Problems in France

• History
• Middelbare school
• havo, vwo
• Leerjaar 2

Chapter 3: The Time of Wigs and Revolutions

 Problems in France

France in the Ancien Regime

-King Louis XIV

-Absolutism

-Versailles

- Problems?

Louis inherited the French throne when he was only four years old.

Louis XIV (1643 - 1715)

Louis XIV spent 40 years and used over 35,000 workers to build the sickest palace of all time 13 miles away from Paris in Versailles

The palace had over 700 rooms (and 1 toilet)

Big Ego, Big Style. Now simply known as "Style Louis XIV"

ABSOLUTISM

King Louis XIV (14th) of France is the best known example of an 

"absolute monarch"

This means that:

1. The king's power was absolute. He could make every decision without consulting anyone.
   
2. His monarchy was divine: he was made king by God to carry out the will of God (so he claimed).
   

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The Three Estates

(de 3 standen)

All the people in the country belonged 

to one of the 3 estates.

An estate is a group of people 

you belong to from birth.

An estate is hereditary.

You can not easily 

change into 

another

etstate

1st estate: clergy

2nd estate: noblility / aristocracy

3rd estate: peasants

3rd estate: city workers

3rd estate: bourgeoisie

Louis XIV believed in the divine right of kings, meaning that he claimed that:

1. he was made king by the people to carry out the people’s will
2. he was made king by the people to carry out God’s will
3. he was made king by God to carry out God’s will
4. he was made king by God to carry out the people’s will

Which estates do the people in the source represent?

A cartoon about the Three Estates, published in the 1780s.

1. A : clergy B: nobility C: commons
2. A: commons B: clergy C: nobility
3. A: nobility B: commons C: clergy
4. A: nobility B: clergy C: commons

What was the problem in France during the reign of Louis XIV?