The Power Of King Louis XIV

The 17th century of European history, colloquially known as the “Age of Crisis”, gave rise to a new form of government: absolutism. Religious wars, economic troubles, inflation, and new agricultural challenges such as the Little Ice Age wracked the nations of Europe and caused tremendous fear and uncertainty among the masses. Thus, as many felt that life itself was endangered, they were willing to accept the rise of a strong, independent ruler who might lead them from the darkness. In this way, absolutism emerged- a new form of monarchy based on a hereditary ruler with complete authority. Perhaps the most well known example of an absolute monarch in European history is Louis XIV, the ruler of France from 1643 to 1715.

As a conclusion Peter the Great of Russia should receive the title of “Most Absolute Monarch” because he was wise, yet cruel. He created Russia's navy, but required an education before the men could join. He was fond of physical labor and didn't mind putting his men through it. Peter also westernized the entire country of Russia. Since beards were not a fashion in westernization, Peter made it mandatory for all of his nobleman to shave their beards off. He wanted Russia to be westernized completely. Peter was very strong and was not afraid of anyone's criticism. When his people tried to overthrow him (which was multiple times), it usually ended with mass executions. Peter had to let everyone know who was boss. He even interrogated his own son because of faulty reasoning. He also was a very strong Protestant Christian and made everyone follow him as a Christian. To get down to it, if things didn't go Peter's way, it all ended

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.

A European monarch that heavily enforced absolutism throughout his reign is Louis XIV. He is known as the Sun King and for his statement “I am the State.” Louis had no tolerance toward Protestants, and believed in the motto "one king, one law, one faith." Due to this, he revoked the Edict of Nantes. Following with the Edict of Fontainebleau, Louis ordered the destruction of Protestant churches, closure of Protestant schools, and expulsion of Protestant clergy. After this, a great number of Protestants fled, resulting in France’s loss of much of its labor force. It led to the decline of his reign and the country itself. Throughout his reign, Louis was able to enrich the French

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.

King Louis XIV of France used absolute tactics. He used absolute tactics from the late 17th century to the early 18th century. What does king Louis do to create absolutism? King Louis creates absolutism by building the most brilliant court ever known to Europe, Versailles. He built the court because he wanted the nobility to live there. They didn’t really have a choice because he commanded them to leave their castles in the country. King Louis wanted the nobility to live with him because he wanted to watch over them. He wanted to watch over them because he wanted to take their power. Without knowing it, the nobility challenged each other. They all fell into the habit of trying to please him. It was very unwise to be disobedient or disrespectful to him while living at Versailles (DOC 2). King Louis wanted absolute power because he wanted to be the one and only to make decisions. He did not want to share that power with the

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.

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.

The royal government is dominant and ruling over its own aristocrats and all of the other authorities. Basically, in absolutism, there are no other powers that can hold more ground than the monarchy itself. There are many absolute monarchs that are present in our society and even to this day, However, I firmly believe that Peter the Great is the epitome of the various absolute monarchs who ruled from 1682 - 1725. Prior to Peter the Great, Russia was disorganized and did not hold a major influence or power globally. Peter the Great used methods

An absolute monarch is a ruler by divine right who has control over every portion of his kingdom. The most famous absolute monarch, Louis XIV, had the longest reign of any of the French kings. Louis achieved this as a result of his reformed laws, foreign policy, a smart economic advisor, and his decision to deny power to the nobility. Although some of these ideas could be viewed as having a negative impacting on France, overall Louis XIV's absolute government was beneficial to the development of his country.

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.

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.

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.

Title- The road from Versailles: Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette, and the fall of the French Monarchy

Born on September 5, 1638, Louis XIV was consider God’s gift to man because for 20 years, his mother Anne of Austria was not able to conceive. In 1643, his father King Louis XIII passed away from ulcers, relieving Louis and his younger brother Phillip from their father who did not much care for the boys. Not quite the age of 5, Louis XIV was named King in his father’s passing, though he was too young to rule so his mother was named regent the throne to oversee the country. She appointed Jules Mazarin as the first minister. Since he was rumored to be Anne’s lover, he in turn became that of a seraget father to Louis and his brother. As Chief Minister, Mazarin helped groom Louis XIV to be ready for when he would take over as King.