absolute rule in france

4th CourseSocial StudiesMiss Adriana

Louis XIV was king of France in the 1600 and early 1700´s. (Known as the sun king)

In Europe at this time, people had the belief that “the king´s authority came directly from God, and was therefore divine.”

This belief was called the divine right of kings.

Louis XIV was an absolute monarch, or royal ruler with complete authority over the government and people in his kingdom.

Absolute monarchs did not share power with nobles, with common people, or with anyone else.

From the 1400´s to the 1700´s, much of Europe was governed by absolute monarchs.

A cardinal is a high official in the Roman Catholic Church.

Cardinal Richelieu was the one that started absolute monarchs. He had served as a chief minister to King Louis XIII (Louis XIV´s father).

Richelieu took some nobles´ rights away. He also started businesses with the French government, which earned a lot of money for the crown. By this actions, nobles became weaker and the king became wealthier and more powerful.

Louis lived in incredible luxury at Versailles, his huge palace outside Paris.

He gave great parties with fabulus entertainment.

To afford these luxuries, the king taxed peasants. The poorest and least powerful people in France paid for all those things.

Write a decription of a day at Versailles from the point of view of Louis XIV. Then, write a description of how the day might have looked to a French peasant who had the chance to observe it.

Each description should have 100 words minimum.