French Absolutism

By Martha Brozyna

  • Cardinal Richelieu Becomes Chief Minister

    Louis XIII had inherited the throne when he was only 9 years old, and his mother Marie de Medicis, had acted as regent for several years (and with little success). Richelieu was shrewd and pragmatic, and Louis came to rely on him. Richelieu's goal was to make the king’s power supreme force in France and to make France the dominant force in Europe.

  • Richelieu Curtails the Power of the Nobility

    In order to weaken the political power that local nobles held, Richelieu divided France into 30 administrative districts and placed each under the control of an intendant. Intendants were salaried officials who answered directly to the king. He chose these intendants from the middle class and shifted them around frequently. Richelieu also restricted the power of the 8 regional parlements, which were the highest courts in the country.

  • Richelieu Increases Revenue

    Between 1635 and 1648, Richelieu increased the amount taxes the French government collected. First, he was able to increase the amount of taille or direct land tax by threefold. He also supplemented the taille with taxes on office-holding.

  • Jules Mazarin Succeeds Richelieu as Chief Minister

    After the death of Cardinal Richelieu, his protégé, Jules Mazarin, succeeds him. Mazarin will continue the policies of Richelieu and work closely with King Louis XIV

  • Louis XIV Becomes King of France

    Louis XIII died at the age of 42 (his trusted minister Richelieu died 6 months earlier) so his son Louis XIV inherited the throne at the age of 5. Louis XIV’s reign will be the longest of any monarch in history – 73 years.

  • Louis XIV Becomes King of France

    Louis XIII died at the age of 42 (his trusted minister Richelieu died 6 months earlier) so his son Louis XIV inherited the throne at the age of 5. Louis XIV’s reign will be the longest of any monarch in history – 73 years.

  • Fronde Explodes in France

    Civil war breaks out in France as nobles, soldiers returning from war, urban craftsmen and even peasants fought against the monarchy. Nobles tried to aggrandize themselves at the expense of the king. Bad harvests added to everyone’s anxiety. Mazarin was able to put down the rebellion in 1653, but young Louis XIV was traumatized by these events for the rest of his life.

  • Construction Begins at Versailles

    The former hunting lodge of Louis XIII, Louis XIV decided to make Versailles into a glorious palace with the help of about 35,000 workers laboring for 40 years. Once established, he invited the nobles to spend time there in order to get them away from their local centers of power. He also made them take part in elaborate rituals of etiquette.

  • Jean-Baptiste Colbert Becomes France’s Finance Minister

    Following a mercantilist economic policy, Colbert sought to protect French industries with high tariffs while subsidizing exports and new industries. He subjected manufacturing to the most minute regulation and supervision. He built a large navy to encourage the growth of empire. By his death in 1683, France’s budget was balance and the country was prosperous.

  • French Academy of Sciences Created

    Colbert called together a group of scientists to meet weekly in the King’s library. The organization was fairly informal during the first few decades. Members of the Academy could not discuss religious or social issue and had to completely ignore political issues.

  • War of Devolution

    Louis XIV went to war against Spain for Spanish Netherlands and Burgundy. When it seemed that France would win, the United Provinces, England and Sweden joined Spain to stop France from winning, which would upset the balance of power in Europe. France gained little from this war.

  • Franco-Dutch War

    Blaming the Dutch for organizing an alliance again him, Louis XIV was aware that they were France’s chief trade competition. The Dutch were only able to stop the French army by opening up the dikes and flooding the land. Spain, Sweden, Brandenburg and he Holy Roman Empire allied with the Netherlands against France

  • Edict of Nantes Revoked

    This was one of Louis XIV’s most destructive policies. The Edict of Nantes had been passed in 1598 by Henry IV and had granted toleration to the Huguenots (Protestants) Louis XIV outlawed Protestantism and ordered Protestant churches to be destroyed. Although Huguenots were not allowed to emigrate, about 200,000 managed to leave France. Around 1 million Huguenots who stayed had to go underground.

  • War of the League of Augsburg

    Louis had upset Austria because he wouldn’t help them in their war against the Turks. He offended Europe’s Protestants by treating the Huguenots badly. Again, the European powers felt that Louis would upset the balance of power and become too dominant in Europe, so the Dutch, Spanish and various German princes created an alliance against him and went to war.

  • War of Spanish Succession

    This war was fought over France’s claims to the Spanish throne and Spanish holdings in the Netherlands and Italy. After 11 years of war, France was defeated. This was Louis XIV's last war.