louis xv comes of age. fleury and walpole. the jacobite uprisings. the bubbles

Louis XV comes of age.

Fleury and Walpole.

The Jacobite uprisings.

The Bubbles.

A time of Tartans

and Stock Tips. . .

Our objectives are

• Judge for yourself—did England or France handle the Bubble collapse appropriately?

• What were the policies of Fluery and Walpole regarding French-English relations?

• Identify the cause and persons behind the 1715 and 1745 revolts—

• You will learn why the Scots were punished for their role in the revolts?

• Compare the Bubbles of the early 1700s with those that have occurred in recent times…

Louis XIV died in 1715. He was an old man for the time. Who inherited the

French throne?

Yes, Louis XV, his great grandson.

The child king Louis XV did not

rule—the government was

controlled by Cardinal Fleury and the Duke of Orleans, a cousin of the young king.

Orleans was a pleasure loving

man, who did his best to look out for

his young nephew’s interests—not always the case with some

regencies.

Cardinal Fluery was an old man for the time. He was 73 when he took

office and 90 when he left!

Fleury loved France, and he also wanted to keep peace.

As Louis XV came of age, he turned out to be

a spoiled, handsome,

pleasure loving man. He would not be the king his grandfather, Louis XIV was.

In England, Queen Anne died, and the throne was inherited by a

cousin in Germany—a member of the Geulph family, who lived in

Hanover.

George I, the new king, never

learned English!

He also had to deal with

uprisings from those who

supported the Catholic

descendents of James II.

In 1715, the son of James II landed in Scotland. He was called the

Pretender.

He gathered followers from the highland tribes of Scotland. This

revolt was called the “revolt of ’15 (1715) and it died out.

Thirty years later, the Pretender’s son, known as

“Bonnie Prince Charlie” also landed in Scotland.

This time, his supporters got

to within 80 miles of London!

Bonnie Prince Charlie fled, but this

time the Jacobite uprisings were

suppressed. The Highland clans were

broken up.

The romantic legend of Bonnie Prince Charlie continues to this

day. . .

As a constitutional monarch, King George I had a capable Prime

Minister, Walpole.

Walpole was a fascinating

man, who had a motto which

was “Let sleeping dogs lie.” What do you think he

meant by this?

Walpole strengthened the cabinet, or the executive, or

the government.

Together, Fleury and

Walpole tried to

keep peace between

their countries

and others.

They both had serious economic challenges during

their time in power.

They are known as the bubbles! They wiped out substantial

amounts of wealth and nearly ruined governments.

They involved over-speculation on future wealth that did not

appear.

You, students of the 21st century should know that a

similar thing occurred with the Internet over speculation.

Trillions of dollars were lost in the

internet and high tech

areas. It was thought that those areas would be far

more profitable than they are.

Bubble #1: The Mississippi Bubble

A Scottish financier

named John Law traveled to France. He helped set up a French

national bank, which was a good

thing.

He also organized the Mississippi Company, which was a company that had a monopoly on trade in many French-controlled areas, including the Mississippi River

Valley in North America.

This company then assumed the entire French government

debt.

It was expected that all the profits would pay off the debt, and also make the investors

money…

Law also planned to completely reform the French financial

system. This was actually a good idea—but it was quickly thrown

out when the Mississippi Company bubble burst.

To buy a share in this company would mean eventual great wealth

—as the profit potential was immense!

Thousands bought shares and then sold them quickly for an

immense profit!

But, soon, the company failed to meet its profit expectations. Investors began to unload their

shares.

The stock price plummeted. Thousands

were ruined.

The French government had to step in and take back their

debt, which had now grown to an immense amount.

In France, The

aristocrats refused to bail out the government—they felt the debt

belonged to the king.

The debt continued to grow—and over years, it will be one of

the long term causes of the French Revolution.

Bubble #2: The South Seas Bubble

• Walpole had warned about this scheme.

• Thousands lost their savings as had happened in France,

• BUT—big difference, the debt was considered a national debt—the nation stood behind this giant speculation scheme and absorbed the damage it did.

Fleury and Walpole were severely tested by the BUBBLES. But the

bubbles did result in a better understanding of how financial

machinery works.

Elements of the BUBBLES still occur in our modern world….

Enron was a company that overvalued its stock to make it

more attractive to investors. What is this called?

Cooking the Books.

To cook the books means that accountants use false numbers to create a impression

that the company is yielding a high rate of return.

You, too, can go to prison for over-valuing your company.

Back to politics…and the Great War of the 18th Century. . .

Our objectives were:

• Judge for yourself—did England or France handle the Bubble collapse appropriately?

• You learned the policies of Fluery and Walpole in keeping peace between the two countries

• Identify the cause and persons behind the 1715 and 1745 revolts—

• You also learned how the Stuarts and the Scots were punished for their revolts.

• Compare the Bubbles of the early 1700s with those that have occurred in recent times…