Louis XIV (French:. He reigned for 72 years and 110 days. He is one of the longest reigning monarchs, and also the longest reigning sovereign monarch in the world history.
At the beginning of Louis XIV's accession to the throne, he was regent by his mother Anne of Austria. [1] It was not until the death of Cardinal Mazzaran, the prime minister of France, in 1661 that he really began to govern. [2] With the support of the diplomatic achievements of Cardinal Armand Jean de Plessie de Richelieu and Mazarin, Louis XIV established a centralized monarchical kingdom in France. He concentrated the great nobles in Versailles Palace and concentrated the entire French bureaucracy around him, thus strengthening the military, financial and institutional decision-making power of the French king. The absolute monarchy he established lasted until the French Revolution.
During his reign (1661-1715), France launched three major wars: the Legacy War, the Franco-Dutch War and the Great Alliance War, and two small-scale conflicts, which made him become the hegemon of Western Europe in 1680; The last two wars were against the three powerful alliances of the Netherlands, Britain and Austria. The Great Alliance War was reconciled due to the war weariness of both sides. The Spanish Crown Succession War was finally succeeded by the French grandson. But the burden of the war made his great image and high reputation lost in his later years.

Chong age succession
Young King Louis XIV
Young King Louis XIV
Louis XIV, the eldest son of Louis XIII, was born in Saint-Germain Aung é, France, and Philip I, the 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 Spanish Habsburg family was born in Austria, it is customary to call Queen Anne of Austria). In 1617, Richelieu emerged and was recognized by Louis XIII. Later, he was appointed Cardinal. Richelieu promoted autocratic monarchy in internal affairs. In 1642, Richelieu died. In 1643, Louis XIII died, and on May 14, 1643, Louis XIV ascended the throne. At the beginning of Louis XIV's accession to the throne, the French aristocracy revived and formed the Stone Throwers with Prince Conde, Mrs. Chevres and Mrs. Longwell as the core. This was the grim situation when Louis XIV ascended the throne.
Since Louis XIV was less than five years old when he ascended the throne, she was regent by Queen Anne of Austria, but the loyal successor of Richelieu, Mazaran, 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 regent empress dowager. It is conceivable that its position respects its weight. When Mazaran accepted the regime, it was precisely at the decisive juncture 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 financiers in exchange for allowing them to collect taxes and national income. These tax contractors obtained huge profits from it, causing the envy of the nobles and the anger of the people.
On August 26, 1648, an armed uprising broke out in Paris. The insurgents built 1200 barricades overnight, and they used "Fulond" to shoot at the houses of Mazaran supporters. Anti-government uprisings have also erupted 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 Movement" in French history. [5]
Successive upheavals
Main entry: Fronde movement
In 1648, when the Stone Throwing Movement broke out, France was still fighting with Spain (1635-1659), so it was caught in serious internal and external problems. France's national strength has been seriously weakened, which has led to its imminent cause of hegemony being abruptly interrupted; Moreover, after the rebellion, France's national strength was still difficult to recover in a short time, and its international status temporarily declined to a second-rate 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 tax reduction.
In the early days of Louis XIV's reign, Ma Zaran, an important minister
In the early days of Louis XIV's reign, Ma Zaran, an important minister
After the first "Stone Throwing Party Movement", the Prince of Kongdai, who had not succeeded in seeking Mazzaran's position, conspired to overthrow Mazzaran's government by uniting with the princes and dignitaries such as Kondi, Gondi and the Duchess of Longeville who were dissatisfied with the court. In January 1650, Mazaran arrested Prince Kondai, Prince Kondy's brother and his brother-in-law Duke Longeville. The supporters of the prince rioted in other provinces, and the priests also joined forces with the nobles to fight the court. The rebels, led by Viscount de Turenne, joined the Spanish army to attack France. In December 1650, Comte du Plessis-Praslin defeated Tirena in the battle of Champ-Blanc. At the same time, from March to April 1651, rebels in other places were also gradually suppressed. Under the pressure of all parties, Kong Dai and other nobles were released, and Mazaran was exiled for the second time. The first civil war ended.
Mazarin was recalled to Paris in December 1651. Prince Kondai, together with Leopold of Spain, invaded France with Duke ilhelm. From February to April 1652, the rebels achieved a series of military victories. The royal family once again fled Paris. Tirena led the royal army to fight with the pro-Kondai army and achieved a series of important military achievements near Paris. The rebel people in Paris formed a government. At this time, Mazzaran again used the strategy of taking retreat as an advance to announce his retirement from exile. After Mazzaran's resignation, the Prince of Confucius lost the foundation of public support. Let the powerful members of the Stone Throwing Party fall into internal strife again; Mazarin also used Louis XIV's sacred monarchy to make Paris citizens tired of the "tyranny" of the Great Kongdai and the internal struggle of the Stone Throwing Party at the end of 1652 to welcome Louis XIV's mother and son back to Paris and rebuild the centralized royal government with a cheerful mood; Finally, at the beginning of 1653, Louis XIV ordered the recall of Mazaran and the reappointment of power.
By this time (1653), the Stone Throwing Party movement had completely ended, and Mazzaran had established an unshakable dominant position in the country. However, the mighty Kondai had been exiled to Spain 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, 14-year-old Louis XIV was welcomed back to Paris by the people. Gaston Jean Baptiste, Duke of Orleans, was exiled to another country. The second civil war gradually subsided.

Take charge of big affairs
Louis XIV in his youth
Louis XIV in his youth
The young Louis XIV was brought up in adversity. He and his mother, brother and Mazarin moved from one province to another. [7] The young Louis escaped from Paris twice in the riots, which is likely to have a profound impact on the young Louis. Louis XIV saw the crazy uprising of the people of Paris in the Stone-throwing movement. The tragic experience of being abandoned by the people of Paris and 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 to never allow such riots to recur and began to plan to settle in Versailles Palace in the future.
In March 1661, Ma Zaran died of illness. Before his death, Louis XIV was closely watched to take power in person, and he announced that he would not appoint a prime minister; So the 24-year-old young king announced that he would govern himself. [9] He dismissed Nicholas Fokay, an important minister who regarded himself as the successor of Mazaran (on the grounds of taking bribes).
Louis XIV was a king who did everything by himself. He worked more than eight hours a day, governed the country with incomparable enthusiasm and spirit, and created an absolute monarchy unparalleled in history. With the help of the gifted missionary Bishop Boshuei who actively publicized the divine right and absolute monarchy, as well as the efforts of Louis himself, he thoroughly tamed the French aristocracy and church bishops, and used the middle class (Bourgeoia) with extraordinary talents to manage the increasingly delicate division of labor for him, the best of which was Colbert; The capable Pierre Sagier (1588-1672) was responsible for foreign affairs and court affairs, and made outstanding contributions to France's early diplomatic achievements. It is Louis XIV's hands-on and diligent governance that enables the orderly operation of the country and provides a good internal environment for economic development.
absolute monarchy
The construction of Versailles was one of Louis XIV's strategies for concentrating political power. Louis XIV completed the efforts of Richelieu and Mazarin to establish a centralized and autocratic nation-state. He turned the nobles into members of his court, relieved them of their rights as magistrates, thereby weakening the power of the nobles, for which he built the Versailles Palace. [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 a huge amount of money for clothes. They had to stay in the palace from morning to night to participate in dances, feasts 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 at a glance. Therefore, every nobleman who wants to be favored by the king must be present every day. Louis XIV let these nobles indulge in winning the favor of the king and had no time to manage the local issues. Gradually, they lost their power to govern the local.
Louis XIV
Louis XIV
Louis XIV believed that in order to obtain supreme power, it is necessary to unify France's religious belief, that is, to prohibit religious freedom. So he put pressure on Protestants. In particular, the decree of Fontainebleau in 1685 was very important. Inspired by the enthusiastic Catholics, Marquis Lufova, Minister of War, and Archbishop Boshuei, he therefore overturned the Nante edict of the former King Henry IV in 1598 on the tolerance of Protestantism. [12] After the edict was issued, Huguenot 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: to deprive Protestants of all their legal status, and Protestants who continue to live in France are considered "proof that they have believed in Roman Catholicism". These [14] orders of Louis forced more than 200000 Huguenots who did not want to change their religion to emigrate abroad. They emigrated to the Netherlands, Prussia, Britain, Northern Europe and North America respectively. Many historians believe that this is a fatal mistake, because many of these fugitives are skilled craftsmen, and their skills are exiled abroad with them. These exiles brought great wealth to the countries they arrived. But for Louis and his pious archbishops, a united France should be a Catholic France; In fact, the policy of forcing Huguenots to convert to Christianity has received the fanatical support of the majority of French Catholics (Catholics account for more than 90% of the population). Most French believe that combating the "heretic" Huguenots is an important task given to them by God.
His reign is typical of European autocracy. Ruthlessly suppress the aristocrats in other provinces who dare to rebel; At the same time, Versailles Palace was built to summon the great nobles from all over the world to serve the royal family. Louis XIV also sent "judicial, police and financial supervision officers" to the provinces to rectify the armaments and expand the source of troops, introduce new weapons and advanced technology, and control the dispatching power of the provincial army in the hands of the central government. Ideologically, all subjects are required to believe in the Catholic Church. In terms of economy, Louis XIV handed the economic problems to Kolber and promoted mercantilism. With the support of the diplomatic achievements of Cardinal Armand Jean de Plessie de Richelieu and Mazarin, Louis XIV established a baroque autocratic kingdom centered on him in France. He launched a war, held a luxurious celebration at Versailles, and funded the development of art and science to honor himself. With the help of his minister, such as Jean Baptiste Colbert, he concentrated the entire French bureaucracy around him, thus strengthening the military, financial and institutional strength of the French king. The adverse events to his administration included the discord between him and the Pope, his persecution of Huguenots and the war of Spanish succession to the throne. "In the late period of his administration, the French treasury was empty and on the verge of bankruptcy".
Europe's first hegemony
Louis XIV, who was deeply worried about the rebellious Netherlands in the Legacy War, launched the revenge Franco-Dutch War in 1672. [15] Louis took advantage of this war to hit the Netherlands and become famous in Western Europe. Since then, the Netherlands has declined. [16] The Franco-Dutch War not only caused the "year of disaster" in the Netherlands, but also earned the name of "the sun king". Therefore, Louis XIV in the 1680s decided to continue to conquer the outside world to complete his dream of complete hegemony in Europe. However, Louis XIV's policy of abolishing the Nante edict and persecuting the Huguenots in China in 1685 [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 Franco-Dutch War in 1678, it became the real hegemon of Europe. But at the same time, his life-long enemy, the Dutch ruler William III, also actively collaborated in diplomacy and planned to attack the hegemony of Louis XIV. [18] At this time, the Holy Roman Empire, a strong neighbor of France, was fighting against Ottoman Türkiye. Louis XIV decided to take this opportunity to expand his influence in Germany. At the same time, the French invasion also forced the European countries Austria, Spain, Sweden, Bavaria, Saxony and Baladin to form an alliance. [19] Leopold I, the emperor of Austria's Habsburg dynasty, sensed Louis's intention, and under the call and influence of the Dutch ruling William III, formed the Augsburg Alliance on July 9, 1686 (renamed the "Grand Alliance" after Britain joined in 1689), hoping to prevent Louis from expanding in Germany. However, in September 1688, Louis XIV took the opportunity of the Habsburg Dynasty's victory over Türkiye in the east and the weakness of its forces in the west to invade Germany and launch a quick war plan against the Habsburg Dynasty. The "Great Alliance War" officially started. In October, the French army captured Palatinat and completely occupied the area the following year. The Habsburg emperor had to use some forces in the east to contain Türkiye, and divided his forces in the west to try to deal with France, so that the French army would trample the west of Germany back and forth. Since all the participating countries have increased their economic burden due to the protracted war, the war tends to be reconciled. [21]
At that time, French agriculture was greatly hit by the severe cold disaster at the end of 1694, and hundreds of thousands or even millions of people might die from cold and hunger; The wealthy Netherlands was also forced to buy expensive grains from the German countries that took advantage of the opportunity to raise prices. The anti-war sentiment in Britain was also rising, making the anti-war Tories elected as the new parliamentary majority. So on September 20, 1697, France signed the Riisvik Peace Treaty with Britain, the Netherlands, the Holy Roman Empire, Spain and other countries, ending the nine-year grand alliance war, making the warring parties have gains and losses. Although France gained Strasbourg, it lost the territory and sea power of other countries newly captured in the "Great Alliance" war; [22] France reduces tariffs on the Netherlands; In order to please Spain, France returned most of the territories occupied after 1679, Savoy, Lorraine and Luxembourg of Germany; At the same time, Louis XIV recognized William III as the legitimate king of England (to cancel the support for James II), and recognized his strong position as king in Europe.

Heyday
The Spanish kingdom, which once dominated Europe in the 16th century, gradually declined after the 30-year war, while the emerging monarchical powers in Europe, such as Britain, France and the Netherlands, all coveted Spain's territory. The beginning of the war was that the Spanish Hapsburg dynasty died after the death of Carlos II (the enchanter), and before the death of Carlos II, under the recommendation of the ministers and the induction of the Roman Pope, announced in the will that Philip, the nephew of Anjou (Felipe V), Philip was also the second grandson of the French king Louis XIV, which was equal to the victory of French diplomacy. The Bourbon dynasty won the Spanish throne. This caused the dissatisfaction of the Austrian Habsburg royal family. They believed that the Spanish throne should be inherited by the Austrian archduke Charles (later Emperor Charles VI), who was also the Habsburg royal family. Therefore, they actively sought an alliance with a view to declaring war on France and retaking the Spanish throne.
Louis XIV
Louis XIV
The British, Dutch and other maritime powers were destroyed by France due to 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 and formed two camps. France has formed an alliance with Spain, Bavaria, Cologne, the German states, Savoy and Portugal; The Holy Roman Empire (controlled by the Habsburg royal family in Austria at that time), together with Britain, the Netherlands, Brandenburg, Hanover, and most of the small German states and most of the Italian city-states, formed a new anti-French "grand alliance" (Savoy and Portugal joined the anti-French alliance in 1703). In May 1702, the Grand Alliance officially declared war on France, and the war of succession to the Spanish throne officially began.
France finally became the winner of the succession of the Spanish throne, because the Spanish throne was finally inherited by Felipe V of the Bourbon dynasty. France has since eliminated the fear of being attacked by the Habsburg dynasty on both sides, and has gained a powerful future Spain as an ally, expanding France's influence in Europe. The European enclaves of the Spanish Empire were carved up through the Utrecht Peace Treaty, and France and Spain were nominally not merged. However, the French army also suffered heavy losses in the war: the navy was almost completely destroyed, and the army was also broken, leaving only one third of the full time. At the same time, the cold natural disaster (the great cold disaster in 1709) and the soaring war cost dragged down the French economy, and a large number of hungry people died, causing the social collapse. The French population may fall from about 21 million in the 1670s to less than 19 million in 1712. When the harsh Utrecht Peace Treaty was published, the French were seriously disappointed with the results, which made Louis XIV's original great image and high popularity lost in his later years; The praise that the people compared the king to the sun disappeared in the French words and memories. However, in the early and middle stages of Louis XIV, France's military strength remained the first in Western Europe, which Napoleon, who could maintain popularity, could not do.
Late age
In France, Louis XIV was respected because he made France strong, but his immeasurable war made France's national economy bankrupt, and he had to gradually strengthen the tax requirements on farmers. French historian Alexis de Tocqueville believed that this heavy tax and his dissatisfaction with the policies of the aristocracy and the civil class without political power were the political, social and economic reasons that led to the French Revolution in 1789.
In 1660, Louis married Maria Theresa, the Spanish princess. After Maria Theresa's death in 1683, he married Franois de Obini, the wife of Manternon, who was lower than him. Louis lived longer than his son and eldest grandson, and his great grandson Louis XV succeeded him.