King Louis XIV
leader of France
Biography of King Louis
King Louis xiv was born in 1638. He was called Louis the God given, because his mother between 1619 and 1631 was unsuccessful in have a child. The king and his mother where always together going to theatres, which was uncommon for the time. Kings godfather gave him a more practical education than a scholarly one.King Louis xiv became king when he was only 5 years old. Cardinal Mazarin the head of the French Catholic Church held control of the government until Louis was 22 years old.durring this time their where many anti-Mazadrin riots. When Louis took power, he weakened the power of the nobles and excluded them from the consuls. But he in recede power in the governments agents, called intendants, they collected taxes and administered justice. He was able to keep a central power by meeting often with the local officials.the
King Louis had one wife Maria Theresa, whom where never faithful. He ended up having 6 children her and out of them one had survived to adulthood. Louis also had a string of affairs with whom he had multiple children.
Louis XIV was just 4 and a half years old when his father passed away. Being the next to the throne, he became the leader of 19 million French subjects and a highly unstable government. When Louis XIV was still shy of 10 years old, the Parlement of Paris rebelled against his chief minister, Mazarin. In an attempt to overthrow the crown, they waged a civil war, called the Fronde, against its supporters. Throughout the long war, Louis XIV suffered many hardships, including poverty and starvation
Louis XIV holds the record of being the ruler for the longest period of time of any of the major European monarchies. He ruled France for 72 years, 3 months and 18 days.
The state Louisiana is named after Louis XIV. When it was under French control between 1682 to 1763 and again from 1800 to 1803 and was known as La Louisiane (Land of Louis).
After he died it was discovered Louis XIV's stomach was twice the size of a normal human being's stomach. Pictures of Louis XIV often show him in high heels with big hair. This wasn't because Louis XIV liked dressing as a woman, but because it made him look taller. Louis XIV was only five foot, four inches tall. But, when wearing his heels and one of his 1000 wigs, he would appear almost 7 feet tall.
Good and bad things that King Louis did for his nation
- He apreciated art, literature, music, theatre, and sports.
- He transform the monarchy
- Golden age of art and literature
- Built a royal court at Versailles
- Took over key territories
- Made his country the most dominant European power
- Promoted industrial growth
- He improved the disorganized form of taxation
- Nobles were exempt from paying taxes and he made them worry more about what he wants for his country
Negatives
- He tried to create a religious conformity
- Had no intention of sharing authority
- Order the destruction of hunguenots churches and losing of their schools
- Waged four wars between 1667-1713