How Did King Louis Xiv Rule

It is often debated whether or not the reign of King Louis XIV had a positive or negative effect on France. Although there were improvements during his reign in transportation, culture, and national defense, there were far more negative aspects. He depleted the national treasury with his liberal spending on personal luxuries and massive monuments. His extreme fear of the loss of power led to poor decision making, which caused the court to be of lower quality. King Louis XIV’s disastrous rule brought about a series of effects that influenced the French Revolution in the following century.

Of all the absolute rulers in Europe, by far the best example of one, and the most powerful, was Louis XIV of France. Although Louis had some failures, he also had many successes. He controlled France’s money and had many different ways to get, as well as keep his power, and he knew how to delegate jobs to smart, but loyal people.

What would happen if a king had absolute control over a country with unrestricted power? Would the country thrive, or would it collapse? King Louis XIV is a prime example of this and his absolute monarchy, as he practically did whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted. There were pros and cons to his rule. In one way, he was the most notable king in all of France’s time, making them one of the most powerful countries in Europe at the time.

King Louis was an Absolute leader he believed that the higher hierarchy should live lavish. To fulfill this he needed money, he used his power to “collect taxes and use the money as he saw fit” (Becker, Doc 1). The Sun King Louis also made sure that what he wants goes, if he felt that something needed to be done good or bad he made sure that the problem was being dealt with.” It would take misfortunes in which they themselves were the sufferers to change their mind about the beneficence of the Sun King” (Glasser Doc 3). Louis’s impact was strong, throughout all his actions he made destroyed the country they were always in wars and the money begin collected went towards military and himself. It was as if he brainwashed his contemporaries to do what he wanted with them not knowing what the long term effects

During his reign he was involved in with the French army and he was able to increase the size of the army from 25,000 troops to 250,000 troops. This was an accomplishment, but with this came a death count like no other. He also moved the capitol of France to Versailles, which is a palace grander than anything else in Europe. Louis XIV also capitalized on limiting the power of the nobles. This to me is a key point in him being the best example of an absolutist because he no longer allowed the nobles to be in charge of the local government. He instead had intendants who had to report back to him and this kept Louis XIV in total control. Not only did he overthrow nobles, he also made them servants and required them to live in Versailles with him for part of the year so he could keep his eye on them and out of the government. He was also able to collect taxes without calling the French Estates General which was something that was unable to be done by any other ruler. Louis XIV was able to accomplish a lot during his reign, mostly for the good, only partially bad due to the death count and debt left behind after his

The fact that Louis grew up in a time of civil war in France, where he saw the negative affects poor leadership and too much power to the lords can do probably influenced the way he saw power. His view was that the king should have all the power, and that committees and subcommittees should report to him, like intendants, as we can see in a piece written by James E. King concerning Louis XIV (Doc 1). This source is reliable, because the author of it has no bias while writing it, showing only the facts and the manner in which the kingdom and country was run. Louis made the nobles and lords depend on hi m for any amount of power, and weakened them by giving more rights to the commoners, which undermined their power.

Louis XIV 's France was an absolute monarchy, meaning the king had the power, control, finances and the nation in his hands more then ever before. In the 17th century, France was the strongest and wealthiest nation in Europe, and the head of the state, the king, was the most influential person of the time. In the ideas of the scientific revolution and the soon-coming changes of the enlightenment the country was developing. For a few decades France was not involved in any major wars or battles and the peace helped the population grow fast.

Louis XIV was successful in achieving “one king, one law, one faith.” He was able to

Louis became unpopular because he was so sure of himself. He felt that everyone should revolve around him, so he took the sun as his image, because they had just discovered that the world revolved around the sun. He persecuted Protestants. He also used bribery. King Louis XIV forced Protestants to pay extra taxes and forced the people who kept the Protestant religion to house soldiers whenever they were in town. He taxed the Protestants because they chose to believe in something different then his beliefs. Louis threw out the Edict of Nantes because it gave people the freedom to choose their own religion and he believed that people should have only one religion, Catholicism. This act took away the people's right to freedom of religion.

The reign of Louis XIV was the longest of the modern era, and during his time, France reached remarkable achievements in art and architecture, such as the Palace of Versailles. Louis XIV was responsible for creating the lavish complex that was filled with Baroque interiors and surrounded by French and English gardens. In its later years, it was further renovated for other kings then given to the Republic for public use. Through its elaborate ornamentation and massive scale, the Palace of Versailles represents the glory of the Sun King and expresses the power of the French monarchy.

Although Louis XIV, also known as Louis the Great, brought death and destruction through his wars, there are many positive aspects of his reign, such as the creation of Versailles and the building of France’s national army. He did what had never been done before. He changed the lifestyle and the attitude of France by creating one of the most powerful monarchies ever to be built and at the same time, reassured all the nobility and other wealthy groups of their political and social standings. He made it clear that he was the final decision maker yet he still needed the help of the nobility and other authorities.

Louis XIV was an absolute monarch, which means that he believed he had absolute control over his country and he did not have to answer to anyone but God. He also called himself the "Sun King" and enforced his idea of himself being the state. Under his reign France was able to expand their power into some of the surrounding countries and they also expanded their border to the Great Pyrenees Mountains and take some Spanish land. This expansion was largely due to Louis XIV's expansion and increase of the French Army. However, despite Louis XIV's success in some battle he lost a lot of money by waging pointless wars, two of which where against the Dutch, only because the didn't recognise Louis as their ruler. Louis XIV also decreased France's wealth

Louis XIV was born on September 5, 1638, and ruled as King of France and of Navarre from May 14, 1643 until his death at the age of 76. He took over the throne a few months before his fifth birthday, but didn't actually assume actual control of the government until his First Minister, Jules Cardinal Mazarin, died in 1661. He was to become King of France after his father, Louis XIII, died of tuberculosis. He achieved the role of king by ways of hereditary monarchy, which is one of the ways to become a ruler, as stated by Machiavelli. Louis XIV is known as the 'The Sun King' and also known as 'Louis the Great.' He ruled over France for seventy-two years, which is the longest reign of any French or any other major European ruler and

He reigned in France for 72 years, and during 54 of them he personally controlled the French government. The 17th century is labeled as the age of Louis XIV. Since then his rule has been hailed as the supreme example of absolutism government. He epitomized the ideal of kingship. During his reign France stabilized and became one of the strongest powers in Europe.

After being ruled by a prime minister for so long, France needed some changes. That is exactly what Louis the XIV would bring to France. In an age of separation, Louis wanted to start a unification process. He started this by giving himself sole power and also only having one religion for the country. The king is always the center of attention good or bad. Louis was prepared to take the good with the bad, and handled it well. He emphasized the king as the center of attention. While some see him as egotistical and greedy, Louis was one king who knew how to make improvements.