King Louis XIV: A Disastrous Ruler Essay

     In addition to his strengths, Louis XIV had weaknesses. After Colbert died, Louis made one mistake that undid all of his work. He revoked Edict of Nantes who protected the religious freedom of the Huguenots. Instead of being imprisoned, more than 200,000 Huguenots fled from France. The country lost many of its skilled workers and business leaders. Louis XIV also fought many costly wars that caused his people great suffering. Many of the wars left France on the brink of bankruptcy.

In 1661 Louis appointed Jean-Baptiste Colbert as controller general of finances. This proved to be very successful in adding to the increase of France’s economy, and it helped Louis achieve his second goal of having “one law.” Colbert’s ideas were similar to that of mercantilism. He insisted on having an economic system that would make France a self-sufficient powerful country where they exported more than they imported. He improved France’s economy through the invention of a merchant marine fleet, the support of industries, the control of tariffs on French goods, and the collection of taxes. All of these gained money for France, which led to the creation of a powerful army. Due to a powerful army, France was able to secure its natural frontiers, even in the North East, which was France’s weakest natural border. While Louis claimed a flaw of his was that, “I loved war too much,” he was able to make a strong French presence in Europe, adding to his idea of “one law.”

Louis XIV turned France around from an unorganized feuding country to one of the most organized, powerful, innovative monarchies in Europe. In addition, he managed to advance civil equality among the people by turning all the people into his loyal subjects (Norton, p.175). How did he do all this? The armed forces that had formerly been a private enterprise who had been fighting against each other or had hired themselves out for payment, was taken over and consolidated into one entity fighting, by the king for the king. He made war an activity of the state which produced peace and order in France while strengthening the fighting power of France against other states (Norton, p.175). In addition, he put soldiers in uniform, taught them how to march in step and housed them in barracks which assisted them in becoming more susceptible to discipline and control (Norton, p.175). There was now a hierarchy in place and was able to get a greater degree of government control that put him on the top as the commander in chief of the army due to his power and the creation of the first large civilian administration (Norton, p.176). This was the first time that ministers of war consisted of civilians and this grew the armies power exponentially. Louis XIV also overhauled the grandeur of France when he took an old village Versailles and turned it into the palace of Versailles that became known as one of the most splendid marvels in Europe so much so, that it became the envy of lessor kings.

Louis XIV followed many Machiavellian teachings but conspicuously disregarded others, due to some of his fiscal policies (or lack of them) and personal tendencies. Louis XIV is the longest reigning monarch in European history, and during his impressive reign, France enjoyed a Golden Age of arts and commerce. He expanded its territories and shifted the balance of power to France becoming one of the most powerful European countries in the 17th century.

Louis XIV was a very generous spender. He put in large amounts of money to finance the royal court, and operated as a supporter of the arts, funding literary and cultural figures. He also kept his army in mind by building military complex known as the Hôtel des Invalides to give a home for officers and soldiers who had served him loyally in the army. The Hôtel des Invalides established new treatments frequently and set a new standard for the rather barbarous hospice treatment styles of the period. To support a Machiavellian tactic, Louis XIV didn?t have any mercenaries or auxiliaries, he controlled his own army, and was a self-sufficient ruler that didn?t rely on the help of others in battle.

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's power in France actually led France into a lot of success initially. France was the dominating power in Europe up until the early 18th century when the treaty of Eutrich was signed. Although France was the European powerhouse, Louis did some stupid things in his time of rule. He had absolute power over his country and never forgot the noble Fronde that tried to take his power, so he locked up the nobles in Versailles and didn't allow them to leave. Also when building the palace of Versailles, Louis spent a large sum of the country's total revenue on the construction. Along with bad choices from his advisors, many Huguenots were sent out of the country leaving a hole for skilled workers that could not be filled and the crown lost

Louis XIV was able to become an absolute monarch with his strategy of impeding the power of nobles to the effect of creating more power for himself. He greatly feared another insistence of the Fronde. When taking the throne fully at the death of his Chief Minister, Mazarin, he was quoted saying, “L’état, c’est moi” or “I am the state” , expressing his need for absolute power.

Some people think that King Louis XIV did more harm to France than good. They cite his lack of moderation in managing his money. They also point out that Louis denied religious liberties to the Protestants of France and tightened control over his Roman Catholic subjects by revoking the Edict of Nantes. They also claim Louis’ war efforts were very costly and drained the treasury of France. Some say his arrogance, including his emblem of the “Sun King”, turned “his” people away from him. They think that Louis only cared about himself and what he wanted and didn’t think about future France.

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.

Louis XIV was charitable. He did open a veterans’ hospital in 1670 to house ex-soldiers. He opened academies for dance, inscriptions, sciences, architecture and music. These academies set standards for taste. He annexed valuable land such as Flanders and Franche-Comte. Louis’ decision to suppress the Protestant religion can be seen as a political move to join France under one religion and to build national unity.

He also increased the size of the army, gave soldiers better training and introduced new weapons to military. I personally think that the life of Louis XIV had its many ups and downs, but over all he was a very good man and effective ruler. If it were not for Louis XIV, France would be a very different place today. I'm surprised he is responsible for many elegant buildings in France and especially Paris. Despite all the wrong things he did that hurt his nation, I think it could have probably gotten worse if he had not come along. Even today it interests me that Louis's armies, that were opposed by an alliance of the European powers, lost most of their major battles, but won control of Spain.

King Louis XIV’s whole life, to a great extent, was foreign policy led. He viewed Tact and war similarly as a king's distinctive feature. For this reason King Louis fought many wars and through those wars he was able to gain success but it is also true that most of the problems that he faced during his reign

Citation- Price, Munro. The Road from Versailles: Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette, and the Fall of the French Monarchy. New York: St. Martin 's Press, 2003.

In the introduction to The Fabrication of Louis XIV, Peter Burke expresses his ambition to write a study of Louis XIV 's public image as a whole and the changes it underwent throughout Louis 's reign. This book examines the relation between art and power and the official structures responsible for making – fabricating – the image, or more appropriately, the images of Louis XIV, as well as their contemporary reception. As the title suggests and as Burke himself reminds the reader, the book as a whole focuses on the ideas of royal myth and royal narrative, and the manipulation of information.