Absolute Monarchy in France Absolutism defined A political theory that encouraged rulers to claim complete sovereignty within their territories Sometimes defined by “divine right”           Louis XIV (r. 1643-1715) Squabbles among the nobility meant he must rule assertively Absolutist “control” Command of the state's army Control over the legal system Right to collect and spend the state's financial resources The need to create an efficient centralized bureaucracy Weakening privileged “special interests” Obstacles Legally-privileged estates of the nobility and clergy The political authority of semi-autonomous regions Interference of parliaments, diets, and estates general

Louis XIV

The Absolutism of Louis XIV The façade that was Louis Performing royalty at Versailles A stage upon which Louis mesmerized the nobility into obedience Daily rituals and demonstrations of royalty Royal “choreography” Nobles were required to live at Versailles for part of the years Raised their prestige Louis could keep an eye on them Louis as hard working and conscientious Personal responsibility for the well-being of all his subjects      

Administration and centralization For Louis, royal power meant domestic tranquility Conciliated the upper bourgeoisie by making them royal administrators - Intendants: Taxation - Collection of taxes necessary to maintain a large standing army Louis XIV’s religious policies Louis was determined to impose religious unity on France Outside Roman Catholicism Quietists – Catholics who preached personal mysticism Jansenists – held to the Augustinian notion of predestination Jesuits – earned the support of Louis Huguenots – French Calvinists Protestant churches were destroyed Protestants banned from many professions

1685: Louis revokes the Edict of Nantes Protestant clerics were exiled Laymen were sent to the galleys as slaves Children were forcibly baptized as Catholics 200,000 Protestants flee to England, Holland, Germany, and America

L’ etat c’est moi! By Hyacinthe Rigaud As an absolute monarch, Louis was not subject to any constitutional limitations, leading him to declare “l’etat, c’est moi” (“I am the state”). Louis ruled by divine right, receiving his authority directly from God. The concept of divine right allowed Louis to quash emerging rebellions while establishing legitimacy. Louis became known as le Roi Soleil, the Sun King, furthering his claim of divine lineage by recalling the ancient Greek god Apollo and declaring himself, in his usual modest manner, to be the center of the universe. 

Louis XIV’s Carriage

The Sun Symbol

Francoise d’Aubigne, Madame de Maintenon Mistress – secret second wife – large political influence

Jean-Baptiste Colbert

Versailles Today

The Orangery

Hall of Mirrors

The King’s Bed The Queen’s Bed

The wars of Louis XIV to 1697 For Louis, glory at home was to be achieved by military victories abroad 1667/68: attacks the Spanish Netherlands 1672: attacks Holland and William of Orange Captures Strasbourg (1681), Luxembourg (1684), and Cologne (1688) Pushes across the Rhine and burns the middle Rhineland