During his long reign of absolute, Louis XIV turned to be one of Europe’s most famous and successful rulers. The sun King’s rule epitomized the development of absolutism. He was famous for his extension of the absolute royal rule as well as the building of palace at Versailles. Louis XIV was born in 1638 and became a king whole at the age of 5 after the death of his father in France. He then ensured that he developed a formidable relationship with one of the France politicians of his reign Giulipo Mazzarini. As a historian, different events that happened during Louis XIV led to absolute power.
Why Louis XIV rose to gain absolute power
Louis XIV rose to attain an absolute power following the death of his father, who passed away in May 1643. The King rose to be a French king at the age of 5, even though technically he did not take the role of a king until he was 23 years old when his godfather passed away. King Louis XIV dubbed himself as being the sun king since as the central power in France. Louis XIV then believed that most of his subjects revolved around similar to how planets revolve around the sun. Hence King Louis XIV is said to have been an absolute monarch since he was only answerable to God.
Ways Louis XIV demonstrated absolutism.
Louis XIV practiced absolutism, which involved monarchical power, which is unrestrained by different institutions like the legislatures. In achieving absolutism, the King promoted himself as a compelling and authoritative person. Further, he ensured that he took full control of anyone who seemed to stand on his way of achieving absolute power. For instance, the palace of Versailles assisted King Louis XIV in fulfilling both of the goals. The Versailles utilized propaganda to promote Louis XIV with its grandiosity and generous portraits, which would exclude all the senses of supremacy. Further, the Versailles assisted the King in taking control of nobility by offering enough space for keeping them under his watchful eye. The Palace of Versailles also supported a solution during the times of King Louis XIV’s reign through the use of propaganda and controlling of the nobility.
One of the critical elements of the Versailles, which affected Louis XIV’s reign, was the utilization of propaganda. This palace had paintings and tapestries and other general grandness that importantly promoted Louis’s name. He was a prominent subject in artwork at that time and would always be portrayed as a beautiful and god-like painting. The nature of Versailles described that the King had a lavish life, so he was dominant. Louis XIV utilized his grandiosity of the palace and art inside in promotion of himself to the citizens.
Suing Louis XIV and absolutism shows through the breeding of a strong military force served as a source for his absolutism. Having a strong military gave him the power of protecting the citizen from direct threats as well as helping in maintaining peace and stability in the nation. These served as propaganda where he won the citizens’ hearts, giving him more power to control the citizens. This led to the establishment of absolutism during king Louis XIV times. Keeping the enemies away from a distance has such a significant effect on his level of power over France.
Absolutism means the sovereign power in the state, which is rested on the hands of a king who claims to rule appointed by a divine source. For Louis XIV, when reading from the Louis XIV and Absolutism as the primary sources show that indifferent has he demonstrated absolutism. His objectives also acquainted with absolutism as being one King, one low, and one faith. Additionally, he aimed at the improvement of religion, Royal dignity as well as security of the state. There are different ways that Louis XIV portrayed absolutism in his time as the King of French. His reign has been considered to be the best example of absolutism. In the 17th century, most of the European monarchies were imitating the French system. Absolutism, during his rule, is seen when he became the King of France as a child and ascended to the throne. During that time, the chief minister played an essential role in policymaking in addition to administration. At that time, the nobility possessed extreme influence and power in the affairs of the nation. When he recognized the danger of these actions to the King, the chief minister executed all the nobles that were found to be plotting against the King. This strengthened Louis XIV’s absolutism.
Further, Louis XIV became an active king at the age of 23. He began calling himself Sun King after starting to keep the divine rights practice, which served as a source of light for his subjects. He instantly made it clear that he intended to have the power of making significant decisions on his own then inform all his ministers of the state. For instance, he would state that “I order you not to write anything, not even an email.” Even though Louis XIV desired to retain his power, the reality was that nobility still has an intense wealth and influence over political affairs. Another way that Louis XIV showed absolutism is restricting the French government, giving himself decision making power for all the matters of the state.
Further, he demanded that the attendance of nobility in his court so he could monitor them all through. It indicates that the ministers and secretaries did not offer the King’s advice but never had any power to make policy decisions on his own. Hence, Louis XIV remained the right of making foreign policy and declaration of war.
The Fronde refers to a series of civil wars in France during the minority of Louis XIV. Being a minority, he did not have much to respond to the issue, resulting from the chief minister’s decision. On the other hand, Louis XIV’s reaction to the Versailles building was positive, and he supported Versailles’s idea since it helped him build his propaganda. Through this palace, he got the chance to put an eye on all his subjects, ensuring that he was in control of all the decisions even though they would give their opinions. Hence, the Palace of Versailles plays a vital role in the ruling during King Louis XIV.
Further, Louis XIV played a crucial role in responding to France’s economic difficulties during his time. Through his chief financial advisers, he got to come up with policies that help in addressing the France economic difficulties. They helped in turning France into having a dominant economic power. Still, he led to the rise of taxes and tariffs that assisted states treasury of France. This means that he turned the financial difficulties of his nation into 100% profit for the France people and Louis XIV Empire. He led to the development of the manufacturing sector, leading to an increment in France’s wealth. He still encourages the mercantilism in the overseas colonies. All these actions later led to the addressing of all the economic difficulties facing France as a nation. In response to nobility and Protestants, Louis XIV led to an increment in the persecution of the Protestants. He pointed to the banning of the emigration and effectively emphasized that all the protestants must be converted. Additionally, he also began the quartering of the dragoons in the Protestant’s homes. In 1685, Louis XIV presented an edict of Fontainebleau, which reported on the redundancy of the privileges for Protestants offering the scarcity after extensive conversions.
In conclusion, based on the reading of William Beik’s Louis XIV and Absolutism, there are different reasons which led Louis XIV to gain absolute power. It was triggered because he came from a lineage of kings, so when his father passed away, he became a king at the age of 5. However, he got to actively be an action at the age of 23 years, where he took over from the chief minister who ruled on his behalf. On the other hand, there are different ways in which Louis XIV portrayed absolution. An example is through the building of the Palace of Versailles, which addresses the economic difficulties in France and then turns it into a robust economy.