france in the 18 th century. louis xiv modern state: sovereign leader controls administration of...
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FRANCEin the 18th Century
LOUIS XIV
Modern state: sovereign leader controls administration of justice and power
L’etat, c’est moi Divine right (Bishop Bossuet) Absolutism
intendants Controlled army; war became
act of state civil administration (first war
ministers)
COLBERT
Mercantilism Five Great Farms: free trade, reduced internal
tariffs Commercial Code: quality French goods French East India Company
THE WARS OF LOUIS XIV: BEFORE 1700
Invasion of Spanish Netherlands beaten back by Triple Alliance (Dutch, English, Swedish) Treaty of Nimwegen
(1678): France territorial gain
League of Augsburg (William of Orange) countered Louis XIV’s infiltration of divided HRE Peace at Ryswick (1697):
status quo antebellum Meanwhile, Charles II of
Spain
WAR OF SPANISH SUCCESSION
• The war lasted 11 years, from 1702 to 1713.
• The two main aspirants to the Spanish throne were the king of France and the Holy Roman Emperor.
• Both had married one of Charles II’s sisters.
• They tried to partition Spain in order to maintain the balance of power.
• However, Charles II bequeathed Spain to Louis XIV’s grandson.
• The Grande Alliance unites in order to preserve the balance of power in Europe.
• Grande Alliance – England, Holland, Austria; supported by Brandenburg, Portugal, and Savoy.
• Each country had goals to be accomplished during the war.
• Because all the involved parties kept raising their demands, the war dragged on.
THE PEACE OF UTRECHT• The Peace of Utrecht divided Spain among
more than just France and the HRE.• Britain remained at Gibraltar and got Minorca.• The Duke of Savoy gained Sardinia.• The Austrian Habsburgs acquired Naples, Milan, Sicily,
and the Spanish .
• Louis XIV’s grandson is confirmed as the king of Spain.
• However, the French and Spanish thrones must never be inherited by the same person.
FRANCE AND THE THREE AGING EMPIRES
Holy Roman Empire French support for “Germanic liberties” and rival
candidate to Habsburgs Louis XIV a model for ambitious German lords
Ottoman Empire: “extraterrestrial” privileges Partitions of Poland detrimental to France
FRENCH-ENGLISH COMMERCIAL RIVALRY
East India companies Government-sponsored industry and trade France, Europe and Middle East; England,
Africa and Americas France: sugar:: England: slaves
THE FRENCH ECONOMY AFTER 1713
The Mississippi Company John Law stocks and bonds speculation and collapse
National debt considered king’s debt Cardinal Fleury
objective: maintain peace (unsuccessful)
THE WAR OF THE AUSTRIAN SUCCESSION,1740-1748 General disregard for
Pragmatic Sanction French nobility wanted
Austrian annexation France pitted German
princes against Habsburgs French objective: prevent
German “universal monarchy”
French weakness: European vs. overseas ventures
Peace at Aix-la-Chapelle (1748): status quo antebellum
THE SEVEN YEARS’ WAR, 1756-1763
France failed to partition Prussia French-English dispute: economic, colonial, and naval
supremacy French and Indian Wars
William Pitt French gained Native American support
America: territory:: India: commerce Indian religious wars
Dupleix; “sepoys” Robert Clive; battle of Plassey (1757) British triumph (superior naval force)
THE TREATY OF PARIS, 1763
France conceded American territory to Britain and Spain
Results: British dominated commerce, but French still commercially active