"They saw in the arms of this princess whom they had watched suffer great persecutions with so much staunchness, their child-king, like a gift given by Heaven in answer to their prayers." -Madame de Motteville On the 5 September 1638, something special happend in France; Queen Anne had given birth to the longed for heir to the throne of France. Christened Louis-Dieudonné, "Gift of God", he proved to be one of France's greatest kings, however, he also faced many hardships during his early life. Louis was barely four years of age when his father Louis XIII died and he succeeded to the throne, and to make matters worse, Louis inherited an incredibly ridiculously unstable government that would later revolt. From the moment of his succession, he was educated like a future king, on more practical subjects rather than scholarly ones. Louis was tutored in Politics, History, and in The Arts by his godfather Cardinal Jules Mazaria who also served a his chief minister and would serve as a mentor to him. Many times during his childhood, Louis experienced neglect, by both his mother and also his governer Nicolas de Neufville, who once left Louis unattended, and consequently, Louis almost drowned in a nearby pond. When Louis was 9, members of Parliament rebelled against his godfather with the intention of overthrowing the crown; it grew into a civil war, called The Fronde. During this lengthy and turbulent period of conflict, Louis experienced many gruesome hardships, which left him so impoverished he was on the verge of starvation. However, miraculously, his godfather and chief minister victored over the rebels of parliament, and furthermore, began to rebuild a intricate administration and government; this very much influenced Louis's views on government and politics. At this time, Louis was thought to be of age to take on his position of king completely, however, afraid to question his godfather's authority he stood down in the background. While Cardianal Mazarin was busy being Louis's chief minister, it was Mazarin's niece, Marie Mancini, who caught his eye and they were together for several years. However, his duty to France made this love affair unable to contenue further, Louis was made to marry Marie-Thérèse of Austria, the daughter of the King of Spain. Although this was only a marriage of convienience, not of love; this marriage was the seal to a peace treaty between France and Hapsburg Spain. From the time Louis succeeded to the throne his mother Anne, served as his regent, yet Cardinal Mazarin possessed much of the real power in the early reign of the king. In 1661, Mazarin died and Louis, who was now in his early 20s, finally took full control of his Kingdom; he quickly went to work reshaping Fance to fit his aspirations. His first order of business was to centralize and stableize France's government by promoting industrial growth and declaring the members of the nobility exempt from paying taxes, thus, making them more dependant on the crown. When Louis took full political control, he made radical changes in France, however, when it came to the world stage, he planned to make a even bigger impact. Louis XIV is very well known for his radical approach to foreign policy; in 1667, launched the invasion of the Spanish Netherlands; Louis believes t was his wife's rightful inheritance. The War of Devolution, ended shamefully when the French surrenderd the land back to Spain. In response to this defeat, Louis then got France involved in the France-Dutch War that lasted from 1672 to 1678. After this victory, Frane acquired the status of a dominant power, however Louis still hungerd for more, and as a result, Louis launched campaigns to expand France's territorial claims through military force, thus making France a great threat to other European countries. When Louis wasn't waging war, he was a romantic lover. Louis was never in love with his wife, thus, he was never faithful. He took many mistresses, both official and unofficial, and he even had children by some. To name a few there was: Louise de La Valliére, with which he had six children, Bonne de Pons d'Heudicourt, and there was Françoise-Athénais, marquise de Montespon, with whom he had seven children. Louis married his second wife, Françoise d'Aubigné, marquise de Maintenon, whom he met while she was caring for his child by Madame de Montespon. They were secretly married at Versallies on 10 October 1683 or in January 1684. The date is not known for a fact, for the marriage was never public ally announced or discussed however it remained an open secret until Louis death. The end of Louis XIV life was just S tragic at the beginning; all but two of his direct descendants died, the public began to dislike him as a result of him attempting to establish religious uniformity, and the war against the Grand Alliance drained France's resources drastically. Just five days before Louis XIV 77th birthday, he died of gangrene on Versailles, France. His five year old great-grandson inherited the throne and became Louis XV.
3 Comments
7/2/2015 03:59:29 pm
I like this website. Nice illustrated with interesting pictures. Needs to care a bit more for the pictures resolution. Some of the come out pixelated. But there are superb images of fine paintings.
Reply
Blake
7/2/2015 04:44:02 pm
Thank you for your input and advice it is much appreciated! I do this for you, the readers, so whatever advice or help you can give I gladly accept it. I will try and take into consideration your suggestions. Once again thanks!
Reply
7/27/2021 06:40:11 pm
Hi Just came across this, Great site!
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorHello All! My name is Blake Johnson and I am a passionate royalist and Monarchist. It would be my pleasure to entertain and inform you with all things royal, weather it be history or royal news. I now invite you all to be members of La Cour Royale. Categories
All
|