FRANCE UNDER LOUIS XIV

Chapter 4 Section 2pp.

Rebuilding France• From 1560s to the 1590s they

had religious wars that tore France apart

• Worst Incident– Began on St. Bartholomew’s Day,

August 24, 1572– Huguenot and Catholic nobles

gathered to celebrate a royal wedding

– When violence interrupted, it led to the massacre of 3,000 Huguenots

– Symbolized the complete breakdown of order in France

• In 1589, a Huguenot prince inherited the French throne as Henry IV

• Knowing that being a Protestant would face many problems with a Catholic land he became a Catholic

• To protect the Protestants he issued the Edict of Nantes in 1589– It granted the Huguenots religious toleration

and let them fortify their own towns and cities• His goal as a prince was to put a chicken in

every pot• Royal officials

– administered justice– Improved roads– Built bridges– Revived agriculture

• Henry IV was assassinated in 1610• His nine year old son Louis

XIII took over the throne• In 1624 Louis appointed a

chief minister, Cardinal Armand Richelieu• He sought to destroy the

power of the Huguenots and Nobles

Louis XIV, the Sun King• After Louis became king, disorder came against France

– This was called Fronde– Nobles, merchants, peasants and the urban poor people rebelled

• Louis used the sun as the symbol for his absolute power– He argues, just as the sun stands at the center of the solar system, the Sun

King stands at the center of the nation• He is quoted by saying, L’eta, c’est moi

– I am the state• He expanded the bureaucracy and appointed intendants, royal

officials, who collected taxes, recruited soldiers, and carried out his policies in the provinces

• The army was the strongest under his rule• He has a finance minister named Jean Baptiste Colbert

– His policies helped make France the wealthiest state in Europe

Versailles, Symbol of Royal Power

• Louis XIV turned a royal hunting lodge into the immense palace of Versailles– Became the perfect symbol of the Sun King’s

wealth and power• Louis perfected and elaborate ceremonies that

emphasized his importance– Every morning he had a ritual known as the levee,

or rising– At night they did the ceremony in reverse

Successes and Failures• Louis XIV ruled France for 72 years• He poured vast resources into wars to expand French borders• Led by the Dutch or the English alliances fought to maintain

the balance of power, a distribution of military and economic power that would prevent any one nation from dominating Europe

• In 1700 Louis’s grandson Philip V inherited the throne of Spain• In 1685, Louis revoked the Edict of Nantes because he saw

France Protestant minority as a threat to religious unity– 100,000 Huguenots fled France

Vocab

• Intendant- official appointed by French King Louis XIV to govern the provinces, collect taxes, and recruit soldiers

• Levee- morning ritual during which nobles would wait upon King Louis XIV

• Balance of power- distribution of military and economic power that prevents any one nation from becoming to strong

Review• Henry IV of France- Huguenot [protestant]- Converted to

Catholicism to rule France and be accepted• Louis XIV- Sun King ruled France for 72 years- built Versailles,

changed styles of all of Europe• Palace of Versailles- Hunting lodge turned into the grandest of all

European Palaces by Louis XIV.• Balance of Power- Distribution of Military power- try to keep

peace- you have big army, I have big army• War of Spanish Succession- Fought to stop the unification of France

and Spain • Edict of Nantes- Toleration of Huguenot’s in France, created by

Henry IV