Who Were The Winners And Losers Of The Seventeenth Century France?
Louis XIV was one of the winners in the Seventeenth century France. Louis the XIV was only five years old when he was ascended to the French throne after his father death. Louis’ mother Queen Anne selected Cardinal Mazarin as his regent. However, Mazarin lacked Cardinal Richelieu shrewdness that was Louis XIII’s most important adviser. Marazin attempted to increase the royal revenue, which led to the civil war called the Fronde; the war lasted from 1649 to 1652. After Mazarin’s death, Louis had to deal with an aristocracy that resented the increasing powers of the French monarchy. In order for Louis to achieve his goal, he adopted the concept of the “divine right of kings”. “They claimed that kings were placed on earth by God to uphold piety and justice” (Kishlansky, pg. 494). Knowing this, he established the absolute sovereignty of Louis and his monarchy.
