Louis XIV, or the Sun God, as he called himself, was born in 1638 ruled in France from 1643 until 1715. He was given the title at the age of four, but did not actually start ruling until 1648 with the death of the Prime Minister of France. France became a major European power under his rule. There were many reforms in France during his reign.
Social
The social aspect of his rule was how he portrayed himself as a mythological hero. Because he was so influential socially, people did as he told them to. He had complete control. He called himself the Sun God and as Nicole pointed out in her post, became sort of a myth by moving the place he ruled from from Paris to Versailles. Before the Pope had all the power in France but Louis got rid of that system and dramatically decreased Papal authority and shifted that power to the king.
Political
War was a common theme in his reign. There were three major wars France fought in under Louis XIV, the Franco Dutch War, The War of the League of Augsburg, and The War of the Spanish Succession. France was the main political power in Europe because of Louis XIV. Also Louis got rid of Feudalism in France and create a centralized monarchy with himself as the king. He spearheaded the movement of power from the Roman Catholic Church to the monarch, which he was. Thus, he became more influential.
Economic
When Louis XIV came into power, France's treasury was essentially bankrupt. Louis set up taxes on things like salt, land, imports, and many more. He greatly reduced the country's debt.
Cultural
Even though Louis XIV did all these things, he is best known as being a big supporter of the arts. He constantly had his personal artists make paintings of him and he had a lot of art in his palace and Versailles. He was also a large patron for the arts. He funded many artists, and writers, and he became the 'Protector' of the Academie Francaise.
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For the most part I agreed with your comments on Louis. There were just some small details that threw me. For example: yes, he did help to decrease debt, but he also increased it again with the construction of Versailles. On the other hand, I thought that what you said about the Pope having less power in France was interesting, especially from the point of view that Louis was very religious. As a Catholic, you would think that he would encourage the presence of the Church and the Pope in France. It is somewhat ironic that it was otherwise.
ReplyDeleteI liked the structure of your post and you really addressed all SPECS categories possible. Your writing was good and easy to understand. I just suggest next time that you close it off with a one sentence closing thought.
I like the way you organized your post; it was very easy to understand the main point of each individual paragraph. Also, do you think that he abolished Feudalism to simply gain more political power, or also to gain the military power that the nobles possessed. Having that kind of military power must have been important during all of those wars that they were involved in.
ReplyDeleteThe organization of your post is stellar. You point out the major concepts and themes that make Louis XIV notable and legendary. I particularly like your point on how part of his charisma was attributed to how many wars he fought. War and a long-standing army are very common traits of an absolute monarch because they make the monarch seem bold, glorious, and full of leadership. However, I do not understand your point on how he is "mythological" and how he is a "myth." Your point on economic is also very valid. Louis XIV did improve France financially to a certain extent. However, you should also address that his construction of Versailles along with other things led France to severe debt, which eventually triggered the French Revolution.
ReplyDeleteYour post was very well oraganized. I like that you made it very clear as to which SPECS catagory you were addressing, and you stuck to that catagory. However, I think that you could have looked more closely at the Economics part of the post. Freddy says you should talk more about Versailles and I agree. The palace was a huge part of who he was as a ruler and as a person.
ReplyDeleteAS everyone else said, your post is very well organized, and gives good information about each SPECS category. However, I think you could maybe be a little more analytical, as these seem to mostly be facts.
ReplyDeleteAlso, it seems you did not include the Scientific SPECS category. I don't know if this was intentional due to lack of information, but it would be interesting to have you say whether or not this related to the sciences in any way.