On the 14th of May 1643 Louis XIV became king of France and Navarre. His reign would last over 72 years and is the longest of any major European monarch. The feats accomplished during his time in power would see him forever remembered as Louis the Great and the Sun King. Yet less than 80 years after his death the French monarchy was overthrown and a republic ruled in its place.
What happened in the interim between the rule of one of Frances’ greatest kings and the rise of the FirstFrenchRepublic? How did the house of Bourbon fall so far? And who carries the blame for their toppling? Is it just Louis XVI or should his ancestors shoulder some of the blame too?
'Louis XIV of France' by Hyacinthe Rigaud, 1701
Louis the XIV came to the throne during a tumultuous time. France’s first Chief Minister of the French Monarch, Cardinal Richelieu, had passed away the year before. Richelieu had begun the centralisation of the French state during his time in power. This required and ending of the factionalism that dominated France and a bolstering of the monarchy’s power at the cost of the nobility.
Richelieu’s protégé, Cardinal Mazarin, succeeded him to the powerful office of First Minister in 1642 and continued the mission of centralising the French state. Many of the lords and nobles had opposed these changes and in 1648 open insurrection broke out in France and Paris in reaction to further taxes and restrictions on the parlements’ liberties. This first stage of the Fronde ended in 1649 with the Peace of Rueil and the return of the French Army from the Thirty Years’ War.
Though battles were fought and Louis XIV was forced to flee the largely anti-monarchy Paris, the opening stage of the Fronde had seen little bloodshed. The conflict, however, took a more violent turn as the nobility took centre stage and sought to advance their personal standing through force of arms. Though Louis and Mazarin were eventually victorious the five years of conflict had taken their toll and left a lasting legacy.
Louis XIV and His Family, circa 1710
Paris had been the epicentre of the Fronde, due in large part to its concentration of nobility and bourgeoisie. The resulting threat he felt in Paris and the experience of having to flee soured the capital for Louis. As a result he commissioned a palace at Versailles and shunned Paris for the rest of his life. This behaviour set a precedent that would prove disastrous for Louis’ heirs as the monarchy became increasingly removed from the French people.
The experience of the Fronde reinforced Louis and Mazarin’s desire for a French state centralised around the French monarch. As a result the French army was remodelled. The remaining feudal hangovers were done away with and the French fighting forces had a strict hierarchy imposed on them. At the top sat the monarch with the power to make or dismiss all of those beneath him.
This centralising was also brought to bear on the French court as Louis gathered the nobility and ruling elite around him at Versailles. By the end of his reign Louis the Great had established France as the leading European power. He had placed a Bourbon on the throne of Spain, centralised the French state and expanded its borders. His patronage helped make France a pinnacle of culture and the arts. He had outlived most of his direct heirs and on his death in 1715 his crown passed to his five year old great-grand son, Louis XV.
'King Louis XVI' by Louis Michel van Loo, 18th century
Known as the Well-Beloved, Louis XV inherited a powerful nation and an immense legacy. While his rule would pale in comparison to that of his great-grandfather, there were periods of growth and prosperity during Louis XV’s reign. Under the stewardship of Cardinal Fleury the French economy and road network expanded and the duchy of Lorraine was annexed. This early run of successes wouldn’t, however, last.
In 1741 France joined the War of the Austrian Succession. The French troops marched to a number of victories and by 1748 had control of all of modern day Belgium. Yet the war ended with a treaty that saw control of these lands returned to Austria. A deliberate effort on Louis part, the French monarch had hoped this sacrifice would foster an image of him as an arbiter on the international stage. While these actions were lauded by the international community they proved disastrous at home where the people felt betrayed by their monarch.
Worse still Louis next major military excursion would prove less fortuitous. While the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle brought an end to the War of the Austrian Succession and peace to Europe a new conflict was brewing on the horizon. In August 1756 Frederick the Great of Prussia invaded Saxony. The diplomatic situation had changed drastically in the interwar years and France now found herself on the side of Austria, Saxony, and Russia. Against her were arrayed the armies of Prussia, Great Britain, and their allies.
'The Battle of Fontenoy, 11th May 1745' by Horace Vernet, 1828
The greatest threat, however, proved to be Britain’s Royal Navy. Though the war on the continent broke out with Frederick’s strike against Austria and Saxony, Britain and France had been duelling with each other in India and the New World. While the war in Europe allowed France to take the fighting to the heart of Britain, successive naval defeats put an end to any hope of invasion. Moreover, the loss of the war on the waves made France’s international territories more vulnerable.
A series of defeats had seen all French excursions in Europe rebuffed. In 1763 the Seven Years War came to an end with no change to the map of Europe. Internationally, however, the French had suffered terribly. The French navy had been decimated. Most French territory in North America was ceded to the British; who could now also claim supremacy in India and most of the international sphere outside of Europe.
This loss was not only a sore blow to the prestige of France but also cost it dearly. Not only was valuable influence and territory lost but the French navy also needed to be rebuilt. The costs of these wars weighed heavily on the French people. Yet Louis was forced to rely on monies from the commons alone as his tax reforms failed. This continued exemption of the privileged further divided France along social barriers.
'Louis XVI, King of France and Navarre (1754-1793), wearing his grand royal costume in 1779' by Antoine-François Callet, 1789
Louis died of smallpox in May 1774 and the crown fell to his grandson. Unlike his two predecessors Louis XVI was grown when he took the throne. The most immediate result of this was the lack of any strong political figure like Mazarin or Fleury in Louis’ life. These figures had not only acted as strong examples for their monarchs to follow but had also offered alternative targets for the population’s dissatisfaction. Louis would largely stand and be judged on his own.
The ideals of the Enlightenment had grown throughout the 18th century. This is especially true of France which produced many of the key figures and thinkers of this movement. Eager to be loved by his people Louis XVI attempted to bring these principles to bear during his reign and proposed serious and far reaching reform. Staunch opposition from the nobility and elite, however, saw Louis capitulate on these reforms.
This weak will and his indecisive nature would plague Louis and he was caught between two stools trying to appease the nobility and the commons. Furthermore, his residence at Versailles alienated the common people who were becoming increasingly dissatisfied with the Ancien Régime while his Austrian queen raised doubts about his loyalty to France. His end would, however, be brought about by the American War for Independence and the resulting poverty in France.
Engraving of the execution of Louis XVI, 1794
France’s position as the pre-eminent power in Europe was not bought cheaply. Numerous campaigns had been fought, both internally and externally, by Louis XIV and Louis XV. Neither victory nor defeat had ever come cheap and France was deeply in debt when Louis XVI came to power. Furthermore Louis set his mind on supporting the American colonists as they fought the British from 1775-1783. While the revolutionaries won their independence Louis and France got only an ever increasing debt.
The destitution and hardship that resulted from the attempts to repay France’s debts fuelled the fires of revolution. The continuing ostentation by Louis and his court compounded this dissatisfaction and in 1789 the calls for bread turned to calls for revolution. In September 1792 France was declared a republic. On January 21st the following year Louis’ head rolled in Place de la Révolution, Paris.
Join Patrick as ‘Talking History’ looks at the reigns of the ‘Three Louis’ and traces the fortunes of France during their reigns. Was Louis XIV truly as great as history remembers? Why didn’t Louis XV institute more reform in France? And should Louis XVI shoulder all the blame for the French revolution and the fall of the monarchy?
