Do Now – Part I Based on yesterday’s class, write down at least three reasons why is the French Revolution so important? 1.First major change besides the American Revolution 2.First time the people rose against their own ruler. 3.The upper class controlled 90% of the wealth and land even though they made up of less than 5% of the population 4.It showed Absolute Power corrupts absolutely 5.Meant to be the first time everyone was equal. No upper or lower classes

Homework due today Read pages 598 – 602 – start at Louis XIV comes to Power Define the following Terms: (if not already completed) Louis XIV Intendants Jean Baptiste Colbert Versailles War of Spanish Succession Sun King Cardinal Mazarin League of Augsburg

Homework due Monday Open Notebook Quiz on all material covered to date, meaning notes from before break. Expect to have vocab / terms as part of the quiz.

Review of previous material During Louis XIII’s rule, the true leader of France was who? (Look in your notes). He was not like his father, he was a weak ruler, but wisely selected a strong minister to make the decisions that Louis could not make. This minister, Cardinal Richelieu in effect he was the ruler of France. Decisions had to go through the King but almost all decisions were agreed to by Louis.

New material What king saw himself and the state as one in the same? Answer - Louis XIV aka The Sun King, why? When Louis XIV gained the throne, the person running the day to day affairs of France was France was whom? Answer - Cardinal Mazarin. Cardinal Mazarin ended the Thirty Years War, but he was disliked by the Nobles (the wealthy classes) because he increased taxes and made the government strong which cut out their influence. The Nobles tried to revolt and threatened the young king’s life.

New material Louis XIV was determined to never let this repeat. He became a strong ruler. The nobles revolt failed for three reasons: 1. Leaders distrusted one another (no unity) 2. The Government used violent means to end the revolt. 3. The people feared the chaos. They felt better to be ruled by an absolute monarch than has constant rebellion and chaos. When Mazarin died, Louis excluded the Nobles from his council thus reducing their influence in the court or in France. The council consisted on “Intendants” who oversaw tax collecting and administered justice

New material Louis also looked to improve the country’s economic health. He appointed Jean Baptiste Colbert as Finance Minister. Colbert focused on Mercantilism: an economic system to unify and increase the power and especially the monetary wealth of a nation by a strict governmental regulation of the entire national economy. He wanted France to be self-sufficient so that more wealth stayed in the country. He gave funding and tax benefits to French companies and place high tariffs (taxes to import items) to protect French industry.

New material The French government encouraged people to colonize other countries such as North America. This gave poor people the chance to be wealthy and own land. In 1685, after Colbert’s death, Louis slowed France’s economic progress. He ended the Edit of Nantes. The French Protestants decided to leave France rather than face an uncertain future.

The Sun King Louis XIV spent a lot of money to live in luxury. He had for example, 500 cooks, waiters and other servants to cater to him. Louis made the nobles seek him out for two reasons: 1. It made the nobles dependent on Louis (not the other way around). 2. It made the nobles leave their homes & often villages which meant that they nobles could not run their affairs so the Intendants took on that responsibility. Louis had them move into Versailles with him. Versailles was the wealth of the French Empire. Building of Versailles allowed the opportunity for artists to design or perform.

The Sun King One bad thing about have absolute control is that one person can literally start a war. Louis XIV built his army to be one of the largest in Europe. First off, Louis invaded Spanish Netherlands. After a few successes Louis wanted more and was stopped when the Dutch flooded the countryside. A treaty was signed and France gained a little more territory. Louis engaged in more conflicts and French strength caused smaller nations to ally together against France. One such alliance was the League of Augsburg (England, Spain, Austria, Sweden) against France.

The Sun King The French people soon grew tired of war due to the continued loss of their men, the actual cost of the war and the food shortages created by the war.