Sun King Louis XIV

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 XIV is one of the most famous examples of an absolute ruler. Louis had a complete control over his country. Louis’s father had died leaving France in a civil war. Louis XIV obtained power after his father died and through hatred over the nobility that threatened his life and his mothers, though Cardinal Mazarin ruled until Louis XIV took power after Mazarin’s death. He vowed he would never be so weak that he could not have power. Louis XIV was an absolute ruler of France he centralized government, military powers, taxation, and further weakened aristocracy to become a more powerful ruler.

Still, the negative aspects of France’s rule under King Louis XIV far outweigh the positive ones. His reign can best be described by the statement “L’état, c’est moi,” (I am the state) that is attributed to him. King Louis XIV spent state money to pay for his own luxuries and monuments that glorified his image. It was also customary for the artists King Louis XIV sponsored to include direct or indirect allusions to him in their productions thus creating a god-like image of him. The Palace of Versailles alone used 5% of France’s income. This liberal

Who was King Henry VIII and who was King Louis XIV? How are they different and similar to each other? Well, one thing for sure, both of these rulers were Roman Catholics. Henry ruled England from 1491 to 1547 and Louis ruled France from 1643 to 1715. This essay analyzes the differences and the similarities between these two Roman Catholic kings. Henry VIII, compared to Louis XIV, was overall a ruthless monarch who wasn’t afraid to show off his greediness, abuse his power, or influence others with his clever political strategies. Louis XIV had the longest reign in European history (1643-1715). During this time he brought absolute monarchy to its height, established a huge and grand palace.

During 1789 and decades prior, peasants toil in the fields and reap the diminishing wheat stalks. Bound by the law set by the king, they suffered paying the nobility’s and clergy’s expenses with whatever income they had. When not in desperate poverty, the Third Estate would muster any energy to exert disdain to their king, indifferent behind palace walls. With Voltaire's and Rousseau's conceptions, commoners imagined a government where the nation was in potency, not the monarch. Yet, King Louis XVI taunts this bubbling tension by claiming these privileges were well-deserved, insinuating that his people were literal breadwinners, obligated to pay tribute. With high tax rates, a radical government where the people were free of ridicule circulated

For my source I chose a note written by King louis XVI. This Source is commonly called “the kings note on fleeing Paris”. King Louis the sixteenth was a very well-known king from the mid to late 1700’s and was the king of France. He was able to complete several huge accomplishments such as establishing equal rights amongst religion for those who did not personally consider themselves to be a member of the catholic faith, supporting American revolutionary efforts, and even refusing to raise taxes which, as a king, directly affected how much he earned from his time with the crown. However, because of these things like funding other countries revolutions, he sent France into a depressed financial state that hurt the middle and lower classes of

An absolute monarchy is a form of government in which there is one leader who holds complete and unlimited power. King Louis XIV is considered a perfect example of an autocratic ruler. Two actions he took were building the Palace of Versailles and trying to impose uniformity in religious affairs. In the end he left his country in a bad economical and political state. King Louis XIV was a leader that used absolute power to hurt his country and people.

England and France, during the 1600s, were both absolutist countries. Their leaders, Charles I and Louis XIV, respectively, bot ruled their countries during that time. Though they differed in their views on religion and the powers that nobles ought to wield, they both encouraged the arts and education. During the 17th century, England was a Protestant nation, and wanted nothing to do with the Catholic religion.

Louis XIV was a French king known for his extension of absolute royal power and aggressive foreign policy, but the documents reveal another side to him. Louis wanted his son to represent all that was good of France. One significant piece of advice he gave to his son was to keep absolute authority instead of forfeiting any amount of power to a prime minister; another was to divide orders and responsibilities among his courtiers based on talent, rather than giving all the power and responsibility to one person (Doc 5). This suggests that Louis was a good father, because he wanted his son to be an effective ruler and keep the royal dynasty alive. Besides his fondness for keeping absolute power, Louis also held a particular regard of art and sculpture.

My monarch, King Louis XIV, deserves the title of most absolute monarch more than any monarch because of his many superior accomplishments. King Louis was the catalyst for economic growth in France during his 72 year reign. With the help of Jean Baptiste Colbert, he was able to make France self-sufficient. France was able to make anything it needed, which kept more money in their economy. He supported the economy even more by giving French companies tax benefits while putting tariffs on any imported products. At the same time, he encouraged his citizens to move to Canada, which was a French territory, to jump start the fur trading market.

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.

France was in trade relations with Italy. Louis XIV convinced the mirror-makers in Italy to come to France. Moreover, the Baroque period in Northern Europe had a different kind of trade. The Dutch, for instance, had slave trade. Going to economics, before France became a leading world power, it had suffered an economic decline during the reign of Louis XIV (1643). The greatest drain on the economy was probably caused by Louis’s insatiable architectural ambition. He spent so much in the beautification of the Palace of Versailles that the economic status was no longer balanced. In contrast, France replaced Italy as the artistic leader because of the standard that Versailles had set in European countries. Louis XIV was then considered one of the greatest rulers in

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.

Chapters two to eight follow each other chronologically, and examine how the image of Louis XIV changed during his reign. Chapter two pays particular attention to the different media used by the king and his 'image-makers '. This chapter is a good introduction to the different styles and genres used to create royal images, for example by comparing classicism and baroque and explaining recurrent allegories, metaphors and commonplaces used in the representations of Louis XIV. Chapters two to four give us the necessary background to understand the study of the relation between art and power in the time of Louis XIV. Whilst in chapter three, Peter Burke concentrates on how royal representations respond to contemporary events, he then is primarily concerned in chapter four with the construction of the structures of glorification of the king. The reader is introduced to two key figures in