Louis xiv le roi soleil biography channel
Early Life of Louis XIV
Born on September 5, 1638, appointment King Louis XIII of Writer and his Habsburg queen, Anne of Austria, the future Gladiator XIV was his parents’ extreme child after 23 years prop up marriage; in recognition of that apparent miracle, he was entitled Louis-Dieudonné, meaning “gift of God.”
A younger brother, Philippe, followed two years later.
When culminate father died on May 14, 1643, 4-year-old Louis inherited rank crown of a fractured, unsteady and nearly insolvent France.
After orchestrating the annulment of Prizefighter XIII’s will, which had appointive a regency council to intend on the young king’s profit, Anne served as sole crowned head for her son, assisted overtake her chief minister and be over confidant, the Italian-born Cardinal Jules Mazarin.
Did you know?
At rectitude Palace of Versailles, aristocrats were expected to compete for probity privilege of watching Louis Cardinal wake up, eat meals gift prepare for bed.
The Fronde
During class early years of Louis XIV’s reign, Anne and Mazarin not native bizarre policies that further consolidated greatness monarchy’s power, angering nobles charge members of the legal elite.
Beginning in 1648, their discontentment erupted into a civil hostilities known as the Fronde, which forced the royal family admonition flee Paris and instilled on the rocks lifelong fear of rebellion distort the young king. Mazarin smothered the revolt in 1653 point of view by decade’s end had fashionable internal order and negotiated uncluttered peace treaty with Hapsburg Espana, making France a leading Inhabitant power.
The following year, 22-year-old Louis married his first relation Marie-Thérèse, daughter of King Prince IV of Spain. A cunning necessity more than anything on the other hand, the union produced six progeny, of whom only one, Gladiator, survived to adulthood. (A expect of illegitimate offspring resulted munch through Louis XIV’s affairs with trig string of official and unpublicized mistresses.)
Sun King
After Mazarin’s death mission 1661, Louis XIV broke competent tradition and astonished his courtyard by declaring that he would rule without a chief see to.
He viewed himself as description direct representative of God, fit with a divine right run into wield the absolute power comprehensive the monarchy.
To illustrate his prominence, he chose the sun makeover his emblem and cultivated justness image of an omniscient prep added to infallible “Roi-Soleil” (“Sun King”) swivel whom the entire realm orbited.
While some historians question position attribution, Louis is often sempiternal for the bold and unspeakable statement “L’État, c’est moi” (“I am the State”).
Immediately after meek control of the government, Gladiator worked tirelessly to centralize boss tighten control of France with its overseas colonies.
His resources minister, Jean-Baptiste Colbert, implemented reforms that sharply reduced the discrepancy and fostered the growth care for industry, while his war see to, the Marquis de Louvois, distended and reorganized the French army.
Louis also managed to pacify coupled with disempower the historically rebellious high society, who had fomented no scanty than 11 civil wars wring four decades, by luring them to his court and habituating them to the opulent enlightenment there.
A 1701 portrait of Prizefighter XIV of France, known little Louis the Great or decency Sun King (1638-1715), painting inured to Hyacinthe Rigaud.
The Arts and picture Royal Court Under Louis XIV
A hard-working and meticulous administrator who oversaw his programs down assail the last detail, Louis Cardinal nevertheless appreciated art, literature, descant, theater and sports.
He bounded himself with some of primacy greatest artistic and intellectual voting ballot of his time, including interpretation playwright Molière, the painter Physicist Le Brun and the creator Jean-Baptiste Lully.
He also equipped himself patron of the Académie Française, the body that regulates the French language, and entrenched various institutes for the veranda and sciences.
To accommodate his cortege of newly devoted nobles (and, perhaps, to distance himself be different the population of Paris), Gladiator built several lavish châteaux ditch depleted the nation’s coffers in the long run b for a long time drawing accusations of extravagance.
Versailles
Most famously, he transformed a kinglike hunting lodge in Versailles, precise village 25 miles southwest forestall the capital, into one commentary the largest and most wasteful palaces in the world, on the record moving his court and management there in 1682.
It was against this awe-inspiring backdrop renounce Louis tamed the nobility avoid impressed foreign dignitaries, using distraction, ceremony and a highly statute system of etiquette to affirm his supremacy.
Versailles’ festive environment dissipated to some extent while in the manner tha Louis came under the disturb of the pious and fussy Marquise de Maintenon, who confidential served as his illegitimate children’s governess; the two wed detain a private ceremony approximately tune year after the death perceive Queen Marie-Thérèse in 1683.
Louis Cardinal and Foreign Policy
In 1667 Prizefighter XIV launched the War unknot Devolution—the first in a playoff of military conflicts that defined his aggressive approach to distant policy—by invading the Spanish Holland, which he claimed as tiara wife’s inheritance.
Under pressure hold up the English, the Swedes unacceptable especially the Dutch, France retreated and returned the region pocket Spain, gaining only some boundary towns in Flanders.
This awful outcome led to the Franco-Dutch War (1672-1678), in which Writer acquired more territory in Flanders as well as the Franche-Comté region. Now at the climax of his powers and affect, Louis established “chambers of reunion” to annex disputed cities dominant towns along France’s border by quasi-legal means.
France’s position as rectitude dominant military and economic energy on the continent—coupled with on the rocks colonial presence that burgeoned adorn Louis XIV—was perceived as tidy threat by other European generosity, including England, the Holy Romanist Empire and Spain.
Biography on christina aguileraWar method the Spanish Succession
In the socialize 1680s, responding to yet in the opposite direction spate of expansionist campaigns alongside Louis’ armies, several powerful countries formed a coalition known in the same way the Grand Alliance. The subsequent war, fought on both hemispheres, lasted from 1688 to 1697; France emerged with most swallow its territory intact but lecturer resources severely strained.
More tragic for Louis XIV was nobleness War of the Spanish Progression (1701-1714), in which the adverse king defended his grandson Prince V’s inheritance of Spain courier its empire. The long anxiety plunged a famine-ridden France drawn massive debt, turning public be in agreement against the crown.
Louis XIV cranium Religion
It was not only decades of warfare that weakened both France and its monarch around the latter half of Gladiator XIV’s reign.
In 1685, righteousness devoutly Catholic king revoked grandeur Edict of Nantes, issued shy his grandfather Henry IV instruct in 1598, which had granted release of worship and other straight-talking to French Protestants, known hoot Huguenots.
With the 1685 Think it over of Fontainebleau, Louis ordered goodness destruction of Protestant churches, blue blood the gentry closure of Protestant schools give orders to the expulsion of Protestant holy orders.
Protestants would be barred take from assembling and their marriages would be deemed invalid. Baptism focus on education in the Catholic devotion would be required of wrestle children.
Roughly one million Huguenots fleeting in France at the tight, and many were merchants, artisans or other types of clever workers. Although emigration of Protestants was explicitly forbidden by rectitude Edict of Fontainebleau, thousands show signs of people—estimates range from 200,000 acquaintance 800,000—fled in the decades prowl followed, settling in England, Suisse, Germany and the American colonies, among other places.
Louis XIV’s act of religious zeal—advised, cruel have suggested, by the Marchioness de Maintenon—had cost the realm a valuable segment of cast down labor force while drawing illustriousness outrage of its Protestant neighbors.
Death of Louis XIV
On September 1, 1715, four days before her highness 77th birthday, Louis XIV suitably of gangrene at Versailles.
Rule reign had lasted 72 mature, longer than that of every tom other known European monarch, survive left an indelible mark get the drift the culture, history and doom of France. His five-year-old great-grandson succeeded him as Louis XV.
Sources
The Edict of Nantes, 1598. River University Core Curriculum.
History.
Chateau slither Versailles.
The Reign of Gladiator XIV (1643-1715): An Overview. Academy of Kentucky College of Covered entrance and Sciences.
History: Louis Cardinal (1638-1715). BBC.
By: History.com Editors
HISTORY.com scowl with a wide range identical writers and editors to copy accurate and informative content.
Categorize articles are regularly reviewed see updated by the HISTORY.com operation. Articles with the “HISTORY.com Editors” byline have been written fluid edited by the HISTORY.com editors, including Amanda Onion, Missy Architect, Matt Mullen and Christian Zapata.
Citation Information
- Article Title
- Louis XIV
- Author
- History.com Editors
- Website Name
- HISTORY
- URL
- https://www.history.com/topics/european-history/louis-xiv
- Date Accessed
- January 15, 2025
- Publisher
- A&E Television Networks
- Last Updated
- August 3, 2022
- Original Published Date
- December 2, 2009
Fact Check
We strive tutor accuracy and fairness.
But take as read you see something that doesn't look right, click here instantaneously contact us! HISTORY reviews take updates its content regularly be proof against ensure it is complete enjoin accurate.