Louis XIV Biography

King Louis XIV of France - known as The Sun King, is one of the most enigmatic rulers of Classical European history. He, on one hand, tried to impose absolute monarchy on his subjects, and on the other hand, is remembered in history as a reformer of France. During his tenure (1661-1715) he initiated the industrial growth of France, changed the taxation system, thereby weakening the power of Nobles, and at the same time drove France to wars with her neighbours.

He was a connoisseur of poetry, architecture, the funded building of monuments and landmarks including the splendid palace of Versailles, but the rights of Protestant Christians in France – known as ‘Edicts of Nantes’, were revoked in 1685, showing his religious intolerance.

In this King Louis XIV Biography, you will learn about the life and work of this great King of France, along with various controversies regarding his rule and religious view.

The Toddler King Louis XIV

Louis XIV was born in Saint-Germaine-en-Laye, France, on 5th September 1638 in the Royal Family. His father was the then King of France- King Louis XIII, The Just (1601-1643). His mother - Queen Anne of Austria, was also from a royal lineage. She was a Spanish Princess and Austrian archduchess of the House of Habsburg. Elder of the two brothers, King Louis XIV was named Louis-Dieudonné—The Gift of God. His younger brother, Monsieur Philippe I, Duke of Orléans, though did not play much of an important role in French Politics, was remembered for his excellent service in French Military. 

At the age of four, King Louis XIV lost his father. Being the eldest, he was chosen to be the heir to the throne. The young king was guided and mentored by his Godfather - Cardinal Jules Mazarin, also the Chief Minister of his father’s cabinet. He tutored the King in politics, history and arts. The King learnt most of his lessons not from the scholarly articles, but from the practical education, as he witnessed how the Chief Minister was engaged in stabilising the French government after the death of King Louis XIII by crippling the opposition to the power of the monarchy and establishing France’s supremacy among the European powers.

In 1648, the 10-year-old King got his first life lesson, when the Parliament of Paris rebelled and waged a civil war to overthrow the King. Known as The Fronde, it was the final battle between the King and the French Nobles – actually the Feudal lords. During this civil war, which lasted for six years, Louis XIV went through many hardships including severe poverty, even starvation. Upon neutralizing the rebellion, Mazarin regained the control of administrative structure, setting an example to his keen student Louis XIV.

Louis XIV in Vibrant Youth

After the death of Chief Minister Jules Mazarin, finally, in 1661, Louis XIV gained actual control of the French Government. He has his own vision of reforming his kingdom. With Jean-Baptiste Colbert – his finance minister and aide in economic reform, Louis XIV took elaborate steps to promote industrial growth and thereby reduced France’s deficit. In order to increase the government revenue, he introduced a tax on income, on every property owner.  The French nobilities, so far enjoying an independent taxation system, were included in this dixième (one-tenth of income) scheme and became fiscally dependent on the monarchy. The unorganized taxation system of France, for the first time, got a proper structure during his period.   

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King Louis XIV dreamt to achieve Absolute Monarchy, in his own word - L'état, c'est moi! (I am the State). He tried to achieve this by diminishing the power of the ministers or Noblemen. With the help of the middle class – The bourgeoisie, he created a centralized political and administrative system. According to some biographers, he wished to control everything, from the behaviour of his court members to the construction of roads in the interior of France to the movement of the soldiers and even the Theological disputes.

In his youth, he was full of vigour and grandeur. He believed, as a representative of God, his duty was to eradicate any rebellion and disobedience from the French Kingdom.

Louis XIV –The Great

During the regime of King Louis XIV, France emerged as a superpower in Europe, a threat to other European nations. In his zenith, the French army equalled the army of Holland and England.

The first important battle King Louis XIV was engaged in is the War of devolution. He almost lost the battle with Spain in 1667 during the invasion of the Spanish Netherlands and failed to regain his wife's rightful inheritance.

In later years, as a result of the trading rivalry and also his hatred towards the protestant Christians, Louis XIV attacked the Dutch republic. Franco-Dutch War (1672-1678), actually polarized Europe for the first time under the leadership of King Louis XIV.  After years of exhausting battles, the Treaty of Nijmegen was signed and France’s military supremacy was established.

King Louis XIV’s craving to extend France’s territorial claims by force, his absolute control on the government, and victories over the Dutch army, made him popular among his subjects, who adorably called him “the Great”.   

The Great King’s Personal Life

After losing his father, Louis XIV, his mother became the regent of the boy king. But the actual control of his personal and political life was in the hands of Cardinal Jules Mazarin. Even in his youth, he never dared to question the minister’s decision.

Even his romantic interest in Marie Mancini, Mazarin’s niece, was throttled to satisfy the political interest of Mazarin. In 1660, Louis XIV married Marie- Thérèse of Austria, daughter of the King of Spain, so that a peace treaty with Hapsburg Spain could be ratified. King Louis XIV and his wife had four children but Grand Dauphin is the only one who survived past infancy.

Decline of the Grand Monarch

The king, so far respected among his subjects, started facing public dissatisfaction in his later years. Investment in national industry and grand artistic projects pushed the royal treasury to debt many times. The repeated wars also played a role in reducing the resources. In the view of the king himself and his finance minister Jean Baptiste Colbert, the only way to increase national wealth was to raise the tax. A point came, when the taxes were so high, common people had no money left to pay the King.

Religious intolerance of the monarch also played a significant role. King being a devout catholic, wanted to establish a uniform religious system throughout France. The hostility among the people which already started brewing, reached the peak when in 1685, the Edicts Nantes was revoked, thereby revoking the religious rights of the Protestant Christians. Under the new law ‘Edicts of Fontainebleau’, all the Protestant churches and schools were destroyed.

Finally began the War of Spanish Succession (1701 to 1714). In spite of the poor economic condition, Louis XIV started this prolonged war in order to secure the inheritance of his grandson. He was severely criticized by the public as the huge expenses of this war led France into famine and debt.

Louis XIV’s death – End of an Era

King Louis XIV died on 1st September 1715. Like the later painful years of his life, when he lost his son, and some near ones, his death was also painful. An old war injury got infected and he died of gangrene, just 4 days before his 77th birthday.

Though after Louis XIV’s death, Louis XV – the great-grandson at the age of five, inherited the throne, the Parliament of Paris took the actual control.

Louis XIV Legacy

Voltaire in the biography of Louis XIV – ‘Age of Louis XIV’ compared him with the great roman empire Augustus. Like the Roman Empire, Louis XIV had both weak and strong points. In the early years, Louis XIV was dear to his subjects but according to some contemporary European historians, he was like a ‘blood thirsty tiger’. 

On one hand, he took France to its pinnacle with his reforms and victories in various wars, but those very same reforms and wars lead France to debt and famine. As an art enthusiast, he patronized the foundation of the Academy of Inscriptions and Belle-Lettres (1663), Royal Academy of Music (1666).

His initiative and investment of a huge amount of money turned a small hunting lodge in Versailles into one of the famous landmarks of France - the centre of political power, and culture. Not only the palace of Versailles, many other monuments and public gardens were built during his regime. But at the same time, his religious atrocities caused the destruction of churches and forced many of the Protestant Christians to leave France.

His idea of suppressing the power of French Nobles and empowering the middle class, helped him to achieve Absolute monarchy, and years later those empowered middle class toppled the monarchy during the French revolution.

Remembering King Louis XIV’s legacy, Voltaire wrote –“His name can never be pronounced without respect and without summoning the image of an eternally memorable age.”