King Louis XIV: Uniform Laws And Modernization

The Sun King also known as King Louis XIV ruled France from 1643 to 1715. Over his rule he ushered in many new ideas and polices for his vision of France. King Louis XIV Helped usher in the golden age of literature, ordered the Edict of Fontainebleau, and engaged France in war.

Louis controlled France, the most powerful country in Europe. The army was an estimated 100,000 in times of peace, and 400,000 during war. This vast army outnumbered many surrounding countries. Six years after Mazarin’s death Louis XIV invaded the Spanish Netherlands. France ended this war with the Treaty of Nijmegen. After many wars, countries in Europe had formed an alliance which matched France’s strength. With many wars France had started to lose money on these wars, as a result Louis had once again raised taxes on the French people. Louis XIV was extremely engaged in the sport of war.

Transportation was improved by paving roads and by building ports and canals. He also built many massive palaces and monuments. These often showcased architecture and French goods of the time. The most elaborate palace built was the Palace of Versailles. Culture also seemed to grow during this period. Molière, Racine, Lully, La Fontaine, and Le Brun were all compensated with state pensions. France’s national defenses grew to rival those of England and Holland in size with the addition of a merchant marine, a police association and a navy. It could also be said that France acquired many new lands due to King Louis XIV’s decisions. In the War of Devolution against the Spanish Netherlands and in the later Anglo-Dutch War France acquired territory in Flanders. Later wars led to other territorial gains, one of which included Luxembourg.

Louis XIV, the ruler of France from the late seventeenth century to the early eighteenth century, claimed, “I am the state.” He considered this to be absolutism. His goal, also acquainted with absolutism, was, “one king, one law, one faith;” Furthermore, Louis wanted to promote religious unity, royal dignity, and security of the state. In order to achieve this goal, he had to rule with a firm hand, laying down the law for all to see. Louis XIV’s absolutism fostered in four major parts: the building of Versailles to control the nobility, the breeding of a strong military, the improvement of France’s economy, and, while quite harsh, the brutal extinction of religious toleration.

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.

The defining attribute of a successful governmental policy the optimization of domestic tranquility and foreign reputation. Louis XIV asserted an absolutist rule to optimize the situation. In his rule, Louis XIV wanted to have a single king with absolute power, a single national religion, and a single legal system. He also wanted to spread Bourbon influence throughout Europe. He is successful in accomplishing the optimization of domestic and foreign policy to a certain extent.

A direct quote from Louis XIV himself illustrates the induction of the new political institution: “Up to this moment I have been pleased to entrust the government of my affairs to the late Cardinal. It is now time that I govern them myself.” (“Louis XIV: Absolutism,” Steingrad) He began his rule in 1661 at the age of 23. Many feared that Louis XIV was a bit too immature to assume the throne, including his mother, but he took his role as an absolute monarch quite seriously, bordering on excessively. Rather than rely on high nobility and princes, Louis called on ministers from nobles of newer aristocratic families. If any one were to step out of line, Louis had them arrested and imprisoned. For example, when his minister of finances, Nicholas Fouquet, began to boast about his authority and wealth, Fouquet was immediately incarcerated. (“Louis XIV: Absolutism,” Steingrad) Religion was another source of tension. Louis XIV did not want Protestants practicing their faith in Catholic France. His motto in regards to religion was “one king, one law, one faith,” encapsulating the ideals of absolutism. He believed that the existence of the Protestants undermined his authority, and began attempting to entice them to conversion by offering rewards. Eventually, he moved to forced conversions. Louis XIV was a proponent of Gallicanism, which is the belief that the monarchy held certain rights over the Catholic Church, regardless of the papal powers. Pope Innocent XI denounced King Louis XIV and in response, Louis ordered the French clergy to establish the Declaration of Gallican Liberties. The document maintained that “the pope’s authority was limited to spiritual matters and that even in spiritual matters, the pope was subject to the decisions of a general council.” (“Louis XIV: Absolutism,” Steingrad) This caused a large amount of tension between the king and church, to the point where a split was possible. However,

By restructuring France's laws into one standard legal code Louis gained public support, by showing that he was a fair leader. "The Code", as Louis labeled it, was applicable to everyone (except Louis, of course), and

The French army was heavily reformed, or rather re-created, by Louis XIV, making the French army the leading organized force in Europe. He both re-created and maintained a standing army in peacetime. This transitioned France further into modernity, and remains one of the most remarkable achievements of 17th century France, and the army was finally taken under effective royal control. François-Michel le Tellier was appointed secretary of war, and with Louis’s personal supervision and command of all military affairs, they created the largest organized military force the world had seen at that time. Louis took a feudal army and transformed it into a modern one (Lewis 144). In a letter from Le Tellier to Jean Martinet, dated December 20, 1668,

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.

Cardinal Marazin died on March 9, 1661. This was a turning point in Louis’ life. Louis announced that he was going to take on full responsibility for the ruling of the kingdom. This shows an example of how Louis did not follow tradition. This marked the end of the power of the French nobility. There was no longer going to be a chief minister. Louis wanted to deal with the nobles directly. He had a new way of dictatorship, which Louis claimed was by divine right. Louis XIV viewed himself as a representative of God and considered all rebellion and disobedience sinful. He believed that he had the right to dictate because he was put on Earth by God to rule.

Despite these arguments, it is clear that Louis’ contributions to France outweighed the negative aspects of his reign. In his early personal reign, Louis was highly successful in both internal and foreign affairs. At home the parliaments lost their traditional power to obstruct legislation, and the judicial structure was reformed by the codes of civil procedure and criminal procedure. Urban law enforcement was improved by the

Louis XIV had a passion for glory and used it to fight four wars because he was motivated by personal and dynastic considerations.

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.

Being rich, French kings strengthened their authority and promoted their own language. One of the biggest reason why French suddenly spread is because of Louis XII’s decree on “the reformation of justice” in 1510. This decree stated that French is to be used in every judicial proceeding and civil inquiries and procedures. This decree brought court closer to people. But the most important decree was made by Francois I in 1539. In his decree Francois I stated that French has to be the language of administration. The same edict required every priest to register every birth. This was first step in keeping vital statistics. Even though the decree was not directed against dialects like patois, (it was directed against Latin) by mid 16th century all other dialects disappeared from administrative and judicial archives. The Church that used Latin resisted this reform not wanting to use French, but could not do anything about it and in 1520 the Bible and the Gospel were translated to French and Calvinists did their best to spread “new” Bible and