forced all children to be educated & baptized as Christians, all of the rules made protestants flee from France. -
The Grand Alliance and the Nine Years War
France gained so much power that it dwindled other nation's power in a way and that didn't sit right with other nations. Spain, England, the Holy Roman Empire, & other smaller countries formed a coalition called the Grand Alliance. A war broke out between France and the Grand Alliance that was called the Nine Years War. France came out with most of its territory but resources scarce. The Treaty of Ryswick settled the Nine Years War on September 20, 1697. -
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Nine Years War
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War of the Spanish Succession
The War of the Spanish Succession further accelerated Louis XIV's decline as a leader. Louis XIV's goal was to inherit the Spanish Empire for his grandson, Phillip V. The long war was very costly for France resulting in them being in deep debt. The public went from loving & and hailing him to blaming him for France's financial devastation. -
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War of the Spanish Succession
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Louis XIV's Death
Four days before Louis XIV's 77th birthday he passed away from gangrene in Versailles, France. His reign lasted 72 years longer than any other European monarch & left an indelible mark on the culture, history, & destiny of France. Once he died his 5-year-old grandson succeeded him as Louis XV.
