Why Louis XIV of France was the Most Successful Absolute Monarch in Europe

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.

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

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

During the XVII century, most of the European countries were ruled by more or less absolute Monarchy. Born in 1638, Louis XIV will have the longest reign out of all French ruler ( 72 years). A few years later, while Louis XIV’s reign was at his apogee, another important ruler of this era get to the throne: Peter the Great. Both of these rulers, known for being an absolute monarch, have been influenced by the traumatic event of their childhood. For Louis XIV, it was the insurrection of the nobility against the royal power, known as the Fronde; Forced to flee Paris, he will hold a grudge against this feudal power . As for Peter The Great, it was the rebellion led by his step-sister, after the death of his brother with whom he ruled as Tsar, that will influence his way of ruling the kingdom.

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.

According to the Kids Encyclopedia, an absolute monarch “has the power to rule their country and citizens freely with no laws or opposition telling the monarchy what to do.” In Europe during the seventeenth century, the absolutism view of the role of the monarchy increased in prominence, and one can identify an increased number of absolute monarchs during this time period than almost any other in history. During this emergence of absolute monarchs, two monarchs stand out as the most influential, powerful rulers: Peter the Great of Russia and Louis XIV of France. Both of these rulers embody the definition of an absolute monarch and by controlling various aspects of their nation, both successfully created a more unified nation state. Despite

King Louis XIV was one of the best cases of absolute monarchs, he was leader of France for a lengthy time. Additionally, Michael Gibson wrote about how insignificant Russia was until Peter turned it into a “great power feared by all” in document 8. He desired leaders to read his work so they had the ability to learn and flourish from his writings. Gibson decided to display both sides of a leader thought to be great. This, in turn, made him unbiased and more trusted by other respected bodies in his field.

As an absolutist ruler, Louis naturally wanted no checks to his power and the nobles could pose a serious risk to this policy. To weaken the nobles, Louis confined them to the Palace of Versailles and gave them no say in major political decisions. English nobles were given much more power than French nobles under the English constitutional monarchy. They had positions in the Parliament and they had a say in what was happening in England. There was no absolutist ruler in England to attempt to limit their power. French nobles couldn’t vote on legislation while English nobles could in

One of the major threats to a kings powers are nobles. Having wealthy nobles meant the power of the king was divided. King Louis XIV believed in ruling alone, without the division of power. To do this, he removed nobility members and replaced them with the nobility of the robe. The nobility of the robe were members selected from the middle class.

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.

During the reign of Louis XIV, France's stability and success was threatened by the power of the nobility. When Louis looked back at the Fronde, a nobility revolt that occurred during his childhood, he realized the thirst for power the nobility held, and as a result limited their power. To begin with, Louis forced the nobles to move to Versailles where they could cause less trouble, and Louis could keep a close eye on them. Louis achieved this by threatening to deny them their pensions if they didn't move. Louis also instituted heavy taxing for the nobles, in the form of a 10% income tax as well as a head tax. These measures prevented a Noble uprising during Louis' reign as king, and allowed France to develop positively as a country.

Louis did many things to assert his power. Firstly, he limited the noble's power by keeping them busy in court so they weren’t involved in day to day affairs. He got rid of

What makes a King or Queen so great? Is it the lives that are taken in their name during a way, or the amount of power they have, the land they take over, the money they can spend, or is it how they can make their people happy, giving them homes, jobs, to the basics of food and water. Many countries would make an effort to make the lives of the people in lower classes easier and less stressful, an example of this would be Catherine the Great. however, every century must have its fall of kings, and in the 17th century, this king would be Louis XIV. When pondering on the thought of Louis XIV as a king many would say that he was a great king, bringing France to the pinnacle of its power in Europe, the most powerful France has ever been in history.

King Louis’ reign of absolutism and by confining them to a life in Versailles led to a domestication of the nobles. They were unable to organize revolts, were required to fawn over