the eighteenth century

The reign of Louis XIV is too long. The last years of his life are difficult: the royal
finances are exhausted by war and the people are crushed under taxes. The nobles
who, at first, loved as Versailles, are tired of the rigid etiquette imposed by the old
king. Louis is very sad to see his dying son and his little son. When he died himself
in 1715 at the age of 77 years, there remains only his great-grand-son, a child of
five, who became king under the name of Louis XV.
La Regence (1715-1723)
It is obvious that a five year old child cannot take the responsibility of government
and requires a regent. It was his uncle, the Duke of Orleans, who will ensure the
regency. The Duke of Orleans especially loves pleasures. The Palais-Royal, where he
lives-former residence of Richelieu and that exists today is the appointment of a
little scandalous court thinks is especially fun.
The nobles, who now detest their apartments without comfort of Versailles, Paris
rush or they are build very nice houses called mansions. There is still an amount of
these mansions, as is the hotel Biron or Mussee Rodin, or Palais de l'Elysee, which
was the hotel of Madame de Pompadour, and now serves as the official residence
the President of the French Republic.
Regence is a period of luxury and exquisite elegance for rich people, but for the
poor, the misery increases, the taxes are too heavy and life is dear. The regent must
find a way to fund government spending.
Compagnie du Mississippi (1720) and the system of Law
The royal treasure is empty. The state no longer afraid to pay its debts. Then the
regent uses a financial English, Law, which an original idea to find money.
France has recently (1699) established a colony in America. This is Louisiana,
named in honor of King Louis XIV. Its capital, New Orleans, was named in honor of
the regent, the Duke of Orleans. The limits of this territory covers approximately ten
states of the Midwest today, that is to say the west bank of the Mississippi to the
Great Lakes. Law founded the Mississippi Company and sells shares to the public.
The Company must exploit the riches of the New World to shareholders. The
advertisement shows mountains of precious stones, settlers sitting under palm
trees, around a treasures and exotic fruits! The shares have a huge success. Sales
offices are in a small street, the Rue Quincampoix (it still exists). People are rushing
in such numbers that there are dead, crushed by the crowd, Pressed to exchange
his money against the precious actions.
Alas, the money is not sent together in America to serve the development of the
valley of the Mississippi. It remains in France, where he is to pay the most pressing
debts of government

After some time, the public, suspected fraud, request the redemption of the shares.
It's still a terrible panic develops. The same crowd percipite the offices of the
company to try to recover his money. In a similar scene to that of the purchase of
shares, there was again dead in the street Quincampoix, crushed by the crowd in
panic.
But there is not enough money to pay, and the bankruptcy of the system of Law,
french people confidence in his government is lost. Throughout the rest of the
eighteenth century, the government will run out of money.
Louis XV Bien-Aime
C Thus the French, enthusiastic, call their young king, because they hope that will
change everything and make their lives better. Alas, it is a mistake! Louis was a
child gate. Adult, it is lazy thinking mainly has its distractions, and yawns openly at
meetings of the Royal Council. He inherited the absolute power of Louis XIV, is
isolated from the people Versailles. He does not know the situation and Caught in
the provinces.
He loves construction. SEVERAL of the great salons of Versailles will be transformed
into flats, intimate and comfortable. He built the Petit Trianon in the park of
Versailles. The style of Louis XV furniture, with its exquisite proportions and curves,
remains today the most style lovers taking antiques.
Nee Jeanne Poisson , is a bourgeois , not an aristocrat . but she is very pretty,
intelligent and charming . The king noticed her beauty and gives him the title of
Marquise de Pompadour. For twenty years she lived at Versailles as mistress of King
sharing her taste for the construction and decoration. She collects a multitude of
artifacts , supports and promotes artists and writers .
New ideas : The Encyclopedia
After the full authority of Louis XIV, the indifference of the king because a period of
freedom , and especially freedom of ideas. On some issues , we propose impossible
under Louis XIV . For example, under Louis XIV , the answer to the question: " What
is the king? " would have been : " The king is the representative of God on earth . "
Now , the answer tends to say, " The king is a despot is a man like any other, but
who uses his position to exploit the people. ". Lyrics exciting when we hear for the
first time , but dangerous to the established order . The thinkers of the eighteenth
century philosophers are called , but they are interested in all subjects , not just a
philosophy. A " What is the Church? " philosophers answer: " A system of oppression
."
A group of these philosophers, Diderot, d'Alembert and Condorcet, published in
1751, the Encyclopedia. This gives a large dictionary definition of each word, each
idea. There are very well illustrated pages on science, the arts, industry.

But among the words whose Encyclopedia offers a definition, there is king, people,
church, god, law, etc. These definitions are the ones you have seen or that you
imagine. The Church, furious, asks the king to ban the book.
Madame de Pompadour, who is not religious, and do not like the Church encourages
Encyclopaedists. The king? Lazy, he did not read the Encyclopedia. Under pressure
from the Church, he finally prohibited. Naturally, this prohibition makes it even more
popular book.
As you know, it is easy to ban a book, but how do you ban a thought? An idea?
The march of ideas
The authors of " Encyclopedia are not alone . A prevalent idea in the eighteenth
century is that " -Everything is for the best in the best of possible " worlds. Remarks
although the word possible . The sentence means that everything is not perfect, but
it is impossible to make it better. Voltaire attacks this idea with humor but ferocity in
Candide the world and protests all possible ways against the arbitrary power of the
King and the Church.
Rousseau studied the causes of inequality between men and proposes a system by
voting lequelchaque person to participate in government and accept the will of the
majority . Completely new idea , this is democracy ! And properly educate people to
become responsible citizens , he writes Emile , or Education . It proposes a system
of education children: develop their judgment and sense of responsibility instead of
them memorize things they do not understand. The American education today is
based largely on the ideas of Rousseau.
Ile is clear that major changes in the government are necessary and that the old
authority , accepted under Louis XIV , is now obsolete . But any suggestions the king
answers: " After me, the deluge ! "
This is a difficult situation he has left his successor when he died in 1774, after
another long reign too .
Les Confessions
Jean- Jacques Rousseau is a complex character . Did Geneva, Switzerland, and
orphan very young , one night he finds the doors closed and cities can not go home.
Then he leaves, and lives a life of vagrancy, making a lot of trades. He is a musician
, writing an opera . In Paris to try to play his opera, he meets Encyclopaedists . In
1761 , he published the New Heloise , a sentimental novel that has a huge success .
The following year , the Social Contract, a book very avant-garde, which proposes a
system of democratic government, and Emile , or Education , a treaty that defines a
modern education to develop own intelligence and responsibility of citizens which,
after the social contract must participate in government. Emile is burned by order of
the Parliament of Paris because it does not require religeuse instruction . Rousseau ,

blurs himself with all his old friends , wrote Confessions to tell his childhood and
justify his life. Rousseau is both a romantic, sentimental and political precursor .
Steals tape
It was decided we needed to know which of us was telling the truth. They called
Marion . The whole family and all the servants were . It happens . It is shown the
tape that I had stolen. I look across the street and I accuse the flight, and for giving
me the tape. She is stunned , said nothing at first, and gave me a look that would
have disarmed the demons , but which my barbarous heart resisted . It denies ,
finally, with insurance, but without anger , and asked me not to dishonor an honest
girl who never hurt nobody. Me with infernal impudence , I confirmed my
statement , and I stand by him to his face that gave me the tape. The poor girl
starts to cry and said: " Ah , Rousseau, you make me very unhappy , but I do not
want to be in your place That all? . .
She continues to defend with firmness and simplicity , but without any invective
against me. This moderation , Comparative DECIDED to my attitude , made him
wrong. Nobody could imagine on one side a diabolical boldness, and the other as an
angelic sweetness. We sent both. And Count merely said that the guilty conscience
of revenge innocent enough .
He was right . His prediction does not stop one day to accomplish.