THE AGE OF ABSOLUTE MONARCHS Origins of French

THE AGE OF ABSOLUTE MONARCHS

Origins of French Absolutism 1) The Hundreds Years War (1337 -1453): England vs. France • Standing Armies, Taxation, and Bureaucracy • The King vs. Lords: Expanding Royal Power 2) Independence from Rome – – The Avignon Papacy (1358 -1378) The Invasion of Italy (1494 -1530) The Concordat of Bologna (1516) and Gallicanism Creation of a French National Church

Origins of French Absolutism • 3) The Sixteenth Century: From Stability to Civil War to Stability – St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre (1578) – The Edict of Nantes (1598)

Perfecting the French Absolutist State The Bourbon Monarchy 1) Henry IV (1589 -1610): -First Bourbon King - Began process of reestablishing Power of Fr. Monarchy - Protestant to Catholic 1583 - Edict of Nantes 1598

Perfecting the French Absolutist State The Bourbon Monarchy 1) Henry IV (1589 -1610): A) French Colonization B) Strengthened Govt. Institutions C) The Edict of Nantes D) Weakened Old Nobility (Sword)

Perfecting the French Absolutist State The Bourbon Monarchy 1) Henry IV (1589 -1610): E) Duke of Sully (1560 -1641) Financial Minister - 1) Adopted Mercantilism- 2) Reduced Royal Debt - 3) Reformed Tax system- 4) Enhanced infrastructure

Perfecting the French Absolutist State The Bourbon Monarchy 1) Henry IV (1589 -1610): E) Duke of Sully (1560 -1641) Financial Minister Summary- policies promoted both the prosperity economy and political and financial strength of the monarchy

Perfecting the French Absolutist State The Bourbon Monarchy 1) Henry IV (1589 -1610): F) Henry was assassinated by Catholic Monk G) Power Crisis again! - Henry’s Widow Marie de Medici served as regent until Louis XIII came of age

Perfecting the French Absolutist State The Bourbon Monarchy 2) Louis XIII (1610 -1643) and Cardinal Richelieu (1624 -1642) Under Richelieu's French Absolutism was perfected -reasserted royal control over the nobility -Destroyed political privileges of Huguenots - Increased French Power in Europe

Perfecting the French Absolutist State The Bourbon Monarchy 2) Louis XIII (1610 -1643) and Cardinal Richelieu (1624 -1642) Richelieu vs Nobility • French nobility had not yet subordinated to the crown • Many defied the king’s authority • They held offices in military , govt. and church to advance their own individual and class interests

Perfecting the French Absolutist State The Bourbon Monarchy 2) Louis XIII (1610 -1643) and Cardinal Richelieu (1624 -1642) Richelieu vs Nobility • Richelieu diminished the influence of nobility by using the office of intendent – These royal officials were responsible for centralizing political authority in the hands of the king’s govt. – The appointees to these offices usually were from the middle class who were thankful to the crown for their powerful position and also held disdain for the nobility

Perfecting the French Absolutist State The Bourbon Monarchy 2) Louis XIII (1610 -1643) and Cardinal Richelieu (1624 -1642) Richelieu vs. the Huguenots • Edict of Nantes granted limited religious toleration and enabled Huguenots to establish political power in their heavily fortified towns • In 1625, several Huguenot noblemen led a revolt against Richelieu

Perfecting the French Absolutist State The Bourbon Monarchy 2) Louis XIII (1610 -1643) and Cardinal Richelieu (1624 -1642) Richelieu vs. the Huguenots • In 1627, Richelieu launched an assault against the Huguenot stronghold at La. Rochelle on the Atlantic coast • Siege lasted 14 months and Richelieu finally took the city in 1628

Perfecting the French Absolutist State The Bourbon Monarchy 2) Louis XIII (1610 -1643) and Cardinal Richelieu (1624 -1642) Richelieu vs. the Huguenots • The next year he took away the Huguenot right to hold fortified cities, (Peace of Alais 1629) but preserved their freedom to practice their religion. • He successfully destroyed the Huguenot independent political power w/o initiating a policy of religious persecution that would lead to another civil war

Perfecting the French Absolutist State The Bourbon Monarchy 2) Louis XIII (1610 -1643) and Cardinal Richelieu (1624 -1642) Foreign affairs under Louis XIII and Richelieu • Richelieu restored France’s dominant position in Europe that had disappeared following the death of Henry IV • He recommitted France to opposing the Hapsburgs – 30 Years War Catholic France joined and aided Protestant Sweden and German States to fight the Hapsburgs (CH 14)

Perfecting the French Absolutist State The Bourbon Monarchy 2) Louis XIII (1610 -1643) and Cardinal Richelieu (1624 -1642) Foreign affairs under Louis XIII and Richelieu - By the time the 30 Years’ War was over, in 1648 (Peace of Westphalia), France had become the most powerful country on the European continent

SUMMARY Perfecting the French Absolutist State The Bourbon Monarchy 2) Louis XIII (1610 -1643) and Cardinal Richelieu (1624 -1642) • • • raison d'état Relations with the Nobility Administration and Bureaucracy: – The Intendants and Middle-Class Officials • • • Huguenot Policy — La. Rochelle (1627) (Peace of Alais 1629) The Thirty Years' War (1618 -1648) and the Treaty of Westphalia