he a the first ruler in the Bourbon dynasty. As a Huguenct, Henty had battled Catholic forces, Once on the throne, he realized he would face severe problems ruling @ largely Catholic country, sohe converted to Catholicism, aris is well worth a Mess,” he is supposed to have said, To protect Protestants, however, he issued the Edict of Nantes in 1598. It granted the Huguenots religious toleration and other freedoms, Henry IV then set out to restore royal power and rebuild a land shattered by war. His goal, he said, was not the victory of one sect aver another, but ‘a chicken in every pot’—a good Sunday dinner for every peasant. Under Henry, the government reached into every area of French life, Royal officials administered justice, improved roads, built bridges, and revived agriculture. By building the royal bureaucracy and reducing the influence of nobles, Honry IV laid the foundations for royal absolutisra, Richelieu Strengthens Royal Authority When Honry IV was killed by en assassin in 1610, his nine- year-old son, Louis XIN, inherited the throne, For a time, nobles reasserted their power. Then, in 1624, Louis appointed Cardinal Richelieu (ree shu! ¥oo) as his chief minister. This’ cunning, capable leader devoted the next 18 years to strengthening the central government. Richelieu wes determined to destroy the power of two groups thet defied royal author Huguenots. He defeated the private armies of the nobles and destroyed their fortified castles, While reducing their independence, Richelieu tied the nobles to the king by giving them high posts at coutt or in the royal army, At the same time, he smashed the walled ities of the Huguenots and outlawed their armies. Yer he allowed them to continue to practice thei religion Richelieu handpicked his able successor, Cardinal Mazarin (ma za RAN}. When five-year-old Louis XIV inherited the throne in 1643, the year after Richelieu's death, Mazarin was in place to serve as chiof minister, Like Richeliou, Mazarin worked tirelessly to extend royal power. | IDENTIFY SUPPORTING DETAILS How did the Exict of Nantes affect Huguenots? Soon after,Louis XIV became king, disorder again ‘swept France. In an uprising called the Fronde, nobles, ‘merchants, peasants, and the urban poor each rebelled in order to protest royal power or preserve their own. : Absolutism and Revolution ( 85 >>The St. Bartholomow's Day Massacre bogan at a royal wedding in Paris in 1572, Thousands of French Huguenots were massacred, Cardinal Richeliou, on of the architects of French absolutism, was principle advisor to Louis XIIL The Siege of La Rochelle, shown here, waa a battle in Richeliew's ‘campaign to ring the Huguonots under royal authority. 3.1 Absolute Monarchy in Spain and FranceOn one occasion, 18 drove the boy king from his palace. It was an experience Louis would never forget When Mazarin died i the 23-year-old Louis resolved to take complete control aver the government himself. ‘Thave been pleased to entrust the government of my affairs to the late Cardinal,” he declared. “It is now time that I govern them myselt “LAm the State” Like his great-grandfather Pailip I of Spain, Louis XIV firmly believed in his divine right to mule, He took the sun as the symbol of his absolute power. Just as the sun stands at the center of the solar system, he argued, so the Sun King stands at the conter of the nation. Louis is often quoted as saying, ‘Létat, c'est mai" (lay TAH seh a ish tes as "Tam the state, During his reign, Louis dic not once call a meeting of the Estates General, the medieval assembly made up of representatives of all French social classes. in fact, the Estates General did not meet between 1614 and 1789. Thus, the Estates General played no role in checking royal powei. Louis Centralizes Power Louis spent many hours each day attending to governmentaffairs. Tostrengthen ate, he followed the policies of Richelieu, He ‘expanded the bureaucracy and appointed intendants, royal officials who collected taxes, recruited soldiers, ied out his policies in the provinces, The king often appointed wealthy middle-class men to government jobs, In this ‘ies with the middle class and limited the infuence of Louis cemented Under Louis XIV, the French army became the strongest in Europe, The state paid, fed, trained, and supplied up to 300,000 soldiers. Louis used this highly isciplined army to enforce his policies at home and abroad, Colbert Strengthens the Economy The French economy grew under the king's brilliant finance minister, Jean-Baptiste Colbert (koh! behr). Colbert had new lands cleared for farming, encouraged mining and other basic industries, and built up Incury trades such as lacemaking. To protect French manufacturers, Colbert put high tariffs on imported goods, Colbert also fostered overseas colonies, such as New France in North Amer 1 several colonies in India. Imposing mercantilist policies, he regulated trade with the sto entich the royal treas Colbert's policies helped make France the wealthiest state in Europe, Yet not even his financial genius could LOUIS XIV STRENGTHENS «1: ABSOLUTE MONARCHY fe) M KON 3 Dea) IDED Tava 4 | BUREAUCRACY muvbte-cLass men SBE p a ola ty ATTENDING TO aoe py MIDDLE’ CLASS 6 =y! bet ee | GOVERNMENT ® ® A SOLDIERS, AFFAIRS IN EUROPE >» Make Generalizations What do al Lovie X1V'e efforts to strenghen absolutism Absolutism and Revolution ( 86 3.1 Absolute Monarchy in Spain and France F t ’produce enough income to support the huge costs of Louis's court and his many foreign wars RECALL Why did Louis XIV choose the sun as his symbol? In the countryside near Paris, Louis XIV turned a royal Junting lodge into the immense palace of Versailles (ver 3v). There, he presided over both his court and the government. Versailles became the perfect symbol of the power of the Sun King, Louis spared no expense in making Versailles the most magnificent building in Europe. ts halls and salons displayed the finest paintings and statues. Some depicted the king as Apollo, the ancient Greek god of the sun. Chandeliers and mirrors glittered with gold. In the royal garciens, millions of flowers, tees, and fountains wete set out in precise geometric patterns, reflecting royal power over nature, Elaborate Court Ceremonies Louis XIV perfected elaborate ceremonies thai emphesized his own importance. Each day began in the king's bedroom ‘with a ritual known as the levée (luh vay), or rising, High-tanking nobles competed for the honor of holding the royal washbasin or handing the king his diamond- Duckled shoes. At night, the ceremony was repeated in reverse, Wives of nobles vied to serve women of the royal family, Rituals such as the levée served a serious purpose, French nobles were descendants of the feudal lords ‘who had held power in medieval times, At liberty on their estates, these nobles were a threat to the powe of the monarchy. By luring nobles to Versailles, Louis tumed them into courtiers angling for privileges rather than rivel warriors battling for power, His tactic ‘worked because he carefully protected their prestige ‘and continued their privilege of not paying taxes. A Flowering of French Culture The king and his court supported a “splendid century” of the arts. The king sponsored musical entertainments and commissioned plays hy the best writers. The age of Louis XIV came to be known as the classical age of French drama, In painting, music, architecture, and decorative arts, French styles became the model for all Europe. A ew form of dange dame, ballet, gained its fist graat popularity at the French court, As a leading patron Absolutism and Revolution a7 >> Louis XIV, who came to the throne at a young age, ruled Franco for more than 72 years, He helieved in ‘the divine right of kinge and was a povwerlul absolute monarch. >> "The Hall of Misors is one ofthe most famous rooms 4at the Versailles Palace, This elaborate palace was the principal residoncs of Louis XIV and a riomiment to his Dimmer 3.1 Absolute Monarchy in Spain and Francet Ht >> Baglish troops fight the French inthis 1708 battle In the War of te Spanish Succession, one of the many foreign ware of Louse XIV, culture, Louis sponsored the French Academies, which set high standards for both the arts and the sciences. i summarize How cid Louis XIV secure support from the nobly? Louis XIV ruled France for 72 years—far longer than any.other monarch. Duiing that time, French culture, manners, and customs set the standard for European astes. The Sun King made France the stongest state in Europe. In both foreign and domestic affairs, however, many of Louis's policies were costly failures Costly Wars Louis XIV poured vast resources into ‘wars meant to expand French borders, However, rival rulers joined forces to check these ambitions, Led by the Dutch or the English, these alliances fought to maintain the balance of power. The goal was to ‘Absolutism and Revolution ( 88. ‘maintain a distribution of military and economic power to prevent any one country from dominating Europe, In 1700, Louis's grandson Philip V inherited the throne of Spain. To maintain the balance of power, neighboring nations led by England fought to prevent, the union of France and Spain. ‘The War of the Spanish Succession dragged on until 1713, when an exhausted France signed the Treaty of Utrecht (vootrekt). Philip remained on the Spanish throne, but France agreed never to unite the two crowns, Huguenots Face Persecution Perhaps Louis's most costly mistake was his treatment of the Huguenots Louis saw the Proestant minority as a threat to religious and political unity. In 1685, he revoked, ot withdrew, the Edict of Nantes. Facing renewed persecution, more than 100,000 Huguenots fled France. They settled mainly in Englane, the Netherlands, Germany, Polend, and the Americas ‘The Huguenots had been among the hardest working and most prosperous of Louis's subjects. Their loss was a serious blow to the French economy, just as the expulsion of Spanish Muslims and Jews had hurt Spain IDENTIFY CAUSE AND EFFECT How did Louis's actions weaken the French economy? Identify What factors led to the rise of absolute monarchies? 2. Summarize How did Spanish power grow under Charles V? under Philip II? 3. Identify Supporting Details How did France build @ centralized monarchy after the wars of religion? 4. Support a Point of View with Evidence Would you consider Louis XIV a successful absolute monarch? Give examples from the text to support your answer. 5. Connect What irpact did Spanish king Philip I and French king Louis XIV have on the arts? 3.1 Absolute Monarchy in Spain and France