Absolutism Terms - Part 1

Sovereignty

when a *nation has complete control over its own affairs*. As it applies to absolutism, it means that the *monarch has complete control over the state.*

Bourgeoisie

A *French term meaning "middle class."* Louis *used members of this class instead of the aristocrats to run his government.* In fact, *no member of the nobility of the sword ("Upper Nobility") attended the daily council sessions at Versailles.* The *members of the bourgeois owed their jobs, and therefore their allegiance, to the King.*

French Academy

A *group of philologists* (people who study grammar and rhetoric) *that standardized the French language* (no matter where a person is in France, the language is at least roughly similar). They *created a dictionary to do this.* The Academy is still around today; every so often it's in the news protesting words like "L'hamburger" and other intrusions on the superior French culture by America! French did end up being the language of diplomacy.

Absolutism

A *single ruler has control over all functions of government.* In the 17th and 18th centuries, it *refers to a monarch with complete control over the state.* In truth, the monarch had *centralized control, but not complete control over every aspect of his subjects' lives.* Best-known *examples of absolutists are Louis XIV, Catherine the Great, and Frederick the Great.*

Nobles of the sword

The *old nobility*, the nobles of the sword *could trace their lineage all the way back to medieval times.* They *claimed that their blood was pure* (i.e. not mingled with common blood), and they *were superior to all others, inherently (at birth)*. They *saw their power greatly reduced during the 17th and 18th centuries, yet still had many privileges, including exemption from taxation, the right to hunt on royal land, the right to carry a sword, and being generally above the law.* They greatly *resented the noblesse de robe.*

Henry IV

(r. 1589-1610). He was the *King of France who ended the French Wars of Religion* (a.k.a. French Civil Wars) that lasted during most of the 16th century. Though he *came to the throne as a Huguenot*, he realized that *since over 90% of his subjects were Catholic, he needed to convert to Catholicism.* He famously *said, "Paris is worth a Mass,"* meaning that the *throne of France was important enough for him to give up his Protestant beliefs.* His conversion ended the wars, and he *guaranteed religious freedom to the Huguenots in the Edict of Nantes* (see #10) in 1598. Henry worked hard to revitalize France. *He and his finance minister, the Duke of Sully, balanced the budget in only three years* (after 35 years of war)! The *two men reduced taxes on the poor and raised them on the other classes.* Sully *restructured the tax system, revived trade, and built highways and bridges.* Henry IV also *sought to reduce the power of the nobles over the regional courts (known as parlements).* Henry is *sometimes known as Henry of Navarre and Henry the Great, and was probably the best-loved leader in French history.* Unfortunately, a crazed Catholic stabbed him to death in 1610.

Louis XIV

(r. 1643-1715). His reign of 72 years is the longest in European history. From 1643-1661, he *ruled under Mazarin.* *After Mazarin, Louis ruled by himself with no minister.* He is so important to history that the *2nd half of the 17th century is called the "Age of Louis XIV." Because all the events in France and Europe seemed to revolve around him, he was called the "Sun King."* It was said, "When Louis XIV sneezed, Europe caught cold!" He *believed in divine right monarchy - he was chosen by God to rule.* He *believed that he was France and France was he - "L'etat, c'est moi"* (I am the state) is a famous quote by Louis XIV. He *loved being King and worked very hard at ruling.* It is said that he was "every inch a King." He *used secret police and the intendant system to control the nobility, and used letters de cachet (orders to imprison or exile someone without trial).* He *reduced many of the nobles to the role of servants at his awesome palace of Versailles* (see #17). Louis is best *known for his quest for glory - La Gloire - which resulted in almost constant warfare during his reign.* Though Louis was a great king, *his rule ultimately bankrupted the nation and laid the foundations for problems that would culminate in the French Revolution in 1789.*

Nicholas Poussin

*Greatest French classicist painter.* His *most famous painting is Rape of the Sabine Women.*

Edict of Nantes

*Huguenots gained the freedom of worship, assembly, right to attend universities, and the right to maintain fortified towns for their protection.* This was put into law in 1598 by Henry of Navarre (IV).

LaRochelle and Peace of Alais

*Louis XIII looked at the existence of a separate religious faith in France as a challenge to his authority, especially after Huguenot towns met in LaRochelle in 1620 at their General Assembly.* They *divided France up into 8 "circles" and appointed for each of them a chief administrator and a council to levy taxes and raise troops.* The *King saw this as a direct challenge to his authority; he called it a "state within a state." In 1625, Richelieu personally supervised the 14-month siege of the walled city of LaRochelle, and forced it to surrender.* The *Peace of Alais, signed in 1629, ended Huguenot political and military independence.* All of the *fortified castles were torn down.* However, Richelieu did honor the terms of the Edict of Nantes, with his Edict of Grace. *Huguenots were allowed to keep their positions in the army, navy, and civil service. They were allowed to keep their property, and free exercise of religion continued.* Many historians feel that this *generous treatment by Richelieu (which was heavily criticized by Catholics who wanted to exterminate the Huguenots) led to greater commerce and industry, as the Huguenots were skilled in those areas.* tl;dr: LaRochelle was raided because the Huguenot towns pretty much decided to be"states-within-the-state", and the town was sieged by Louis, resulting in the Peace of Alais, which only removed the ability for Huguenot towns to become fortified.

Jean-Baptiste Colbert

*Louis XIV's finance minister* until 1683, Colbert was a *financial genius.* He *wanted to make France self-sufficient*, and worked hard to accomplish that goal. Colbert *subscribed to the economic theory of mercantilism* (see #20), and he *insisted that France export as much as possible and import nothing.* Sounds like China! *To accomplish this, Colbert gave money to industries in France to help them grow and be able to compete with foreign companies.* The *Gobelin tapestry industry, cloth, firearms, and many other industries benefited.* *Colbert regulated industry to ensure quality products by setting up an inspection system.* He *even encouraged skilled immigrants to move to France.* The famous *Canal des Deux Mers was completed during Louis' reign, and roads and bridges were improved all over the country.* He *abolished internal tariffs* (taxes as a product moved from one province to another), since they made French goods too expensive to buy. Colbert also *created a merchant marine to carry French goods all over the world, and worked to increase the emphasis on colonies.* He *sponsored the voyages of LaSalle and Marquette and Joliet, and sent 4,000 peasants to Canada.* He was very successful in improving France's trade - *France was #1 in the world in industrial productivity by the time of his death.* Unfortunately, much of his work was for naught, as *Louis spent the extra revenue on war and on Versailles.*

Louis XIII and Cardinal Richelieu

*Louis was almost the opposite of his father - weak physically and mentally*. He *suffered numerous ailments, but did survive his doctors' attempts to help him* (he was bled 47 times, had 215 enemas, and took 212 drugs - in one year!). He was *strongly Catholic*, and *never read books other than prayer books.* Louis *pushed his mother aside in 1617 by forcing her into retirement.* Even though he had been declared of age in 1614, his mom kept him from running the government. *Realizing his weakness, Louis in 1624, appointed Cardinal Richelieu as his chief advisor.* From then on, *Richelieu really governed France, not the King.* *Richelieu had two goals for France:* 1. To *make the King supreme* in France. To meet this goal, *Richelieu set up a spy system and imprisoned or executed nobles who defied the King, and their castles were destroyed.* He *also began the intendant system* (see #7) and *crushed the Huguenots* (see #11). And, he further *weakened the nobles by raising taxes without the permission of the Estates General* (a legislature composed of nobles). 2. To make France the supreme power in Europe. *Richelieu involved France in the Thirty Years War, a war in the German states) to weaken the power of the Habsburg family.* *Richelieu believed that the German states must be kept weak else they threaten France* (he was right)! Ironically, even though *Richelieu was doing everything he could inside France to crush the Huguenots, he sided with the German and Swedish Protestants fighting against the Catholic Habsburgs in the 30 Years' War.* His *policies made France the #1 power in Europe, but drained the royal treasury.* Some of the officials hadn't been paid in four years! When Richelieu died in 1642 and Louis XIII in 1643, *they left France a more centralized, militarily powerful nation, yet they also left it a financial wreck.* *Taxes were high, upsetting the peasants, and the nobles were anxious to get their authority back.*

Domestication of the nobility?

*Many historians have traditionally argued that Louis XIV had complete control over the nobility*, reducing them to little more than servants who argued amongst themselves over who would have the privilege of holding the King's candle as he prepared for bed. Recent *research, though, suggests that Louis was able to get the nobles to cooperate, but he did not completely control them.*

Versailles

*Originally Louis XIII's hunting lodge, Louis XIV turned it into one of the greatest architectural wonders of the world.* It is located 12 miles from the old palace of St. Germain in Paris. *The façade of the structure is nearly 2000 feet long, and it was built to house 10,000 nobles.* The *grounds of the palace include 1,400 fountains!* *Nearly 60% of the royal tax revenue went to maintain Louis' court at Versailles.* The *traditional historians claim that the expense was worth it - instead of plotting against the King, nobles were involved in court intrigue and gossip and fought over who got to wipe the King's bottom!*

Intendants

*Royal officials who collected taxes, recruited soldiers, and carried out government policies in the provinces, intendants were the eyes and ears of Richelieu.* These officials *took over functions that had been done by the old nobility* (nobles of the sword), *weakening the nobles.* Intendants were *middle-class men or newly-ennobled nobles of the robe.* To keep them independent, *Richelieu forbade men from serving as intendants for their home provinces.*

Cardinal Mazarin and Anne of Austria

*When Louis XIII died, he was succeeded by his son*, the 4-year-old *Louis XIV*. Since Louis was so young, *his mother, Anne of Austria, served as regent.* *Anne chose Cardinal Mazarin to replace Richelieu as chief minister.* *Mazarin was a Sicilian and Anne was a foreigner as well. The French people, rather xenophobic, did not accept them.* To add to their problems, the *peasants were unhappy (see #6), and the nobles plotted to regain their authority.*

Totalitarian

A *single ruler or group controls every aspect of life in the nation.* Totalitarian regimes were *not common in Europe during the 17th and 18th centuries because the monarchs did not yet have the resources to control every single part of their subjects' lives.* However, the argument *could be made that Ivan IV and Peter the Great were totalitarian* rulers. *Best-known examples of totalitarian rulers are Hitler, Stalin, and Mussolini.*

Moliere

He was a *playwright who poked fun at the bourgeois, female intellectuals, and the Catholic Church* (he was careful to attack individual church officials he believed were hypocrites and not the Church itself). *Moliere's greatest plays were comedies.*

Revocation of the Edict of Nantes

In 1685, *Louis revoked the Edict of Nantes* (see #10). *Louis believed that more than one religion could not exist and that religious unity was essential for absolute control ("one king, one law, one faith").* Louis XIV *destroyed Huguenot schools and churches and took away their civil rights.* The *Huguenots escaped France and settled in Holland, England, and America.* The traditional historical interpretation of the importance of this event is that the *removal of the Huguenots greatly hurt the French economy, since many of the Huguenots were craftsmen and businessmen.* Revisionist historians have claimed that the effect wasn't that great at all.

Marie de' Medici

Since *Henry's son, Louis XIII, was only 9 years old*, *Henry's wife became the regent* (person ruling in place of the King). *She was weak, caring little about governing*. As a result, the *nobles, who had lost power under Henry, worked to regain their standing.* She *spent the surplus gathered by Sully* (who resigned in disgust) on her court and her favorite nobles.

Noblesse de robe

The *new nobility*, nobles of the robe were *often judges and other administrators for the King.* They *owed their titles of nobility to the King*, and were therefore *loyal to him.*

French classicism

The *reign of Louis XIV is considered the Golden Age of France.* Louis was a great sponsor of the arts. *Classicism was the French equivalent to the Renaissance in Italy - realism and attention to detail was very important.* Also, themes of the art tended to be classical (Greek and Roman) themes, just like the Renaissance. *After Louis became King, classicism was used to glorify the state (France).*

Fronde

the Fronde was a *series of civil wars in France from 1648-52.* "Fronde" means "slingshot" - poor kids in the streets threw mud and stones at the carriages of the rich as they passed. The event *began in 1643, when the Parlement of Paris met.* This *group of nobles called for the abolition of the intendant system, a habeas corpus law (the right of the accused to be informed of charges against him), and the right to approve of taxes raised by the King.* This *would have severely limited the King's power and made France a constitutional, instead of an absolute, monarchy*. So, *Mazarin arrested the leaders of the Parlement of Paris. This led to the civil wars.* *Peasants, angered by high taxes, joined the revolt of the nobles against royal authority.* The *nobles sought to use the peasants to gain power*, but the *civil war quickly spiraled out of control and civil order collapsed completely.* The *nobles realized that they had more in common with the King than with the dangerous peasants; they preferred absolute monarchy to anarchy and sided with the King to end the Fronde.* The Fronde was *significant because: 1. It badly disrupted French trade and the economy.* 2. It *traumatized young Louis XIV, who was treated roughly by nobles* -they invaded his bedchamber several times - a fact he would never forget.

Mercantilism

the central *goal of this economic system was to build up the nation's supply of gold by exporting goods to other lands and earning gold from their sale.* Part of mercantilism was a *reliance on foreign colonies to be a market for the mother country's exports.* With the *wealth of the nation increased in this way, its power could then be increased - use the gold to create armies!*