Louis XIV of France

:For the musical group of the same name, see Louis XIV (band).

Decline

Louis's queen, Maria Theresa, also died in 1683. Louis had not remained faithful to her: his mistresses included Françoise-Athénaïs de Rochechouart, Marquise of Montespan. He proved, however, more faithful to his second wife, Françoise d'Aubigné, Marquise de Maintenon. The marriage between Louis XIV and Madame de Maintenon, which occurred in late 1685, was kept a secret. Madame de Maintenon, once a Protestant, had converted to Catholicism. It is believed that she vigorously promoted the persecution of the Protestants, and that she urged Louis XIV to revoke the Edict of Nantes (1598), which granted a degree of religious freedom to the Huguenots (the members of the Protestant Reformed Church). Louis himself supported such a plan; he believed that, in order to achieve absolute power, he had to first achieve a religiously unified nation — specifically a Catholic one. He had already begun the persecution of the Huguenots by excluding them from public office and by quartering soldiers in their homes.

Related Topics:
Françoise-Athénaïs de Rochechouart, Marquise of Montespan - Françoise d'Aubigné, Marquise de Maintenon - 1685 - Edict of Nantes - 1598 - Huguenot - Reformed Church

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Louis continued his attempt to achieve a religiously united France by issuing an Edict in March 1685. The Edict affected the French colonies, and expelled all Jews from them. The public practice of any religion except Catholicism became prohibited. The Code Noir also granted sanction to slavery, but no person could own a slave in the French colonies unless a member of the Roman Catholic Church, and a Catholic priest had to baptise each slave.

Related Topics:
March - Jews - Baptise

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In October 1685, Louis increased the persecution of the Huguenots by issuing the Edict of Fontainebleau, revoking the Edict of Nantes. The new edict banished from the realm any Protestant minister who refused to convert to Roman Catholicism. Protestant schools and institutions were banned. Children born into Protestant families were to be forcibly baptised by Roman Catholic priests, and Protestant places of worship were demolished. The Edict precluded individuals from publicly practising or exercising the religion, but not from merely believing in it. The Edict provided "liberty is granted to the said persons of the Pretended Reformed Religion ? on condition of not engaging in the exercise of the said religion, or of meeting under pretext of prayers or religious services." Although the Edict formally denied Huguenots permission to leave France, 200,000 of them left in any event, taking with them all their skills in commerce and trade. The Edict proved economically damaging, and Sébastien Le Prestre, Marquis de Vauban, one of Louis XIV's most influential ministers, publicly condemned the measure.

Related Topics:
October - Edict of Fontainebleau - Sébastien Le Prestre, Marquis de Vauban

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Louis may have acted against the Huguenots to foster a mutual hatred between Catholics and Protestants in Europe, thereby hoping to discourage any alliances between nations of varying faiths. If he indeed had this aim, the plan failed utterly. In 1686, both Catholic and Protestant rulers joined the League of Augsburg, designed to check Louis's ambitions. The coalition included the Holy Roman Emperor and several of the German states that formed part of the Empire — most notably the Palatinate, Bavaria, and Brandenburg. The United Provinces, Spain, and Sweden also joined the League.

Related Topics:
1686 - League of Augsburg - Palatinate - Bavaria - Brandenburg

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Louis sent his troops into the Palatinate in 1688. Ostensibly, the army had the task of supporting the claims of Louis's sister-in-law, Charlotte Elizabeth, Duchesse d'Orléans, to the Crown of the Palatinate. (The Duchesse d'Orléans' nephew had died in 1685, and the Crown had gone, not to her, but to the junior Neuburg branch of the family.) The invasion had the actual aim, however, of applying diplomatic pressure and forcing the Palatinate to leave the League of Augsburg.

Related Topics:
1688 - Charlotte Elizabeth, Duchesse d'Orléans - Neuburg

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Louis's activities united the German princes behind the Holy Roman Emperor. Louis had expected that England, under the Catholic James II, would remain neutral. In 1689, however, the Glorious Revolution resulted in the deposition of James II and his replacement by his daughter, Mary II, who ruled jointly with her husband, William III (William of Orange). As William had developed an enmity with Louis XIV during the Dutch War, England joined the League of Augsburg, which then became known as the Grand Alliance

Related Topics:
James II - 1689 - Glorious Revolution - Mary II - William III - Grand Alliance

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The campaigns of the War of the Grand Alliance (1688 – 1697) at first proceeded generally favorably for France. The forces of the Holy Roman Emperor proved ineffective, as many Imperial troops concentrated on fighting the Ottoman Empire. Louis XIV aided James II in his attempt to retake the English crown, but unsuccessfully; James lost his last stronghold, Ireland, in 1690. England could then devote more of its funds and troops to the war on the continent. An Anglo-Dutch naval fleet decimated Louis XIV's navy at La Hougue in 1692. The war continued for five more years, but ended with the Treaty of Ryswick in 1697. Louis XIV surrendered Luxembourg and all other territories he had seized since the end of the Dutch War in 1679, but retained Strasbourg. Louis also undertook to recognise William III and Mary II as Sovereigns of England, and assured them that he would no longer assist James II.

Related Topics:
War of the Grand Alliance - Ottoman Empire - Ireland - 1690 - La Hougue - 1692 - Treaty of Ryswick - 1697 - Luxembourg - Strasbourg

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