Absolute Monarchs, Absolute Rule, Absolute Control

What does it mean to be an absolute ruler? Was King Louis XIV an effective absolute monarch of the 17th & 18th centuries?

Define Vocabulary: Age of Absolutism absolute monarch actions & maintain their support. His presence reminded them that
divine right of kings King Louis XIV Palace of Versailles he paid their salaries. He took away the power of the French
War of Spanish Succession parlements to block laws favored by the king’s council. Urban law
1. The Age of Absolutism describes a time in European history in enforcement improved. New codes of civil & criminal procedure were
which rulers gathered all the wealth and power of the country to enforced.
themselves. An absolute monarch was a king, queen, emperor Second, Louis XIV improved economic growth. Commerce, industry,
etc. who controlled all of society including economic, political, & the colonies developed under tight controls over quality. In 1665 his
social, and religious aspects. They had no limits on their minister of finance, Jean Baptiste Colbert, began an economic policy
authority. These rulers believed in the divine right of kings, based on self-sufficiency. Instead of relying on imports, Colbert
which is the idea that God created the monarch to represent God expanded French manufacturing by providing government funds and
on earth. Absolute monarchs answered only to God and their tax benefits to French companies. High tariffs were placed on goods
power was supreme over the people. from foreign countries to make French products affordable. This
In the 17th Century or 1600s, European monarchs grew more economic policy stabilized the economy.
powerful. Kingdoms centralized authority of the monarch over Third, he focused on his colonies, which provided raw materials and
nobles and the Catholic Church. The middle class of business a place to trade French goods. The government encouraged citizens to
owners, artisans, lawyers, and professionals living in cites, migrate to New France [Canada] where the fur trade prospered. His
supported the monarch because the ruler promised an end to richest colony was in the West Indies producing much coveted sugar.
wars so businesses could succeed & the middle class profit.
In addition, absolutism in Europe was helped by colonization
around the world. New colonies enabled monarchies to amass
fortunes. Gold, silver, lumber, and furs were found in the
King Louis XIV painted by
colonies & made monarchs rich. They used this new wealth from a French artist in 1701
colonies to pay for their palaces, extravagant luxuries & wars.
2. Absolutism grew in this 17th century. It was a period of great
upheaval in Europe. Religious & conflicts over borders and
territory led to continuous warfare. In 1618 the Thirty Years War
began in Europe. It caused governments to build huge armies,
charging heavy taxes to pay for the war. England’s absolute ruler,
King Charles I shut down the government & raised taxes without
the consent of Parliament. France’s King Louis XIII borrowed
money to pay for his war. Every European power involved in the
war bled their countries dry to gain more political power.
3. Louis Bourbon [1638 – 1715] was four-years-old in 1643, when
he became King Louis XIV of France after the death of Louis XIII,
his father. Chaos erupted as nobles, merchants, & peasants
rebelled against the monarchy, which led France into the 30
Years War. In 1648, advisors to Louis XIV negotiated and end to
war but taxes had to be raised to pay France’s war debts. The
nobles and wealthy rioted. For the next 5 years, France was torn
apart by civil war. Louis’ life was threatened. He was forced to
flee his home and hide. Young Louis lived in humiliation, poverty,
fear, cold & hunger. He never forgot nor forgave the common
people & nobles who had terrorized him.
4. Louis XIV at age 23, began his direct rule of France. He vowed
to have total control & become so strong that no one would ever
threaten him again. He declared, “I am the State!” He had the
divine right to rule and took the sun as his symbol. Just as the
sun stands for the center of the solar system, so Louis said he
was the center of France.
First, he personally controlled the government for 54 of his 72-
Fourth, Louis built the most powerful army in Europe. Made up of
year reign. He excluded family, princes, & military nobility from
400,000 soldiers. They were trained, supplied and paid by the
his council. He increased wealthy, middle class power by
state. Louis had to raise taxes to the highest in French history to
appointing many as government agents to collect taxes & give
afford this. At first, the people accepted his new taxes because it
out justice. He saw local officials regularly to control their
insured peace. However, the taxes also paid for his extravagances such
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 The Palace of Versailles etching

the Court, found out the reason of their absence, and never lost an opportunity
as the Palace of Versailles. By his death in 1715 France was
of acting toward them. When their names were in any way mentioned, “I do not
broke.
know them,” the King would reply haughtily.”
6. The Palace of Versailles, 11 miles outside of Paris, was built in
Having the nobles at the palace increased his authority. They were
1624 as a hunting lodge. It was expanded in 1663 by Louis XIV. In
totally dependent on Louis who took them from their homes so they
1682 he made it his family’s residence. He relocated the Royal
could not damage him from afar. Louis required hundreds of nobles to
Court here to keep an eye on the nobility. The palace became the
live at Versailles. Court manners demanded that noblemen spend
center of royalty, government, art, and diplomacy for France.
large sums of money on clothes and jewels and to spend most of their
To make room for his expansions, 37,000 acres were cleared &
time attending balls & celebrations. The aristocracy became dissolute,
took 40 years to complete. Versailles had 2,000 rooms & could
focused on winning the King's favor, as evidenced by concern over
accommodate 6000 people. The grand building was 500 yards
who would have the honor of helping him dress, rather than focused
long with two 150 yard wings. It was so long that food from the
on concern for the people who depended upon them at home.
kitchens was cold by the time it reached the king’s chambers.
It boasted 15,000 acres of gardens, lawns, and woods and 1400 8. Louis had disasters. By 1660, 20 million people lived in France. The
fountains. It took too much water to run all the fountains at English king, James II, commanded 5 million while the Netherlands
once. So, when the king walked in the garden, servants ran only 2 million. This strength in numbers gave France a conceited
around to turn on fountains before the king reached them and advantage over its enemies. The French army of 400,000, was the best
turn them off after he disappeared.
Louis spent a fortune to surround himself with luxury. Each
meal was a feast. Nearly 500 cooks and waiters worked to satisfy
his tastes. He spent more than 60% of France’s income to expand
Versailles. Today it would cost over $2 billion.
7. Louis Controlled the Nobility. Every morning, a servant woke
Louis at 7:30. Outside Louis’ bed stood 100 nobles, waiting to
help the king dress. Four were allowed to hand Louis his slippers.
Lesser nobles waited in the halls. A kingly nod or glance were
marks of royal approval & determined whether a noble gained
favor. Louis allegedly had an acute memory. He could scan a
ballroom and determine who was not there -- so no aristocrat
who depended on his favor could risk an absence. According to
the Duke of Saint Simon’s Memoirs of Louis XIV & the regency,
Louis turned against nobles who did not come to court to flatter
him: “He looked, not only upon rising but upon going to bed, at his
meals, in passing through his apartments. He marked all absentees from

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 Graph Skillbuilder: Use the graph to answer these questions.
1. What is the general trend shown in this graph?
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2. What was the difference in the debt, in millions of livres,
between 1683 and 1715?
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3. How many times greater was the royal debt in 1715 as
compared to the debt in 1643?
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4. What was the 1715 royal debt equal to in 1992 US dollars?
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5. A livre is worth $17.74 in 2014 US dollars. What is the 1715
royal debt equal to in 2014 US dollars?
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Conclusion: Use the graph to write a conclusion about Louis
XIV’s spending.
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in size, training, and weaponry. The take advantage of lesser French longed for peace. What they got was another war.
countries was a temptation Louis could not refuse.
9. The War of Spanish Succession was caused when King Charles II of
Spain died childless in 1700. The closest heir to the Spanish throne
Disasters continued…In 1667 France invaded the Spanish was Louis’ 17-year-old grandson, Philip. France & Spain were now
Netherlands and took 12 towns. Encouraged by his success, Louis ruled by the same family. This threatened other European nations.
XIV personally led his army into the Dutch Netherlands in 1672. So in 1701, England, Austria, the Netherlands, & Portugal, with the
The Dutch flooded the countryside & stopped the French. By German & Italian states warred against France & Spain in the War of
war’s end in 1678, France gained only three Dutch towns. the Spanish Succession. War dragged on until 1713. More than
Louis fought additional wars & failed. By the end of the 1680s, 400,000 died and in the end, Philip remained Spain’s king because he
countries formed alliances and stopped France’s quest for more promised never to unite with France.
territory in Europe. The weak nations allied with strong ones and War and taxes ruined France. King Louis XIV regretted the
created a balance of power to stop French aggression. suffering to his people. It was too late. News of his death in 1715
France was also weakened by poor harvests & food shortages. prompted rejoicing! The Sun King left behind a rich legacy of death
The people were sick of hunger and war. New taxes to finance and financial disaster.
his wars just added to their suffering. Tired of hardship, the

Assessment:
1. Create a timeline of events that reflect the major events of King Louis XIV’s reign.
2. Using your timeline:
a. Make a list of the positive actions taken by Louis XIV to strengthen the French monarchy.
b. Make a list of the negative actions taken by Louis XIV that weakened the French monarchy.
3. Outline a character sketch of Louis XIV. Analyze five character traits based on his experiences and
support with evidence.
Defend or Refute the following claim:
King Louis XIV of France was an effective absolute monarch who helped his country rise to power in
Europe in the late 17th century and early 18th century.

Be sure to outline at least 3 reasons, each supported with factual evidence [data] to prove that the 3
reason is valid and substantiates the claim.
Use the CLAIM, REASON – EVIDENCE – ANALYSIS chart to record information