Louis XIV de Bourbon, also known as the "sun king", also Louis the Great (born September 5, 1638, death September 1, 1715) - King of France and Navarre since May 14, 1643.
Not every European monarch could say about himself: "The state is me." However, these words rightfully refer to Louis XIV, whose reign was the period of the highest flowering of absolutism in France.
Childhood and early years
The Sun King, whose luxury courtyard eclipsed all the august courts of Europe, is the son of Louis XIII and Anne of Austria. The boy was 5 years old when, after the death of his father, he inherited the throne of France and Navarre. But at that time, the Queen Dowager became the sole ruler of the country, contrary to the will of her husband, which provided for the creation of a regency council.
But in reality, power was concentrated in the hands of her favorite, Cardinal Mazarin, a man extremely unpopular, even despised by all strata of society, hypocritical and treacherous, who was characterized by insatiable money-grubbing. It was he who became the educator of the young sovereign.
The cardinal taught him the methods of conducting state affairs, diplomatic negotiations, political psychology. He was able to instill in the student a taste for secrecy, a passion for fame, faith in his own infallibility. The young man became vindictive. He did not forget anything and did not forgive.
Louis XIV had a controversial character. He combined hard work, determination and firmness in the implementation of his plans with unshakable stubbornness. Appreciating educated and talented people, he, meanwhile, selected those around him who could in no way overshadow him. The king was characterized by extraordinary conceit and lust for power, selfishness and coldness, heartlessness and hypocrisy.
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The characteristics given to the king by different people are contradictory. His contemporary, the Duke of Saint-Simon, noted: “Praise, let’s say, flattery, liked him so much that he willingly accepted the roughest, and savor the lowest even more. Only in this way it was possible to approach him … Cunning, meanness, servility, humiliated posture, groveling … - only in this way it was possible for him to please.
As soon as a person deviated even a little from this path, there was no return. Voltaire, on the other hand, considered him "a good father, a skillful ruler, always decent in public, hardworking, impeccable in business, thinking, fluent in speaking, combining courtesy with dignity." And Napoleon Bonaparte said that Louis XIV "was a great king: it was he who elevated France to the rank of the first nations of Europe … What French king since the time of Charlemagne can compare with Louis in all respects?"
Anyway, any of these characteristics fits Louis. He was a worthy student of Cardinal Mazarin.
The sovereign was well-built, even graceful, had, despite all the "efforts" of doctors, enviable health. The only disease that haunted him all his life was insatiable hunger. He ate both day and night, swallowing food in large chunks. Physically, the monarch remained strong enough in old age: he rode on horseback, drove a carriage with four horses, and shot accurately when hunting.
Rise to power
From childhood, from 1648, the king faced the actions of the Fronde (nobility), directed both personally against Mazarin and against the strengthening of absolutism. These performances resulted in a civil war. But in 1661, Louis was officially declared an adult. In his short speech in parliament, he said: "Gentlemen, I have come to my parliament to tell you that, according to the law of my state, I myself and take the government into my own hands …"
Now any protests against the cardinal could be considered as treason or as a crime against His Majesty, because Mazarin had only the semblance of power: now only Louis XIV signed laws, made decisions, appointed ministers. At this time, he, with satisfaction accepting the activities of the Prime Minister in the field of foreign policy, diplomacy and military affairs, expressed dissatisfaction with the situation in domestic politics, finance, and management.
The reign of Louis XIV
After the death of the cardinal in 1661, the king declared at a meeting of the council of state: “I have gathered you with my ministers and secretaries of state to tell you … the time has come for me to rule myself. You will help me with your advice when I ask you about it. " And when the council was disbanded, he added that he "will convene them when it is necessary to find out their opinion." However, the State Council never met again.
Cardinal Mazarin
Louis XIV created a government completely under his control, consisting of three people: the chancellor, the controller general of finance and the secretary of state for foreign affairs. Now even his mother could not influence his decision. In France, a system began to take shape, which in the 20th century will be called administrative. The monarch received the right, based on the interests of the public good, to go beyond the limits of power prescribed to him: the powers of parliament were limited: he was deprived of the opportunity to influence the course of state affairs, to make even minor amendments to royal ordinances and legislative acts.
Disobedience and freethinking of citizens were severely punished: the death penalty, life imprisonment, hard labor, galleys. At the same time, a certain semblance of democracy remained. At times, public investigations were conducted. This is the case of the abuse of Finance Minister Fouquet, and the case of poisoning, for which a number of courtiers and even titled persons were brought to justice. An income tax was introduced, which is obligatory for the nobility. Millions were invested in the development of manufactories and trade, which largely contributed to the improvement of the economic situation in France and helped to restore the fleet and create the largest army in Europe.
Foreign policy
The foreign policy of the king was a continuation of the policy of Mazarin and Richelieu, his predecessor: “Whoever has the power has the right in the affairs of the state,” Richelieu pointed out in his will, “and the one who is weak can hardly remove himself from among the wrong in the eyes majority . Significant military forces were created that were supposed to serve the glory and power of the dynasty, because the central problem at this time was the struggle against the domination of the Habsburg house in Europe and for the establishment of the hegemony of the Bourbons.
The beginning of this was laid by Louis' claims to the Spanish inheritance, to the throne of Spain, which the Spanish Infanta renounced when she married the French king. France put forward claims to the entire Spanish Netherlands, to a number of German lands. The confrontation with England, which formed an anti-French coalition, intensified. Although Louis XIV was unable to establish hegemony in Europe, he left the state better protected than he inherited: the Bourbons owned Spain and the colonies, the eastern border was strengthened. His armies fought on the territory of the Holy Roman Empire, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Portugal, America.
Domestic policy
Incessant wars devastated the treasury, threatened with a financial crisis, and had poor harvests for several years in a row. All this led to unrest in the city and the countryside, food riots. The government resorted to brutal repression. In a number of cities, entire streets and even districts were demolished.
Terror against the Huguenots intensified: they began to expel Protestant pastors, destroy Protestant churches, banned the departure of Huguenots from the country, and became obligatory for Catholic baptism and marriage. All this led to the fact that many French Protestants renounced their faith, but the king's goal to restore the Catholic faith was not achieved. Protestantism went underground, and at the beginning of the 18th century there was a Huguenot uprising, which in a number of places assumed the scale of a civil war. Only in 1760, regular troops were able to suppress it.
Royal court of Louis XIV
A heavy burden for the finances of the state was not only constant wars, but also the maintenance of the royal court, numbering about 20 thousand people. At the court, festive performances, theatrical and musical performances were constantly organized, which remained in the memory of posterity for a long time.
But the monarch was engaged not only in amusement, but also in the affairs of his subjects: on Mondays, in the premises of the royal guard, on a large table, petitioners put their letters, which were then sorted by secretaries and transmitted with the appropriate report to the king. He personally made decisions on each case. This is what Louis did in all his affairs. “France is a monarchy,” he wrote, “the king represents the whole nation in it, and before the king everyone is only a private person. Therefore, all power, all power is concentrated in the hands of the king, and in the kingdom there can be no other power than the one that was established by him."
At the same time, the court of Louis XIV was distinguished by the most diverse vices and perversions. The courtiers were addicted to gambling to such an extent that they lost estates, fortunes, and even life itself. Drunkenness, homosexuality, and lesbianism flourished. The costs of the holidays were frequent and ruinous. So, only Marshal Buffle, the commander of the troops, contained 72 cooks and 340 servants. Meat, game, fish, even drinking water were brought to him from various parts of the country, even from abroad.
Maria Theresa (wife of Louis XIV)
Against this background, Louis preferred to emphasize his modesty. He wore a cloth or satin camisole, mostly brown. Jewelry only adorned the buckles of the shoes, garters and hat. On solemn occasions, the monarch wore a long blue medal sash with precious stones worth up to 10 million livres under the caftan.
For a long time, the king did not have a permanent residence. He lived and worked in the Louvre and Tuileries in Paris, in the Chambord palace, 165 km from the capital, in the Saint-Germain palace, in Vincennes, then in Fontainebleau. In this regard, Louis XIV and his courtyard often drove around, carrying furniture, carpets, linens, dishes in many kilometers of carts.
Only in 1682 was the move to the still unfinished Palace of Versailles, which eventually became one of the wonders of French and world culture and cost 60 million livres. With its construction, the king, who had chosen the sun as his emblem back in 1662, wanted to express his greatness. The palace had 1,252 rooms with fireplaces and 600 without them. Next to the royal bedroom was the Great Gallery, or gallery of mirrors, 75 meters long and 10 meters wide, with 17 windows and a panel of 400 mirrors. There, on solemn days, 3 thousand candles burned. Only in the 90s. life from Versailles began to move to Paris, aided by economic and financial difficulties and, in no small measure, the influence of Madame de Maintenon.
Personal life of the king
Despite the ease of morals of the royal court, the king, a devout man, did not encourage debauchery, although he had many fleeting connections and even long affections that lasted for years. He visited his wife Maria Theresa every night; none of the favorites could influence his political decisions. The exact number of the monarch's love affairs is shrouded in mystery. The first deep relationship he had with Maria Mancini, Mazarin's niece, back in 1658, he even wanted to marry her.
But under pressure from the cardinal and his mother, in 1660, for political reasons, he married a Spanish princess from the house of the Habsburgs, his cousin Maria Theresa, a very plain and unassuming girl, who quickly resigned herself to her husband's love affairs. Several children were born from this marriage, but only one survived, the heir, who received the right only to attend the meetings of the royal council.
And the official favorites of the king in the 60s. there were also the Duchess de Lavaliere, who bore him 4 children, of which two survived, and the Marquise de Montespan, who gave birth to 8 children to the king, of whom 4 survived. The king legalized all his children, he did not spare anything for them, especially since he took from the state treasury. Thus, to an illegitimate daughter who was getting married, he gave a million livres in cash, jewelry worth 300 thousand livres, an annual pension of 100 thousand livres; he monthly paid for his son's entertainment - 50 thousand livres, many thousands of card losses, both his own and his wife's and mistresses.
Since the beginning of the 80s. a new favorite appeared at the court - the Marquise de Maintenon, an intelligent and pious woman, who at one time raised the monarch's illegitimate children. She had an apartment in Versailles adjacent to the royal chambers. After the death of Maria Theresa in 1683, a secret marriage between Louis XIV and Madame Mentenon, who was 3 years older than her husband, took place.
Death of Louis XIV
Time passed, the king grew old, people close to him died. In 1711-1712. one after another, a son, grandson and great-grandson passed away. This endangered the dynasty itself. And then the sovereign went to the violation of the "Salic law" - the law on succession to the throne. By order of 1714, his children, born of a relationship with the Marquis de Montespan, were allowed to the throne. In August 1715, the king fell ill, his condition worsened and gangrene began. On September 1, Louis XIV died.
Although he left the country with disorganized finances and never achieved hegemony over other European states, nevertheless, France was able to play a primary political role in Europe.
V. Miroshnikova