Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Was Louis XIV a absolute monarch?


Louis XIV had the longest rule in European history, he ruled for 72 years from 1643 till 1715. Louis XIV was the ruler of France; he became king at the age of 4. He was the first child to be thought of as a “god given”. He was known as the Sun King. An absolute monarch means that you can pass or make any law with out any permission it is like King Philip II of Spain he was a Absolute monarch. An absolute monarch also means that he is also responsible to all parts of government. They believed that god chose them. Now I am going to argue why Louis XIV was an absolute monarch.

He was an absolute monarch because he was in charge of decision making. He quotes “I request and order to seal no orders except by my command”. This quote means that no body will make any decisions without him approving. Which shows that he has absolute control over his rule.

Louis XIV ruled for a long time. He ruled for 72 years from 1643 till 1715. He became king at the age 4. This shows that he was an absolute monarch because only dictators rule for that long like Charles III he ruled from 1759 to 1788. Louis XIV was an absolute monarch because he ruled for 72 years.

Louis XIV was an absolute monarch because he weekend the nobility. Instead of high nobility and royal princes Louis XIV relied on his ministers on nobles who came from relatively new aristocratic families. Louis XIV threw Nicholas Fouquet who was Louis XIV’s super intendant of finances in prison because Louis XIV didn’t allow any other people to be powerful. He was an absolute monarch because he could do whatever he wants with high nobles.

Louis XIV created the legal system. The legal system was one of the worst things that happened during the rule of King Louis XIV. It made the citizens life much more difficult. The legal system gave King Louis XIV more control of all the power going to France and made the people pay plenty of taxes. The legal system made king Louis XIV more wealthy and powerful.

Louis XIV created the bureaucracy. The bureaucracy was a system improving the sections of administration. In that system he changed the tax poll so that nobles wouldn't be able to collect taxes that would make him wealthier. The bureaucracy also helped and led Louis to centralize his power, to become stronger, wealthier as a result an absolute monarch.


King Louis XIV glorified monarchy.  Also because of his arrogant belief that he was chosen by god he started building statues of himself to show his wealth and glory. He also built the Palace of Versailles in a site that seemed impossible and made it one of the biggest places ever created. By building huge sculptures of himself and huge palaces, he showed his power and wealth.

Louis XIV started European conquests. Because of his arrogant belief that god chose him, he wouldn’t take any advice from anyone and start his own wars. He started wars against the Spanish Netherlands in order for him to gain more land, wealth and power. King Louis XIV led France to gain power and he made himself look stronger in front of the world.

Louis XIV had a very unique personality that led him to being an absolute monarch. He had a very arrogant belief that he was chosen by god to be a king. He was so arrogant that he wouldn’t take any advice from anyone. He was also very un-patient, when he was building the garden for his palace he couldn’t wait for the plants to grow he had them shipped. His personality and his beliefs led him to being n absolute monarch.

Louis XIV was an absolute monarch. Proof that Louis XIV was an absolute monarch was that he ruled for a very long time, he was in charge of decision making, he weakened the nobility, he reformed a legal system, he created a bureaucracy, he glorified monarchy, started European conquests, and his personality and beliefs led him to being an absolute monarch.

1 comment:

  1. 172/200 - You have very good points and evidence to support them but it lacks explanation. It is not enough to end every paragraph by saying this shows he was an absolute monarch. Also try and expand your evidence a little as all of you paragraphs are a little short.

    T - Explanation is needed

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