Louis XIV: An Absolute Monarchy

Louis XIV, ruler of France at age 5. He strongly believed in his divine right to rule over people, and claimed himself the title of Sun King. The sun became a symbol of his endless power, and just how the sun is in the middle of solar system, The Sun King is the center point of the whole nation (Age of Absolutism 9). Louis XIV also was the key of the creation of Versailles. A huge, majestic display of his wealth and power, that travelled to people of other nations to know that Louis XIV was a very influential figure in France. Throughout his time, he faced many problems which he countered with solutions that sometimes is successful and other times not. Louis XIV left a large impact on the history of France.

Absolutism is a name given to a system where all the responsibilities are given to just one person. All the decisions are made by the monarch. Therefore, it means that an absolute monarch governs alone and is not controlled by anyone. An absolute monarch has control over administration, taxes, foreign policy etc. Under the control of a monarchy there is less corruption. It was believed that the authority and the power to rule the whole country came directly from god. In other words they were considered as representatives of earth. Absolute monarchs are not judged by the society and also there are higher chances of rebel. Another characteristic is that the ruler rules until his dies, and the throne is passed to their next generation. An

Louis XIV was the best example of an absolute monarch. Louis XIV ruled in France from 1643 until 1715. During his reign, he ensured that he was in absolute power, and control the whole time. Louis XIV thought that the world should revolve around him. Louis XIV did not do anything for the good of France, he would only do things that benefited him, and he treated the people of France very poorly.

Absolute monarchies had all the power in Europe. Their kingdoms were powerful and accomplished. Although absolute monarchies empowered and enriched their kingdoms, they were still largely detrimental because of King Louis XIV of France, debt, Frederick the Great’s seizure of Silesia, and the city of St. Petersburg.

Post Thirty Years war left France looking for a new leadership style that would give plenty of stability. What France received was Louis XIV, who would reign under the new absolute monarchy government. During Louis’ reign, divine rights controlled rank in society. This left many confused on why they were picked to be at the bottom of society, and why the king was given his power. Jean Domat, a royally appointed juror by king Louis helped explain a better understanding of the new system of governance to the people of France in his writings.

In the 1500s and the 1600s the feudal system was beginning to fall. Different countries were trying new different types of governments instead of the dysfunctional feudal system. The feudal system consisted of many different nobles ruling over their own land. It was not a uniform system of ruling over the country. There were small city-states run by a singular ruler. Most of the population were poor farmers, that had no idea what was happening within the country. Obviously this system was not the best. Eventually countries found a more efficient way of running their countries. A single ruler began to consolidate the power from the city-states and make a more uniform government for the country. The ways these absolute monarchs consolidated and increased their powers were similar in the 1600s and 1700s, by decreasing the nobles’ powers, increasing military, and increasing bureaucracy.

”(Doc 3) This demonstrates that the removal of the Edict of Nantes drove people insane because it granted the people France substantial rights, however when the rights were removed by Louis XIV people became infuriated, which is another reason to why the French Revolution occurred. Fundamentally, the actions that Louis XIV took had a great impact towards his people. His actions ultimately led the people of France initiate the French Revolution, which left France and its people in a vulnerable

In 1789, France was precariously balanced on the edge of chaos. King Louis XVI was ruling monarch of France. King Louis’ youth depicted him as reckless, thoughtless, and unwise. A series of bad financial and political decisions, lead to his unpopularity among the people of France. King Louis was young, distracted and misguided.

May 5, 1789, the beginning of the infamous French Revolution. Historians around the world studied the causes of the French Revolution, arguably regarded as one of the most important events in human history. Many important ideologies were developed during this time period. The current western political philosophies in France is the result of the French Revolution which introduced the principles of civic equality and popular sovereignty that challenged the historical Three Estates.

During the 1600s and 1700s a new type of monarch emerged known as an absolute ruler. Some of these rulers were Louis XIV, the Fredericks of Prussia, and Peter the Great. These rulers believed that a monarch had a divine right to rule and should only listen to God. All these rulers had characteristics that defined them as absolutists. Louis XIV was constantly at war during his reign which resulted in a powerful army. Also, during this time period, Frederick William I transformed Prussia into a military state. To become an absolute ruler, Peter the Great made many reforms throughout Russia. However, all these absolute leaders had the same goal. Even though they reigned over different countries, they all strengthened their armies, raised taxes, and unified religion.

France began building toward absolutism when Henry VI created the Edict of Nantes in efforts to reduce the violence in the country and gained many supporters. When Richelieu temporarily took the throne he centralized the government and established the supremacy of the king's law. When Louis XIV finally became king, Franch was already well on its way to an absolute monarchy. He went even further by diminishing the power of the nobility and gave them only ceremonial tasks until they we no longer relevant in the political

The French, not at all like the Haitian slaves, were under a legislature as nationals and were trying to overthrow their current government. In doing so, they wanted to create a new government where they had rights that could settle their social needs as well as repair the damages caused by the war and decrease France’s debt. France was going through an internal battle because for 175 years the estates general wasn’t in session and when it was in session in 1789, King Louis XVI asked for more money but locked out the third estate. The third estate had no voice, rights and were just poor peasants suffering from having to pay 40% tax. Louis XVI was the king of France and thusly was considered in charge of its monetary emergency and the disparity of the French society.

This document review describes and compares three documents written by the rulers of three European nations: Louis XIV, the king of France; Frederick William, the Great Elector of Brandenburg-Prussia; and Peter the Great, the emperor of Russia. Through these documents, we are able to see what was most important to these monarchs, and what they considered best for themselves and their countries. Although textbooks are useful for reading descriptions of historical people and events, through reading documents such as these, we are able to see not only what these rulers did, but also their motives and their rationalizations of their decisions. In “Louis XIV Revokes the Edict of Nantes”, written in 1685, Louis XIV explains that the Huguenots,

King Louis XVI, who was the ruler at the time, was a main contributor to these problems that led France to its downfall. The country had a massive lack of resources and food, which led King Louis XVI to borrow more money than he could afford, thus putting the country in immense debt. Despite the very visible crisis overthrowing the country, the king was incapable of accepting his mistakes and refused to change his ways. He maintained the unjust voting system, known as the Estates-General, and worsened the taxing system in order to pay off his debts. The people, especially those of the Third Estate, were clearly angry and dissatisfied with the state of the country, which led them seek out a movement for what was right.

There was no more clergy or monarchy and this completely changed the way of life in France, especially for the common people. This event also inspired other people in Europe to rise up against their monarchies and fight for equality. This revolution changed France forever. Knowing the factors that caused it to happen at that specific time, may help me understand the revolution on a much deeper level and understand how those same factors could possibly influence a similar revolution in modern day society. Aims To prove that due to the poverty rate at this time, the King’s inexperience with leading the