Louis XV of France

Louis XV (February 15, 1710 – May 10, 1774), called the Well-Beloved (French: le Bien-Aimé), was King of France from 1715 to 1774. Miraculously surviving the death of his entire family, he was loved by the French at the beginning of his reign. However, in time, his inability to reform the French monarchy and his policy of appeasement on the European stage lost him the support of his people, and he died one of the most unpopular kings of France.

First try at reform

All these love affairs did not take the king away from the duties of his office, but he lacked the inexhaustible energy of his great-grandfather Louis XIV. He had gotten used to taking decisions based on Cardinal de Fleury's advice, and to relying on Fleury for the execution of government policies. During the 17 long years of Fleury's government, the king had formed his judgment but had not forged his will.

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Starting in 1743 with the death of Fleury, the king ruled alone without a prime minister. He had read time and again the instructions of Louis XIV: "Listen to people, seek advice from your Council, but decide ." Although he was without a doubt more intelligent and cultured than his great-grandfather, Louis XV lacked self-confidence. His political correspondence revels his deep knowledge of public affairs as well as the soundness of his judgment. However, the king was often afraid of taking firm decisions, thinking that he might be wrong and other people might be right. It is only when pushed to the limit, often when it was too late, that he suddenly resolved to bold action, with a brutality that stunned people.

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Always supportive and friendly towards his ministers in appearance, his disgrace fell suddenly without warning on the ministers that he felt dissatisfied with, leading to his reputation of a feigned character. It was very difficult for ministers to decipher the king, or to know if their action was in agreement with what he really thought. Usually, they were given great independence each in their ministry, the king never really directing them, and they never received any warning or sign of displeasure from the king until came the sudden disgrace. Moreover, the king often acted without their knowing it, such as in the case of the "Secret of the king" ("Secret du roi"), a secret diplomatic correspondence between the king and the courts of the nations against which France was fighting during the wars of the reign. Most of government work was conducted in committees of ministers which met without the king. The king was sitting in the High Council (Conseil d'en haut), created by Louis XIV, in charge of secrets of State regarding religion, diplomacy, and war. There, he let various political factions oppose each other and vie for influence and power: the dévot party, led by the Comte d'Argenson, secretary of state for war, opposed the parti philosophique, which supported the Enlightenment philosophy and was led by Machault d'Arnouville, controller-general of finances.

Related Topics:
Dévot - Comte d'Argenson - Secretary of state for war - Enlightenment - Machault d'Arnouville - Controller-general of finances

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The parti philosophique was supported by the Marquise de Pompadour, who acted as a sort of minister without portfolio from the time she became royal mistress in 1745 until her death in 1764. The Marquise was in favor of reforms. Supported by her clan of financiers (Pâris-Duverney, Montmartel, etc.), she obtained from the king the appointment of ministers (Bernis, secretary of state for foreign affairs, in 1757), as well as their dismissal (Orry, controller-general of finances, in 1745; Maurepas, secretary of state for the Navy, in 1749). On her advice, the king supported the policy of fiscal justice designed by Machault d'Arnouville. In order to finance the budget deficit, which amounted to 100 million livres in 1745, Machault d'Arnouville created a tax on the twentieth of all revenues which affected also the privileged classes (Edict of Marly, 1749). This breach in the privileged status of the aristocracy and the clergy, normally exempt from taxes, was a first in French history, although it had already been advocated by visionary minds such as Vauban under Louis XIV. However, the new tax was received with violent protest from the privileged classes sitting in the provincial states (états provinciaux) of the few provinces which still kept the right to decide over taxation (most provinces had long lost their provincial states and the right to decide over taxation that came with it). The new tax was also violently opposed by the clergy and by the parlements. Pressed and eventually won over by his entourage at court, the king gave in and exempted the clergy from the twentieth in 1751. Eventually, the twentieth became a mere increase in the already existing taille, the most important direct tax of the monarchy from which privileged classes were exempted. It was the first defeat in the "taxation war" waged against the privileged classes.

Related Topics:
Marquise de Pompadour - 1745 - 1764 - Bernis - Secretary of state for foreign affairs - 1757 - Orry - Maurepas - 1749 - Livres - Marly - Vauban - Parlements - 1751 - Taille

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As a result of these attempts at reform, the parlement of Paris, using the quarrel between the clergy and the Jansenists as a pretext, addressed remonstrances to the king (April 1753). In these remonstrances, the parlement, which was made up of privileged aristocrats and ennobled commoners, proclaimed itself the "natural defender of the fundamental laws of the kingdom" against the arbitrariness of the monarchy.

Related Topics:
Parlement - Paris - Jansenists - 1753

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Abroad, the policy of the king seemed inconsistent. The period was dominated by the War of the Austrian Succession (1740-1748), which had started under Fleury. The war pitted the French and Prussians against the Austrians, English, and Dutch. The latter part of the war saw a series of major French victories: Battle of Fontenoy (1745), Battle of Rocourt (1746), and Battle of Lawfeld (1747). In particular, the Battle of Fontenoy, won by the Maréchal de Saxe, is considered one of the most resounding French victories in history against the English, and is still well remembered in France today. As a result of these victories, France occupied the entire Austrian Netherlands (modern-day Belgium), at the time the wealthiest area of Europe, and Louis XV was well on his way to fulfill the old dream of France to establish the country?s northeastern border on the Rhine River. The king was then at the peak of his popularity.

Related Topics:
War of the Austrian Succession - 1740 - 1748 - Battle of Fontenoy - 1745 - Battle of Rocourt - 1746 - Battle of Lawfeld - 1747 - Maréchal de Saxe - Austrian Netherlands - Belgium - Rhine River

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However, at the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1748, France restored all its conquests to Austria, to the amazement of French people, and to the surprise of European powers. Louis XV, who at heart was not a bellicose king, unlike his great-grandfather Louis XIV, felt content with his almost perfect hexagon-shaped kingdom, which he called his pré carré (i.e. "square field"), a concept still used in French politics today. He thought it better to cultivate his pré carré rather than trying to expand it. The king declared he had made peace "as a king and not as a merchant". The attitude of the king was hailed in Europe, and he became overnight the "arbiter of Europe". However, at home the consequences for his popularity were catastrophic. The people had forgiven Louis XIV for his high taxes, his mistresses, and his lavish expenditures, as long as he was successful in wars. As for Louis XV, the incident of Metz (1744) weighed little in the eyes of the public against the king's victories in the War of the Austrian Succession. But the news that the king had restored the Southern Netherlands to Austria at the Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle was met with disbelief and bitterness. Parisians coined the phrase: "As stupid as peace" ("Bête comme la paix"). Historians usually consider that 1748 is the first true manifestation of public opinion in France, a nationalist public opinion that the king did not understand. 1748 was also the turning point in the king's popularity at home: after 1748, his popularity steadily declined, never to recover, and pamphlets against his mistresses and his lifestyle arose en masse.

Related Topics:
Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle - 1748 - Hexagon - Pré carré - 1744 - Public opinion

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Moreover, in 1756, breaking with the traditional Franco-Prussian alliance, the king operated the so-called "reversal of alliances". A new European conflict was brewing, the Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle being but a sort of truce. Already, French and English were fighting each other in North America without a declaration of war (see Indian Wars). In 1755, the English seized 300 French merchant ships, in violation of international law. A few months later, on January 16, 1756, the United Kingdom and Prussia signed a treaty of "neutrality". In Paris and Versailles, the parti philosophique and the Marquise de Pompadour couldn't hide their disappointment at this betrayal by King Frederick II of Prussia, who was henceforth seen as an enlightened ruler friend of the Philosophers. Frederick II had even welcomed Voltaire in Potsdam when the famous writer had run into trouble with the dévot party in France. But the truth was that Frederick II was motivated first and foremost by personal interests and the desire to expand the territory of Prussia, by any means available. He had already abandoned his French ally during the War of Austrian Succession, signing a separate peace treaty with Austria in December 1745, which had greatly angered the French. The Marquise de Pompadour particularly disliked Frederick II, who had always showed contempt for her, and had even named one of his poodles "Pompadour". At the same time, French officials realized that the Habsburg empire of Austria was no more the danger it had been in the heyday of the Habsburgs, back in the 16th and 17th centuries, when they controlled Spain and most of Europe, and presented a formidable challenge to France. The new dangerous power looming now on the horizon was Prussia. It is in this context that the parti philosophique and the Marquise managed to win over the king to a reversal of alliances. By the Treaty of Versailles signed on April 1, 1756, the king, overruling his ministers, who were still attached to the policy of Habsburg containment followed under Richelieu and Louis XIV, allied with Austria and thus put an end to more than 200 years of conflicts with the Habsburgs.

Related Topics:
1756 - Indian Wars - 1755 - January 16 - Frederick II of Prussia - Voltaire - Potsdam - 1745 - Habsburg - April 1 - Richelieu

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At the end of August 1756, Frederick II invaded Saxony without a declaration of war. He soon defeated the unprepared Saxon and Austrian armies, and occupied the whole of Saxony. His treatment of the electoral family of Saxony was particularly brutal, the Electress Maria Josepha died of bad treatments. These actions by Frederick II profoundly shocked Europe, and particularly France. The wife of the dauphin, who was the daughter of the Elector and Electress of Saxony, had a miscarriage as a result of the news coming from Saxony. Louis XV was left with no choice but to enter the war. Meanwhile England had already declared war on France on May 18, 1756. The ensuing Seven Years' War (1756-1763) was to have profound consequences for France and England.

Related Topics:
Saxony - Dauphin - May 18 - 1756 - Seven Years' War - 1763

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