Am I In Charge?
Absolutely!
Special Guest Louis XIV
Absolutism
16th and 17th Centuries
Political theory that believed in
the “Divine Right of Kings”
Monarchs received their
authority from God
They were responsible to God
alone
Bishop Bossuet established
this in Politics Taken From the
Very Words of Scripture.
Bishop Jacques Bossuet
Historical causes
Destruction caused by religious wars
[justified strong rule]
Huge increases in wealth from
exploration
Conflicted with individualism of the
Renaissance
How to get absolute
power
Rid yourself of other pesky institutions that have
local control or power [tribunals or nobles].
Centralize your power and administration
Use secret police to establish fear, quiet
dissenters and maintain order
Create and maintain standing armies
Tax, tax, tax and control it yourself using
bureaucracies
Government administration with employees that
answer only to the King
Bureaucrats serve the state not themselves or local
interests
Absolutely in charge.
Really?
Absolutists did not have the consent of
their citizens
Lacked the financial, military and
technology resources to be total control
Setting up French
Absolutism
Win the hearts and
minds
1589 Henry IV
became king
Sharply lowered
taxes on peasants
Chief Minister Sully
streamlined taxes
and increased trade
‘a chicken in every pot’
Cardinal Richelieu: Chief
Minister
Appointed by Marie de Medici,
mother of heir Louis XIII,
following Henry IV’s murder to
advise her son
Laid the foundation for French
absolutism
Excluded nobles from the royal
council, leveled castles and
ruthlessly killed any conspirators
Increased government efficiency
by creating intendants who
answered to the king only and
governed at the local level
Established the French
Academy
The Fronde
Civil wars between 1648-1653
Growing resentment about increased power of
monarchy
Cardinal Jules Mazarin succeeded Richelieu and was
not the same enforcer
People refused to pay taxes
Monarchy would have to compromise with bureaucrats
and social elite
Convinced Louis XIV that absolute monarchy is
necessary to prevent anarchy
Louis XIV (1643-1715): The Sun King and
Baller
Worked with the nobility to
mutually increase prestige
Louis won military taxation
from Languedoc in exchange
of his granting nobility
increased social status and
access to him
Palace of Versailles
overwhelmed and inspired,
center of government
Great host of ceremonies and
excluded the most powerful
nobles
"L'État, c'est moi" (the state is me)
The End of an Era
Louis XIV was one of the great state-
builders of Europe
Despite this, the peasants of France
suffered as they never had before or
since. This would bring government
welfare as a state function it the 18th
century
His absolutist policy solidified the place of
France as the dominant power in Europe