Louis XIV (French: Louis XIV; September 5, 1638 - September 1, 1715), his full name was Louis Dieudonne, and he was known as the king of the sun (French: Le Roi du Soleil). He was the French king of the Bourbon Dynasty and the king of Navarra. It has been in office for 72 years and 110 days. It is one of the longest reigning monarchs and the longest reigning sovereign monarch in the world history.
At the beginning of his accession to the throne, Louis XIV was Regent by his mother Anne of Austria. [1] it was not until the death of cardinal mazaran, the Prime Minister of France, in 1661 that he really began to take charge. [2] With the support of the diplomatic achievements of cardinal Armand Jean diplesi de Richelieu and mazaran, Louis XIV established a centralized monarchy in France. He concentrated the great nobles in the palace of Versailles and concentrated the whole French bureaucracy around him, thereby strengthening the decision-making power of the French king in military, financial and institutional matters. The absolute monarchy he established lasted until the French Revolution.
During his reign (1661-1715), France launched three major wars: the legacy war, the French Dutch war and the great alliance war, and two small-scale conflicts, which made him the hegemon of Western Europe in 1680; The last two wars were against the three strong alliance of the Netherlands, Britain and Austria. The war of the great alliance was reconciled due to the weariness of the two sides. The war of succession to the Spanish throne was finally succeeded by the French grandson. However, the war burden made the great image and super reputation he personally created lost in his later years.

Chong Ling succeeded to the throne
Young king Louis XIV
Young king Louis XIV
Louis XIV, the eldest son of Louis XIII, was born in Saint Germain, France. His brother Philip I, Duke of Orleans, was born in 1640. Her mother is Anne of Austria. In 1615, under the leadership of Queen Mother Mary de Medici, her father Louis XIII married Spanish Princess Anne (because the Habsburg family in Spain was born in Austria, it is customary to call Queen Anne of Austria). In 1617, Richelieu came to the fore and was recognized by Louis XIII. Later, he was appointed as cardinal. Richelieu pursued monarchy in domestic affairs. In 1642, Richelieu died. In 1643, Louis XIII died, and on May 14, 1643, Louis XIV ascended the throne. Just at the beginning of Louis XIV's accession to the throne, the French aristocrats revived and formed the stone throwing party with Prince kondai, Mrs. chevres and Mrs. Longwell as the core. This was the grim situation when Louis XIV ascended to the throne.
Since Louis XIV was less than five years old when he ascended the throne, Anne, the Empress Dowager of Austria, took the Regency. However, mazaran, the faithful successor of Richelieu, held the real power. At this time, mazaran was not only the prime minister and godfather of the young king Louis XIV, but also the lover of the empress Regent. Its position and weight can be imagined. When mazaran accepted the government, it was precisely at the decisive moment of the French army's victory in the 30-year war. [3] In order to meet the needs of the war, mazaran advanced money to the financiers in exchange for allowing them to collect taxes and collect national income. These tax payers made huge profits, which caused the jealousy of nobles and the anger of the people.
On August 26, 1648, the people's armed uprising broke out in Paris. The insurgents built 1200 barricades overnight, and they used "Fronde" to shoot at the houses of mazaran's supporters. Anti government uprisings broke out in other provinces. In October 1648, King Louis XIV left the capital and mazaran was exiled for the first time. [4] It was not until October 21, 1652 that Louis XIV was able to return to Paris. This is the first "stone throwing Party movement" in French history. [5]
Be in trouble again and again
Main entry: Fronde movement
In 1648, when the stone throwing Party Movement broke out, France was still fighting with Spain (1635-1659), so it fell into serious domestic and foreign troubles. France's national strength has been seriously weakened, which has led to the forcible interruption of its original hegemony; Moreover, after the rebellion, France's national strength was still difficult to recover in a short time, and its international status temporarily fell to a second-class country. It can be said that the rebellion not only caused great social chaos, but also the government's military strength declined from 150000 to more than 50000 because of the drastic reduction in taxes.
At the beginning of Louis XIV's reign, mazaran, an important minister
At the beginning of Louis XIV's reign, mazaran, an important minister
After the first "stone throwing Party movement", Prince Kongdai failed to obtain mazaran's position, so he joined forces with princes and dignitaries such as konti, Gongti and the Duchess of longville who were dissatisfied with the court to plot to overthrow mazaran's government. In January 1650, mazaran arrested Prince kondai, the prince's brother konti and his brother-in-law Duke longville. The prince's supporters rioted in other provinces, and the priests also joined forces with the nobles to oppose the court. The rebels, led by Viscount de Turenne, joined forces with the Spanish army to attack France. In December 1650, Comte Du Plessis Praslin defeated Tirena in the battle of Champ Blanc. Meanwhile, from March to April 1651, rebels in other places were gradually suppressed. Under the pressure of all parties, Kongdai and other nobles were released, and mazaran was exiled for the second time. The first civil war ended.
In December 1651, mazaran was recalled to the capital Paris. Prince kondai and Leopold of Spain invaded France with Duke ilhelm. From February to April 1652, the rebels won a series of military victories. The royal family once again fled Paris. Tirena led the Royal Army to fight with the pro King forces of kondai, and achieved a series of important military achievements near Paris. The rebellious people in Paris formed a government. At this time, mazaran again used the tactic of retreating to advance and announced that he would retire from exile. After mazaran left, Prince Kongdai lost the foundation of public support. Let the powerful members of the stone throwing party fall into internal strife again; Mazaran also took advantage of Louis XIV's sacred monarchy to make Parisian citizens tired of the "tyranny" of the great Kongdai and the inner-Party struggle of the stone throwing Party Welcome Louis XIV's mother and son to return to Paris and rebuild the centralized royal government at the end of 1652; Finally, at the beginning of 1653, Louis XIV ordered mazaran to be recalled and entrusted with power again.
So far (1653), the stone throwing Party movement was completely ended, and mazaran established an unshakable ruling position in China. In September 1652, King Felipe IV of Spain authorized kondai to command the Spanish army to fight with France and granted Luxembourg to him. It was not until 1659 that he was forgiven by Louis XIV and returned to France. In October 1652, the 14-year-old Louis XIV was welcomed back to Paris by the people. Gaston Jean Baptiste, Duke of Orleans, was exiled. The second civil war gradually subsided. [6]
Personally take charge of the major affairs
Louis XIV in his youth
Louis XIV in his youth
Young Louis XIV was brought up in adversity. He, his mother, his brother and mazaran were transferred from province to province. [7] young Louis escaped from Paris twice in the riots, which may have a profound impact on young Louis. Louis XIV saw the frenzied riots of the people of Paris in the stone throwing Party movement. The tragic experience of being abandoned by the people of Paris and being forced to flee left a shadow on the king. The king always believed that "Paris is not safe and people do not love him". [8] He decided never to allow such violence to recur and began planning to settle in Versailles in the future.
In March 1661, mazaran died of illness. Before his death, he paid close attention to Louis XIV to take power personally, and he announced that he would no longer appoint a prime minister; So the 24-year-old young king declared himself in power. [9] And dismissed Nicholas Fukai, an important minister who thought he was the heir of mazaran (on the grounds of taking bribes).
Louis XIV was a king who did everything himself. He worked more than eight hours a day, governed the country with incomparable enthusiasm and spirit, and established the absolute monarchy unparalleled in history. With the help of the talented missionary bishop boshuier, who actively publicized the divine power of the monarchy and the absolute monarchy, as well as Louis' own efforts, he thoroughly tamed the French nobles and church bishops, and put the middle class (bourgeois) with extraordinary talents in charge of the state affairs with more and more elaborate division of labor for him. Among them, the best is Colbert; The able Pierre segier (1588-1672) was responsible for foreign affairs and Court Affairs, and made outstanding contributions to France's early diplomatic achievements. It was Louis XIV's personal efforts and diligence in governance that enabled the country to operate in an orderly manner and provided a good internal environment for economic development.
absolute monarchy
The construction of Versailles was one of Louis XIV's strategies to centralize political power. Louis XIV completed the efforts of Richelieu and mazaran to establish a centralized and autocratic nation-state. He turned the nobles into members of his court and relieved them of their rights as prefects, thereby weakening the power of the nobles, for which he built the palace of Versailles. [10] On May 6, 1682, he moved into this huge palace on the outskirts of Paris. The rules of the court forced the nobles to pay huge sums for their clothes. They had to stay in the palace from morning to night to participate in dances, banquets and other celebrations. [11] It is said that Louis XIV has an amazing memory. When he enters the hall, he can see who is present and who is absent. Therefore, every nobleman who wishes to be favored by the king must be present every day. Louis XIV let these nobles indulge in winning the king's favor, and had no time to manage the local problems. Gradually, they lost the power to rule the local.
Louis XIV
Louis XIV
Louis XIV believed that in order to gain supreme power, it was necessary to unify the religious beliefs of France, that is, to prohibit religious freedom. So he put pressure on the Protestants. Especially the Fontainebleau edict in 1685. With the encouragement of the ardent Catholics, such as the Minister of war, Marquis de rufova, and archbishop boshuei, he therefore overturned the edict of Nantes, which was tolerant of Protestantism by the late King Henry IV in 1598. [12] After the edict was issued, Huguenots' churches were destroyed, Protestant schools were closed, and most Huguenots were forced to convert to Catholicism. [13] In March 1715, he reiterated his brutal policy in a statement: depriving Protestants of all their legal status, and Protestants' continued residence in France was considered as "proof that they have embraced Roman Catholicism". These [14] orders of Louis forced more than 200000 Huguenots who did not want to change their religion to emigrate, and they moved to Holland, Prussia, Britain, northern Europe and North America. Many historians think this is a fatal mistake, because many of these fugitives are skilled craftsmen, and their skills are exiled with them. These exiles brought great wealth to the country they arrived. But for Louis and his devout archbishops, a united France should be a Catholic France; Moreover, in fact, the policy of forcing Huguenots to convert has won the fanatical support of the majority of Catholics in France (Catholics account for more than 90% of the population). Most French believe that cracking down on "heretical" Huguenots is an important task given to them by God.
His reign is a typical example of European monarchy. Ruthless suppression of the provincial nobles who dared to rebel; At the same time, Versailles Palace was built to summon the great nobles from all over the country to serve the royal family. Louis XIV also sent "judicial, police and financial supervisors" to the provinces to rectify armaments and expand the source of troops, introduce new weapons and advanced technology, and control the control of the military in the provinces in the hands of the central government. Ideologically, all subjects are required to believe in the Catholic Church. Economically, Louis XIV entrusted the economic problems to Colbert and pursued mercantilism. With the support of the diplomatic achievements of cardinal Armand Jean diplesi de Richelieu and mazaran, Louis XIV established a baroque autocratic Kingdom centered on him in France. He glorified himself by waging war, holding extravagant celebrations at Versailles, and funding the development of art and science. With the help of his ministers, such as Jean Baptiste Colbert, he concentrated the entire French bureaucracy around him, thereby strengthening the military, financial and institutional strength of the French king. The adverse events to his administration were the discord between him and the Pope, his persecution of Huguenots and the war of succession to the Spanish throne. "In the later period of his administration, the French Treasury was empty and on the verge of bankruptcy.".
Europe's first hegemony
Louis XIV, who was afraid of the rebellious Netherlands in the legacy war, launched the revenge French Dutch war in 1672. [15] Louis took advantage of this war to hit the Netherlands and made it famous in Western Europe. From then on, the Netherlands declined. [16] The French Dutch war not only caused a "disaster year" in the Netherlands, but also called the "Sun King". Therefore, Louis XIV in the 1680s decided to continue to conquer the outside world in order to complete his dream of complete hegemony in Europe. However, Louis XIV's policy of abolishing the edict of Nantes in 1685 and persecuting the Huguenots in China [17] aroused widespread hostility among European Protestant countries and seriously damaged their diplomatic achievements. For example, the former allies Prussia and Sweden alienated France and fought against each other.
Because of the victory of the French Dutch war in 1678, he became the true hegemon in Europe. But at the same time, his lifelong enemy, the Dutch ruling William III, also actively cooperated in diplomacy, brewing to attack Louis XIV's hegemony. [18] At this time, the Holy Roman Empire, a strong neighbor of France, was fighting with Ottoman Turkey. Louis XIV decided to take this opportunity to expand his influence in Germany. At the same time, the French invasion forced the European countries Austria, Spain, Sweden, Bavaria, Saxony and balladin to form an alliance. [19] Leopold I, the emperor of the Habsburg dynasty in Austria, noticed Louis' intention, so he formed the Augsburg Alliance (renamed the "Grand Alliance" after Britain joined in 1689) on July 9, 1686 under the call and mediation of William III, the Dutch ruler. [20] he hoped to prevent Louis from expanding in Germany. However, in September 1688, Louis XIV took advantage of the Habsburg dynasty's victory over Turkey in the East and its weakness in the west to invade Germany, and launched a rapid war plan against the Habsburg dynasty. The "great alliance war" was officially opened. In October, the French army captured Palatinate and completely occupied the area the following year. The Habsburg emperor had to contain Turkey with part of his forces in the East, and divided his forces on the western front, trying to deal with France, so that the French army ravaged western Germany back and forth. Since all the participating countries have increased their own economic burdens due to this protracted war, the war has tended to be reconciled. [21]
At that time, French agriculture was hit hard by the cold disaster at the end of 1694, and hundreds of thousands or even more than a million people died of cold and hunger; The rich Netherlands was also forced to buy expensive grain from the German countries that took the opportunity to raise prices. The anti war sentiment in Britain was also rising, making the anti war Tory party elected as the new parliamentary majority. Therefore, on September 20, 1697, France signed the peace treaty of liswick with Britain, the Netherlands, the Holy Roman Empire, Spain and other countries, ending the nine-year war of the great alliance, making the warring parties gain and lose each other. Although France gained Strasbourg, it lost the territory and sea supremacy of other countries newly captured in the "great alliance" war; [22] France reduced tariffs on the Netherlands; In order to please Spain, France returned most of the territory occupied after 1679: Savoy, Lorraine and Luxembourg in Germany; At the same time, Louis XIV recognized William III as the legitimate king of England (he canceled the support for James II) and recognized his powerful monarchy in Europe.
Heyday
The kingdom of Spain, which once dominated Europe in the 16th century, gradually declined after the 30-year war, while the emerging monarchy powers in Europe, such as Britain, France and the Netherlands, all coveted Spain's territory. The beginning of the war was that the Habsburg dynasty of Spain died after the death of Carlos II (the enchanter). Before the death of Carlos II, under the strong recommendation of the ministers and the guidance of the Roman Pope, Philip (Felipe V), the nephew of Anjou, was proclaimed in his will. Philip was also the second grandson of King Louis XIV of France, which was equivalent to the victory of French diplomacy. The Bourbon Dynasty won the Spanish throne. This caused the dissatisfaction of the Habsburg royal family in Austria. They thought that the Spanish throne should be inherited by the Austrian Archduke Charles (later the Emperor Charles VI), who was also the Habsburg royal family. Therefore, they actively sought allies to declare war on France and regain the Spanish throne.
Louis XIV
Louis XIV
Britain, the Netherlands and other maritime powers were destroyed by France because of the balance of power, and soon signed an anti French alliance with Austria in 1701. In this war, the opposing sides formed alliances with friendly countries, forming two camps. France formed an alliance with Spain, Bavaria, Cologne and the German states, Savoy and Portugal; The Holy Roman Empire (controlled by the Habsburg royal family of Austria at that time) formed a new anti French "Grand Alliance" with Britain, the Netherlands, Brandenburg, Hanover, most small German states and most Italian city states (Savoy and Portugal defected to join the anti French Alliance in 1703). May 1702, Datong

Strengthening imperial power

During the fifty-four years of Louis XIV's reign (1661-1715), the power of the king reached its peak. Politically, he advocated the supremacy of kingship, "I am the country", and Louis XIV concentrated all power in his own hands. [23] he also created a theoretical basis for the supremacy of monarchy with the "divine grant of monarchy". Absolute monarchy, which is typical of the divine conferment of monarchy, is a political strategy and the only way to save France from the three major problems of destructive local separatism, corruption of high-ranking officials and incompetence of the monarch. [24] Louis XIV imposed a high-pressure policy on the nobles, abolished the right of the high court of Paris to criticize the king's edicts, and refused to convene a three-level meeting of the kingdom.

Court personnel
Louis XIV in front of Versailles
In the time of Louis XIV. Louis XIV abolished the prime minister and personally selected six ministers. These six ministers advised the king, and the final decision was made by Louis XIV himself. Although the generals of the Navy and army were also court personnel, Louis XIV still selected 8000 people from the best legions in France to defend the palace of Versailles. At that time, there were also sculptors in the palace of Versailles.
Louis XIV knew how to control and use ministers. On the one hand, the king gave his ministers full confidence. During Colbert's tenure as financial director, Louis XIV gave sufficient trust and privileges, and frequently communicated through letters. In his reply to kolbo, the king said: "I am very satisfied with what you have done and have friendship." [26] under the double pressure of war and large-scale construction, Louis XIV encouraged his ministers: "only progress can get the king's approval." [26] it was under the full trust of the king that Colbert was able to carry out smoothly in the aspects of fiscal consolidation, industrial and commercial development and overseas trade. On the other hand, the king will maintain his absolute authority. Louis XIV put everything in his hands and operated according to his own wishes. "All orders issued must be absolutely obeyed, fully understood, implemented according to requirements, and there can be no resistance.". [27] through the measures of combining hardness and softness, the state operated in an orderly manner under the control of Louis XIV.

Build a new palace
The construction of Versailles was one of Louis XIV's strategies to centralize political power. Louis XIV completed the efforts of Richelieu and mazaran to establish a centralized and autocratic nation-state. He weakened the power of the nobles by making them members of his court and removing their rights as Prefects. For this he built the palace of Versailles.
On May 6, 1682, he moved into this huge palace on the outskirts of Paris. The court rules forced the nobles to pay huge sums for their clothes. They had to stay in the palace from morning to night to participate in dances, banquets and other celebrations, which was a part of court life.
It is said that Louis XIV's memory is amazing. When he enters a hall, he can see who is present and who is absent. Therefore, every nobleman who wishes to be favored by the king must be present every day. These nobles all loved France. So that they have no time to manage local problems, and gradually they lose their local power.