1. Louis XIV
The Sun King

2. Background Henry IV (Navarre) Louis XIII and Cardinal Richelieu
Louis XIV and Cardinal Mazarin
La Fronde ( )

3. L’etat, c’est moi!

4. Absolute Power Believed in divine right Weakened nobility
Bishop Bossuet
Weakened nobility
Utilized middle class as advisors
Divided power among advisors
Centralized all administrative activities
Increased number and strength of intendants

6. Absolute Power Commanded army
Enforced religious unity (Edict of Fontainebleau)
Controlled and strengthened economy under mercantilism!
Jean Baptiste Colbert
Gave financial support to arts and education

7. Struggles with Absolutism
Inefficient tax system – Could only tax peasants because taxing nobility would mean giving up power!
French parlements
Moderns and salons

8. Versailles

9. Versailles

10. Versailles

11. Versailles Statistics
11 miles from Paris
Main building was over 500 yards long
30,000 laborers and 6,000 working to build it in 1685
10,000 nobles lived there
2,153 windows
2,000 rooms
67 staircases
6,000 paintings
1,500 drawings and 15,000 engravings
2,100 sculptures
5,000 items of furniture and objects d'art
2,000 acres of grounds
12 miles of roads
12 miles of enclosing walls
200,000 trees
80 miles of rows of trees
210,000 flowers planted every year
1400 fountains

12. The Orangery

13. Fountains, Fountains, and More Fountains!

14. Hall of Mirrors

15. Louis XIV’s Chapel

16. Louis XIV’s Carriage

17. French Society Strongest nation in Europe Largest population in Europe
Self-sufficient, successful economy
Large middle class
Center of culture, art and education
Baroque
Emulated by others across Europe!

19. Wars of Louis XIV
Louis XIV wanted to expand his territory and other nations wanted to keep the balance of power
Chambres de reunion
Invasion of Spanish Netherlands (1667)
Dutch War (1672)
War of Spanish Succession ( )
France and Austrian Habsburgs in line for inheritance after Charles II
Left to grandson of Louis XIV
Too much French power! William of Orange forms Grand Alliance (Dutch, England, Austria, Brandenburg) against France and Spain

21. Wars of Louis XIV Treaty of Utrecht (1713)
French domestically weakened and lose territory in Canada, but remain strong power within Europe
Dutch remain secure, but will never be major power again
Spain greatly weakened – lose land in Europe and Mediterranean Sea!
Italy and Germany remain divided and weak
Britain becomes even more wealthy and powerful!