Back to top 16th century France became a single state. The form of this state is becoming an absolute monarchy, which has acquired in France the most complete, consistently expressed form. Absolutism was characterized primarily by the fact that all legislative, executive and judicial power was concentrated in the hands of heads of state king .

The third estate became a significant support of the king in his constant struggle against the big feudal lords. The verbal symbol of absolutism, attributed to King Louis XIV, is the saying: "The State is me!".

Under Louis XIII (from the Bourbon dynasty), Cardinal Richelieu, who combined 32 government posts, was the chairman of the royal council in 1624-1642, actually led the state policy of France, so he is often called the first minister, although formally such a position did not exist. Richelieu carried out administrative, financial, military reforms, strengthening the centralized French state and royal absolutism. Also, Cardinal Richelieu deprived the Huguenots of the political rights that had been granted to them by the Edict of Nantes of King Henry IV. He actively fought against any opposition to a strong royal power. Under Richelieu, the Estates General are no longer assembled, the old state positions are gradually being liquidated (for example, the court position of the constable was liquidated in 1627), instead an extensive system of officials of various levels is being created.

The formation of absolutism was completed by King Louis XIV (ruled in 1643-1715, from the Bourbon dynasty). In 1661, Louis XIV transformed the ancient royal council into a Grand Council, which included the king (chairman of the council), the dukes and other peers of France, ministers, secretaries of state, and the chancellor, who presided during the absence of the king. This council considered the most important state issues, a narrower Upper Council was convened to discuss foreign policy affairs, and the Council of Despatches and the Council on Finance also performed special functions. In any case, the last word always rested with the king.

Louis XIV reformed the tax system, introducing capitation - a poll tax, which significantly increased royal income. A large number of indirect taxes (for example, a tax on salt), various royal dues and duties were introduced.

On the ground under Louis XIV, a system of quartermasters was created - special government commissioners with great powers in all areas of government, from control over banks to the fight against heresy.

Louis XIV in 1668 deprived the Parlement of Paris of the ancient right of remonstration.

Under Louis XIV, the formation of a unified system of royal justice was basically completed, although in some parts of France seigneurial justice was preserved until the 18th century. Louis XIV actively redeemed their judicial powers from large feudal lords in his favor.

The social system of France during the period of absolute monarchy (XVI-XVIII centuries)

1. General Provisions

In the XVI century. France began to develop an absolute monarchy. The emergence of this new form monarchy due to the fact that from the end of the XV century. the formation of a capitalist structure in industry and agriculture began in the country:

Manufactory appeared in industry, and with it - hired labor, recruited from ruined small artisans, apprentices and peasants;

· increased foreign trade with other European countries, with the East, and through Spain - with America;

· Capitalist and semi-capitalist relations in agriculture have taken the form of fixed-term leases.

The development of the capitalist structure accelerated the decomposition of feudal relations, but did not destroy them:

In the cities, craft, small guild and free artisans and merchants existed in all industries where there were no manufactories;

The seigneur's property on peasant lands was preserved and, as a result, feudal payments, church tithes, etc.

2. Estates under an absolute monarchy

By the 16th century the French monarchy lost its pre-existing representative institutions, but retained its estate nature. The first two estates - the clergy and the nobility - fully retained their privileged position. With 15 million people. population of the country in the XVI - XVII centuries. about 130 thousand people belonged to the clergy, and about 400 thousand people belonged to the nobility, that is, the overwhelming majority of the population in France was the third estate (which included the peasantry).

The clergy, with their traditional hierarchy, were distinguished by great heterogeneity and showed unity only in their desire to retain class, feudal privileges. Contradictions intensified between the top of the Church and the parish priests. The nobility occupied a dominant place in the public and state life of French society, but important changes took place in its composition. A significant part of the noble " nobility sword " went bankrupt; their place in land ownership and in all parts of the royal apparatus was taken by people from the city's upper classes, who bought judicial and administrative positions (which gave noble privileges) on property rights, passed them on by inheritance and became the so-called " nobility mantle ". The status of nobility was also granted as a result of the award by a special royal act.

Within the third estate, social and property differentiation intensified:

· on its lower steps were peasants, artisans, unskilled workers, the unemployed;

· on the top - those from which the bourgeois class was formed: financiers, merchants, craftsmen, notaries, lawyers.

The state structure of France during the period of absolute monarchy

1. The main features of the political system

French absolutism reached higher level its development during the independent reign of Louis XIV (1661 - 1715). A feature of absolutism in France was that the king - the hereditary head of state - had full legislative, executive, military and judicial power. The entire centralized state mechanism, the administrative and financial apparatus, the army, the police, and the court were subordinate to him. All the inhabitants of the country were subjects of the king, obliged to obey him implicitly. From the 16th century to the first half of the 17th century. absolute monarchy played a progressive role."

· led the fight against the split of the country, thereby creating favorable conditions for its subsequent socio-economic development;

· in need of new additional funds, contributed to the growth of capitalist industry and trade - encouraged the construction of new manufactories, introduced high customs duties on foreign goods, waged wars against foreign powers - competitors in trade, founded colonies - new markets.

In the second half of the 17th century, when capitalism reached such a level that its further favorable development in the bowels of feudalism became impossible, the absolute monarchy lost all the limited progressive features that had previously been inherent in it. The further development of the productive forces was hindered by the persisting absolutism:

privileges of the clergy and nobility;

feudal order in the countryside;

high export duties on goods, etc.

2. Organs state power and management

With the strengthening of absolutism, all state power was concentrated in the hands of the king.

The activities of the Estates General practically ceased, they met very rarely (the last time in 1614).

From the beginning of the XVI century. secular power in the person of the king strengthened its control over the Church.

The bureaucratic apparatus grew, its “influence increased. The central government bodies in the period under review were divided into two categories:

· institutions inherited from the estate-representative monarchy, positions in which were sold. They were partly controlled by the nobility and gradually pushed into the secondary sphere of state administration;

institutions created by absolutism, in which posts were not sold, but were replaced by officials appointed by the government. They eventually formed the basis of management.

The Council of State actually became the highest deliberative body under the king.

The composition of the State Council included both the "nobility of the sword" and the "nobility of the mantle" - representatives of both old and new institutions. The old governing bodies, the posts in which the nobility occupied and which practically did not function, included special councils - the secret council, the chancellor's office, the council of dispatches, etc. The bodies created during absolutism were headed by the general controller of finances (essentially the first minister) and four secretaries of state for military affairs, foreign affairs, maritime affairs, and court affairs.

Of great importance in the financial management were tax-farmers of indirect taxes, they are also state creditors.

In local government, as in the central bodies, two categories coexisted:

· who have lost a significant part of their real powers baly, pre-vo, governors, whose positions were rooted in the past and were replaced by the nobility;

In fact, the commissaries of justice, police and finance, who actually led the local administrative administration and court, were special commissioners of the royal government in the field, to whose posts people of humble origin were usually appointed. The quartermasters were divided into districts, the real power in which was handed over to subdelegates appointed by the quartermaster and subordinate to him.

3. Judicial system headed by the king, who could take to his personal consideration or entrust to his trustee any case of any court.

In the judiciary coexisted:

the royal courts

senior courts;

City courts

church courts, etc.

During the period of absolute monarchy, the strengthening of royal courts continued. In accordance with the Orleans Ordinance (1560) and the Ordinance of Mulinsky (1566), most criminal and civil cases came under their jurisdiction.

The edict of 1788 left the seigneurial courts in the field of criminal proceedings only the functions of bodies of preliminary inquiry. In the field of civil proceedings, they had jurisdiction only in cases with a small amount of claim, but these cases could, at the discretion of the parties, be immediately transferred to the royal courts.

The general royal courts consisted of three instances: the courts of prevotal, bailage and parliamentary courts.

Special courts functioned, where cases were considered that affected departmental interests: the Accounts Chamber, the Chamber of Indirect Taxes, and the Mint Administration had their own courts; were maritime and customs courts. Military courts were of particular importance.

4. Army

The creation of a standing army under absolutism was completed. They gradually abandoned the recruitment of foreign mercenaries and switched to equipping the armed forces by recruiting recruits from the lower strata of the "third estate", including criminal elements, into soldiers. Officer positions were still occupied only by the nobility, which gave the army a pronounced class character.

The French state of the 17th century, built on the principle of the absolute power of the king, was by its class nature a dictatorship of the nobility. The main purpose of the absolutist state was to protect the feudal system, the feudal economic basis from all anti-feudal forces.

The main anti-feudal force was the peasantry. The strength of the peasant resistance during late medieval everything grew, and only a centralized body of coercion - the state had the opportunity to successfully resist it.

The urban plebeians were an important ally of the peasants. But only the attachment of the bourgeoisie to the masses of the people and their leadership could turn the spontaneous struggle of the anti-feudal forces into a revolution. The most important task absolutism was to prevent the formation of such a bloc of the bourgeoisie, the peasantry and the plebeians.

The royal absolutist government, on the one hand, diverted the bourgeoisie from an alliance with the people's anti-feudal forces, by means of some patronage, and on the other hand, ruthlessly suppressed the uprisings of the peasantry and the plebeians.

But it by no means follows from the fact that absolutism patronized the bourgeoisie that those bourgeois historians are right who assert that absolutism was a two-class, "noble-bourgeois" state, or even simply "bourgeois".

Absolutism really took shape in that era when the potential power of the bourgeoisie (on condition of its alliance with the people) began to be compared to a certain extent with the power of the nobility, and the royal government at a certain period pursued a policy that was unconditionally friendly towards the bourgeoisie.

However, as Engels emphasized, absolutism was only an "apparent" mediator between the nobility and the bourgeoisie. Absolutism actively sought to win over the bourgeoisie to the side of the noble state, thereby splitting the bourgeoisie from its democratic allies, diverting it from the struggle against feudalism to the path of adaptation to feudalism.

He also explained that those who have invested their money in the existing political regime will not contribute to its overthrow, which is why it is important to provide the bourgeoisie with the opportunity to profitably invest in positions and payouts.

Officials, "people of the mantle", constituted, as it were, an aristocracy in relation to the bourgeois class, from whose ranks they emerged. Also in the system of armed police forces of absolutism in the 17th century. the urban bourgeoisie, without exception receiving weapons and organized in the cities into the "bourgeois guard", occupied an important place; at critical moments popular uprisings she, although sometimes not without serious hesitation, eventually succumbed to the calls of her "elder brothers" of the magistrates and "loyally" fought for the existing order, against the "rebels" from the common people.

The French feudal nobility, with the exception of some of its representatives, was the true support of absolutism. Consequently, the bourgeoisie, embarking on the path of opposition, would be forced to go with the people alone, and the movement would inevitably acquire a democratic character. But for such a policy of the French bourgeoisie in the 17th century. there were no objective conditions yet. This was the reason why the “bourgeois guards” usually succumbed to the influence of the bourgeoisie that had become noble and took up arms in defense of the feudal-absolutist order.

Absolutism needed the bourgeoisie also because it needed money both to distribute to the nobles and to increase its own political power. In the 17th century, as a rule, armies were mercenary, and the real strength of royal power inside and outside France depended primarily on the state of finances, that is, the amounts collected in the form of taxes, and more taxes could only be collected from the country subject to an increase in money circulation.

Therefore, the state, whose task it was to protect feudalism, had to itself spur the development of the bourgeoisie and patronize trade and industry. To constantly and in everything more to shear the “wealthy” in favor of the Fisk, it was required that these “wealthy” should not be transferred, that the petty bourgeoisie should turn into the middle bourgeoisie, the middle bourgeoisie into the big bourgeoisie, etc.

Otherwise, the state would have to take an ever-increasing share of the total surplus product of the peasants, and consequently, take away part of the income from the noble class itself, even if only to protect its common interests. The transfer by absolutism of the center of gravity of taxation to the city and, at the same time, the patronage of the bourgeoisie, ultimately met the interests of the same nobility.

Of course, the growth of royal power infringed on the rights and independence of each individual lord. But common class interests forced them, despite all the private conflicts and manifestations of discontent, to rally around the royal power of the 17th century - the time of consolidation of the French nobility.

Separate offended nobles led from time to time opposition political movements directed against the government, but the nobles pursued purely personal goals (receiving pensions, governorships, this or that spiritual dignity, etc.). Sometimes nobles, in the name of the same selfish goals, entered into a temporary alliance even with the movements of the popular, especially the plebeian, opposition.

Under there was no broad feudal opposition to absolutism. The methods by which individual aristocrats defended their personal claims were often old-fashioned feudal (including up to "declaring war" on the king or leaving for another sovereign), but the goals they pursued in this case had nothing to do with the actual restriction of royal power or a new fragmentation of France.

In the political conflicts of the XVII century. it was not the desire of the aristocracy as an integral social group to change the political system, but only the desire of individual nobles to take a better position in a given political system.

For the feudal collapse of France in the XVII century. there were no real prerequisites, this threat was a thing of the past, and therefore absolutism in the 17th century. no longer opposed feudal separatism as a national force.

The feudal, aristocratic nature of the French monarchy, the position of the king as the head and banner of the entire class of nobility as a whole come out more clearly and vividly than ever before.

The term "absolutism" was established in France only in the era of the Great Revolution, but the term "absolute power" was used already in the Middle Ages. Absolutism can be understood as a system of unlimited power of the monarch. Under such a system, the monarch is recognized as the only source of power in the state. This does not mean that at every moment of time the monarch has full power: he can delegate it to another body or official. Absolutism is manifested in the fact that the sovereign can return to himself the delegated power back when he wishes. For the emergence of this system in France, it was necessary to subordinate the feudal hierarchy to royal power, put the nobility at the service of the king, weaken the independence of the church and cities, and strengthen the royal administration and court.

The strengthening of the position of the monarch in the state was facilitated by the reforms carried out by King Charles VII (1422-1461). Under him, a permanent direct tax was established - royal waist(1439), detachments of the permanent royal army (mounted gendarmes and foot free riflemen) were created (according to the ordinances of 1445 and 1448). Was accepted Pragmatic sanction 1438, which weakened the dependence of the French Gallican Church on the Roman Curia and increased the influence of royal power on the clergy. These reforms laid the foundations for absolutism in France. The heir of Charles VII, Louis XI (1461-1483), was able to suppress the aristocratic opposition and actually unite the country's territory under his rule. This king can be considered the first absolute monarch in France.

The legal status of an absolute monarch.

France was dominated by the idea that kings receive their power only from God. An important feature of French absolutism was connected with this: the monarch is subject to divine laws, but should not be subject to human laws. As recognized by the legalists as early as the 14th century: "Rex solutus legibus est" - "The king is not bound by laws." Nevertheless, the activity of the absolute monarch was placed within the framework of the established traditions and customs of the kingdom. Its legal position was determined by the so-called fundamental laws that underlie the French state.

These laws established that the king had external and internal sovereignty, was the source of justice, and "may bestow favors and exemptions, notwithstanding the common law." As a result of these laws, the monarch had legislative and judicial powers, the right to declare and wage war, appoint officials, levy taxes and taxes, and mint coins. The monarch has independence from other ecclesiastical and secular authorities, primarily from the Pope and the German Emperor. He is recognized as "emperor" in his kingdom.

The fundamental laws, however, placed some restrictions on the powers of the king. They, in particular, introduced the principle of the inalienability of the royal domain. The domain was considered the property of the crown (state), but not the king personally. Therefore, the monarch did not have the right to sell domain lands, but could pledge them. Another limitation of royal power was salic principle succession to the throne: the monarch could not dispose of it at his own discretion. This principle established the procedure for the transfer of the throne in a straight line or in the lateral line only to males: women were excluded from the number of heirs.

In the XV century. in France, interregnums were abolished (the periods between the death of one monarch and the coronation of his successor): the heir entered into his rights immediately after the death of his predecessor. From this followed another fundamental law: "the king of France never dies." However, before the king reached the age of majority (in the 15th century - 14 years, starting from the 16th century - 13 years), a regency regime was established in the country. Usually regency powers were assigned to relatives of the monarch, and not necessarily men. The king also did not have the right to abdicate: having received power from the Lord, he no longer had the right to refuse it.

In addition to the restrictions established by fundamental laws, there were restrictions arising from the delegation of the power of the king to other bodies, so that the monarch did not have full power at a particular moment in time. In particular, this was associated right of demonstration, which belonged to the highest courts of the kingdom, especially the Paris Parliament. This right arose from the powers of parliament to register royal regulations (since the 14th century). Without parliamentary registration, they were not accepted for consideration by the lower courts of the kingdom, i.e. did not receive the force of law.

Parliament could refuse to register a royal act if it contradicted the previously issued laws of the kingdom, the customs of France, or was "disgusting to reason." In this case, he was obliged to submit to the king his "objection" outlining the reasons for the refusal, the so-called demonstration. The right of demonstration was overcome by the personal presence of the king at a meeting of parliament (the so-called procedure lit de justice- "bed of justice": refers to the royal seat in parliament). It was believed that in this case the king takes all the delegated power upon himself, and, not possessing his own power, the parliament is obliged to register any act of the monarch.

However, far from always the monarch could personally come to parliament, therefore, in the hands of parliament, the right of demonstration turned into a powerful means of putting pressure on the royal power. Monarchs sought to limit it. Under Louis XIV, a royal patent of 1673 was issued, by which Parliament was obliged to register all acts emanating from the monarch, and if it has objections, then the remonstrance must be submitted separately, after registration. Thus, the king effectively deprived the high court of the suspensive right to veto his laws. However, after the death of the king, in 1715 the old right of demonstration was fully restored.

The power of the absolute monarch was also restrained by the remaining bodies of class representation. States General, however, are losing their former importance and are convened extremely rarely. The exception was the period of religious wars (1562-1594), when the country was engulfed in feudal anarchy and royal absolutism actually lost its significance. During this period, the Estates-General convened quite often and, as a rule, represented the interests of the Catholic opposition to the royal power. After the restoration of absolutism under the new Bourbon dynasty, all-French meetings of estate representatives are practically no longer convened ( rare exceptions- Estates General 1614-1615 and 1789). States continue to function at the local level, in particular, the provincial states that determined taxation in their region. The royal authorities had to reckon with their activities.

As you can see, an unlimited monarch was not at all so “unlimited”. Some scholars therefore doubt the existence of absolutism in France at all. Obviously, absolutism should not be understood as the regime of arbitrariness of one person. In the case of French absolutism, the sole power of the monarch was placed in a strictly legal framework and its unlimitedness was understood only within the limits established by law.

Royal administration.

Absolutism had an extensive bureaucratic apparatus.

Officials in France were divided into two main groups:

1) office and

2) commissioners.

office they bought their positions from the state, so they could dispose of them, assign them to another person and pass them on by inheritance. For the right to dispose of a position, they paid a tax - flying, which was 1/60 of the annual income brought by the position. In order to remove the office from office, the treasury had to buy it from the employee. Despite the one-time benefits of selling posts, this practice was burdensome for the state budget, as it often forced to pay annually for posts that were completely unnecessary for the state (created only for sale). On the other hand, the office could feel more independent from the king, which was not always convenient for the ruling power.

Supreme and central authorities and management.

The highest authority was royal council. He played the role of the main coordinating center of the French government, combining legislative, administrative and judicial functions. In the XV-XVIII centuries. The council has undergone a complex evolution: from a "narrow" council - an assembly of major seniors and dignitaries of the monarch to an administrative institution consisting of several sections. By the end of the XVI century. four sections were formed in its composition: two government and two administrative. The king himself presided over government councils, and cases were considered here that required his personal participation. This is business advice to resolve political (primarily foreign policy) issues and financial advice for general financial management of the state.

The administrative councils were usually chaired by the chancellor - the "chief" of the Royal Council. Of them State financial advice met to resolve current administrative, judicial-administrative and financial issues, Litigation Council exercised the Court of Appeals and Evocations ( evocation transfer of a case from one court to another) in cases of individuals. Permanent bureaus and temporary commissions acted to organize the work of the councils. State councilors and speakers of petitions sat in them. In the 17th century The Business Council became known as council at the top(or the Supreme Council, sometimes the Council of State), and under Louis XIV (1643-1715) another government section arose - Council of Despatches to consider domestic political issues requiring a royal decision.

Collegiate leadership in the sections of the Royal Council was combined with individual management. It was carried out by ministers, when an individual official headed a sectoral department (ministry or department). Each such ministry had its own bureau and staff of employees (clerks). The ministerial system in France originated in the 16th century. The ministers were the Chancellor, the Surintendent (Superintendent) of Finance and the Secretaries of State. Chancellor was considered the head of justice in the state, being, in fact, the Minister of Justice, finance superintendent headed the finance department. The latter position lasted until 1661. After its abolition, financial management was concentrated in the corresponding section of the Royal Council, and from 1665 the position of the Minister of Finance was assigned to the position general controller of finance.

However, his powers were not limited to the purely financial sphere, but extended to all economic issues in general related to the development of the French economy. The quartermasters of finance and their commissions were subordinate to him. Almost the entire provincial administration was also under the supervision of the comptroller general. Secretaries of State originally were simple secretaries of the monarch. Their role increased dramatically during the religious wars, when they began to report to the monarch on important matters and carry out diplomatic missions. Gradually, industry specialization appears among them. So, according to the Regulations of 1626, departments of foreign affairs and war were allocated. By the beginning of the Great Revolution, six ministerial positions were established in France: the chancellor, the general controller of finances, four secretaries of state - the military and naval ministers, the minister of foreign affairs and the minister for the Royal House.

Special mention should be made of the position prime minister(or chief minister). The Prime Minister was the leading member of the Council at the top, he coordinated the work of the ministries and actually led the country. The concentration of power in his hands is called ministerial. The ministeriat, as a rule, was established in cases where the monarch deliberately avoided active interference in the daily work of the government (for example, the ministry of Cardinal Richelieu under Louis XIII) or was too young (the ministry of Cardinal Mazarin under the young Louis XIV). Officially, the office of prime minister was finally abolished in absolutist France during the reign of Louis XV.

Local government.

France in the era of absolutism did not have a clear administrative-territorial division. Even the outer borders of the state were sometimes devoid of solid outlines. The country was divided into districts according to various branches of government, and the boundaries of the districts did not coincide with each other. In general political terms, this was a division into provinces. At the head of the provinces were governors, traditionally appointed by the king from the highest nobility, who had administrative, judicial and military authority. They were replaced general lieutenants(general governors). There was also a division into judicial-administrative districts - bailages and seneschals (led by bails and seneschals), which, in turn, were divided into small units - transfers, chatellations, etc. Financial districts - generalite("generals"). They operated finance generals and treasurers France, tax collectors were subordinate to them ( ale). Their activities were supervised by periodically sent government commissioners - quartermasters.

Beginning in the 1630s, intendants become permanent local officials, replacing the former financial officers. New financial districts are gradually emerging - commissaries. They are subdivided into regions headed by sub-delegates who report to the intendant. The powers of the quartermasters were wider than the actual financial ones: they began to consider administrative and judicial issues, they could make decisions, including in criminal cases. Therefore they were called quartermasters of justice, police and finance. (At the end of the reign of Louis XIV in France there were 31 quartermasters in the field.) They acquired such a strong influence that all other local services were made dependent on them. In general, bureaucratic features prevailed in local government under absolutism, and self-government bodies were for the most part eliminated. So, in 1692, all elective posts in the cities were abolished.

Royal justice.

Absolutism sought to strengthen its judicial and police control over society. In the context of the existence of competing jurisdiction of seigneurial, ecclesiastical, city courts, the scope of royal justice was expanded. The Ordinance of Villiers-Cottreys of 1539 forbade the ecclesiastical courts from judging the laity in cases relating to worldly life. Then the Orleans Ordinance of 1560 and the Ordinance of Moulin of 1566 transferred the bulk of criminal and civil cases to the competence of the royal courts.

Many organs of royal justice were inherited from earlier times. On the lowest level these were the mediaeval courts of prevosts, bails and seneschals. The provost courts considered civil cases of commoners (roturiers), but in the 18th century. they disappear. The courts of the bail and seneschals are preserved, which finally decided cases with a claim amount of up to 40 livres. In 1552, the middle link of the judicial system was created - presidial courts. They made the final decision in cases with claims up to 250 livres. In France, there was a fairly extensive system high courts. It included, first of all, the Parlement of Paris and 12 provincial parliaments and 4 supreme councils of similar importance (in Roussillon, Artois, Alsace and Corsica). They were not, however, directly linked, and the metropolitan parliament was neither an appellate nor a supervisory body for the provincial parliaments.

The highest courts also included the Accounts Chamber, the Tax Chamber and the Grand Council. Big advice separated from the Royal Council and established as an independent judicial body in 1498. He took over cases of evocations from the Parlement of Paris, when the king was pleased to consider them personally. In the future, cases related to the right to church benefices were mainly dealt with here. The sections of the Royal Council, endowed with judicial powers, were also the highest courts. Such a cumbersome system of higher justice was obviously aimed at weakening the political role and influence of the Paris Parliament, which in the XVII-XVIII centuries. was often in opposition to the monarch. It should be borne in mind that in France the judicial power was not yet separated from the administrative power. Therefore, administrative institutions also had their own judicial powers.

Royal judges in France were irremovable : the king could dismiss a judge only for a criminal offense proven in court (according to the edict of Louis XI, issued in 1467). This provision distinguished French justice from the justices of other countries, where such a guarantee of an independent court did not yet exist. However, France was a country where personal freedom and the safety of citizens from police arbitrariness were not guaranteed. In practice, the so-called letters de cachet- Written orders for arrest without trial or investigation. The order form was blank, you could write the name of any person on it and arrest him without charging him. The prisoner could then sit in prison indefinitely, not knowing why he was put there.

In 1648, during the period of an open clash between the highest courts and the royal government (the Fronde), the Parlement of Paris insisted on the introduction of guarantees of personal security in the country: none of the king's subjects "could henceforth be subjected to criminal prosecution except in the forms prescribed by the laws and ordinances of our kingdom, and not through commissioners and appointed judges." A ban on the use of lettres de cachet orders was also introduced, but it only concerned offices judicial institutions. These provisions were enshrined in Art. 15 Declaration of October 22, 1648, approved by the regent Anne of Austria, mother of King Louis XIV. In practice, this meant guaranteeing the immunity of only judicial officials, but even such an attempt to limit police arbitrariness spoke of the awareness in society of the need to provide subjects with broader rights and freedoms.

GRADUATE WORK

French absolutism: origin, features, decline

abstract

Introduction

Conclusion

Bibliography

Annex 1. (Louis XIV)

abstract

Mamunts Ya.G. French absolutism: origin, features, decline.

This work is based on a study of the history of absolutism in France, more precisely, its three stages: the birth, flourishing and decline. Before starting to consider specific historical facts, we will clarify the definition of absolutism and absolute monarchy and discuss some of the features of this form of government in a number of states. Then we will touch upon the question of what institutions of absolute monarchy were formed in France, the activities of some of which we will analyze in sufficient detail. Considering the activities of the French monarchs of the era of absolutism, we will begin with the reign of Louis XI, considered the founder of the absolute monarchy in France. We will consider the heyday of absolutism in France on the example of the activities of Cardinal Richelieu, and also tell a little about the brightest monarch, according to some historians of the "Sun King", Louis XIV. After we analyze the reasons for the decline of absolutism in France and draw the final conclusions of the work in conclusion.

Introduction

In this paper we will talk about absolutism in France and, in general, about the features of absolutism. We will examine the rise, rise, and fall of absolutism in France through the reigns of Louis XIV, Louis XI, and Henry IV and their successors. Let's see which sections of the population were the social support of absolutism and supported it, and with whom it fought in the process of its formation. We will also look at several dynastic wars in which France participated and religious wars in France. During this period, the culture and art of France are developing well, France gives the world many excellent writers, such as Moliere, Racine, La Fontaine, Boileau, Madame de Sevigne, so this side of the era of absolutism cannot be ignored.

The relevance of this work, in my opinion, lies in the fact that during this period France turns into one of the most powerful, strongest European powers of the 16th - 18th centuries.

The purpose of this work is to consider successively three stages of absolutism in France: formation, flourishing, decline and, based on the analysis of these periods, to conclude what role the era of absolutism played in the history of France. In order to get a more complete picture of what is happening, we will consider the institutions of an absolute monarchy such as: a regular army, a bureaucracy, permanent taxes, etc.

Based on this, we will have several tasks for research:

define what absolutism is and consider the features of its development in different countries, especially in France;

Consider:

the formation of institutions of absolutism in France;

consider the establishment of absolutism in France;

consider the foreign policy of France before Louis XIV;

analyze the period of the reign of Louis XIV in France, the foreign policy of the state under him;

And finally

consider the decline of absolutism in France.

When writing this work, historical-comparative, historical-genetic and historical-descriptive methods were used.

Personally, my interest in this work lies in the fact that I am interested in France, and I believe that the era of absolutism is one of the most important pages in its history.

absolutism france louis

1. The concept and features of absolutism

What is absolutism and what are its features?

What is absolutism? Absolutism in the political sense is a form of government in which the constitution cannot limit the top of power. Absolutism was in European states during the XVII and XVIII century the dominant state form of government, which was supported by theologians, who gave supreme power divine origin, and Roman lawyers, who recognized the absolute power of the ancient Roman emperors for sovereigns. This state form reached its apogee under the French king Louis XIV, he is credited with the phrase "L" Etat c "est moi" (the state is me).

Now the question arises, what then is an absolute monarchy? The answer lies in the very definition of absolutism. An absolute monarchy is a state structure in which the head of state enjoys unlimited power. More precisely, we can say that an absolute monarchy is a kind of monarchy, in which all the fullness of the state (legislative, executive, judicial), and sometimes spiritual (religious) power is legally and actually in the hands of the monarch.

What are the characteristics of absolutism? Under absolutism, the state reaches the highest degree of centralization, a strong bureaucracy is created, standing army and the police. Also, the features of absolutism can be attributed to the fact that under it, the activity of class representative bodies, as a rule, ceases.

Consider the national features of French absolutism:

) the high role of the state bureaucracy, which emerged from the nobility;

) an active protectionist policy, especially in the reign of Louis XI, Francis I, Henry IV, Louis XIII and his Cardinal Richelieu;

) an active expansionist foreign policy as a sphere of national interests (participation in the Italian wars, the Thirty Years' War);

) a departure from a confession-oriented policy as the religious-civil conflict is smoothed out.

It should also be added to the national peculiarities that in France there was one language, one faith - Catholicism, one tax system, one law, one army - royal, not feudal lords. We wrote this based on the opinion of Brockhaus and Efron.

To emphasize the features of absolutism in France, you can spend comparative analysis with some other countries. For example, let's compare absolutism in France and absolutism in another well-known European state - England. In England, absolute monarchy was established, as in many other countries, during the decline of feudalism. During the reign of the Tudor dynasty (1485-1603), royal power in England was significantly strengthened and turned into absolute. Already the first king of this dynasty, Henry II (1485-1590), waged a merciless struggle against the remnants of the feudal nobility. Henry II became the founder of English absolutism.

The absolute monarchy in England had features not characteristic of France. Due to these features, absolutism in England is often called "incomplete". The incompleteness lies in the fact that although there was a strong royal power in England, the parliament continued to exist. The inconsistency of this phenomenon is evident from the fact that the parliament had the right to distribute taxes, but at the same time, the king's decrees were in no way inferior to parliamentary laws in terms of the degree of power. Also in England, a new nobility was formed, which made their farms capitalist. Vast fields were used as pastures, hundreds of sheep were raised within the same property, wool was processed, and later they traded, even for export. The split of the feudal estates led to civil wars (Scarlet and White Roses). Representatives of the new capitalist society were interested in a strong central government, which allowed them to develop production, and therefore the country's economy. Thanks to a powerful economy, England builds powerful fleets and becomes the largest colonialist. Monarchs in England were able to seize church lands and make them the property of the state, and the highest church body, the High Commission, is formed under the control of the king.

As a result, we can briefly formulate the features of absolutism in England:

along with a strong monarchy in England, a parliament continued to exist;

local self-government is preserved;

lack of a permanent large army.

Political system England during the period of absolutism:

) the king - real power was concentrated in his hands;

) central authorities and administrations:

The Privy Council - the Star Chamber - performed the functions of a censor and oversight of the correctness of verdicts by the jury and the chamber of petitions;

parliament - approved the amount of taxes and fees;

High Commission - fought against opponents of the reformed church, investigated cases related to the violation of laws, and the supremacy of royal power in church affairs.

We were able to write this, based on the opinion of Ryzhov. You can see what was absolutism in Russia. The period when in Russia the form state government was an absolute monarchy different sources dated differently. The more common variant is early 18th- the beginning of the XX century. Or from the reforms of Peter I, when the Boyar Duma was abolished and power was concentrated in the hands of the autocrat, from the release of the "Manifesto on the Improvement of the State Order" on October 17, 1905, and the subsequent convocation of parliament. Or, that period of the country, which was between a class-representative monarchy (a classic sign - the Boyar Duma) and a parliamentary monarchy (a sign - the convocation of parliament). The king was at the head of the state. The monarch had unlimited power, and was the only source of law. The government of the country was in his hands. The system of power that was created under Peter 1 is often called absolutism. Absolutism in Russia differs from absolutism in Europe in that in Russia the bourgeoisie and capitalism have not yet been formed. Absolutism in Russia had support in the nobility. We can say that absolutism in social terms represented the dictatorship of the feudal nobility. In this regard, we can conclude that one of the main tasks of the autocracy was the protection of the feudal serf system. However, absolutism also solved vital national tasks, above all, overcoming backwardness and creating guarantees for the country's security. In order to accomplish this task, it was necessary to include all the material and spiritual resources of the state, to establish full control over the subjects. Therefore, one of the main differences between Russian absolutism and European absolutism, and therefore absolutism in France, which was considered classical absolutism. So if European absolutism provided for the autonomy of society from power, then in Russia the absolutist regime, as it were, stood on society and forced all classes to serve itself.

As a result, we can say that, as in many European countries Absolutism existed in France during the 17th and 18th centuries. But in France, he had his own characteristics and it makes sense to emphasize that absolutism reached its apogee of its development in France during the reign of King Louis XIV, who owns the words "the state is me." It should also be added that absolutism in France is considered classical.

2. Formation of institutions of absolute monarchy in France

Let's see what institutions of absolute monarchy have formed in France. Chistyakov's opinion will help us with this. First, all power belonged undividedly to the king. Class-representative bodies and feudal opposition were liquidated. Reliance is being placed on the army, police and bureaucracy. Let us say that such a political institution as the Estates General met for the last time in 1614 and, interestingly, was dissolved in the same year. In 1516, according to the Edict of Nantes, the king completely subjugates the Catholic Church, and we can say that such an institution as the church from that moment is in the hands of the king. Such a political institution as the Parlement of Paris also begins to lose power, and from 1667 its rights are gradually limited. It is rather interesting that starting from 1673 Parliament loses the right to refuse to register royal acts, the ability to reject the decision of the king. As in many countries, in 1614, at the suggestion of the Parlement of Paris, the power of the king was declared divine and the king received the title "king by the grace of God." After that, the state is compared with the personality of the king, a striking example of which is the phrase of the King of France Louis XIV, already cited earlier, "The state is me!". At the same time, it was believed that the king himself belonged to the nation. As we have repeatedly noted, legally the king was recognized as the source of any power, and this power was not given to any control. The king also had legislative freedom. This principle of power can be formulated in one expression "one king - one law." It should also be added that he received an unlimited right to appoint subjects to any secular and spiritual position. Let's see which groups of the nobility belonged to them. For example, they include the so-called bureaucratic nobility . Very often, they owed their position personally to the king, and directly depended on him. Interestingly, the old nobility, whose origins, as a rule, went back centuries, did not pay taxes. In fact, it was the same knighthood. The old nobility treated the bureaucratic nobility with disdain, sometimes even hostility. Due to these circumstances, the bureaucratic nobility fully supported the power of the king, which was convincingly manifested during the years of religious wars. It was they who became the basis of the so-called "party of politicians", who, on the one hand, advocated the appeasement of the country, and on the other, for this appeasement under the auspices of royal power. Also, the king was the final authority in resolving any issues: domestic, external state; in addition, he determined the economic policy of the state, was the highest court, and the court was carried out on his behalf.

Now we can talk about the judicial system in France during the period of absolutism. At the head of it, of course, was the king. He could accept for his personal consideration or entrust to his authorized representative any case of any court: royal, seigneurial, city, ecclesiastical and others. During the period of absolute monarchy in France, mainly the strengthening of the royal courts took place. In accordance with the Orleans Orleans in 1560 and the Ordinance of Moulin in 1556, most criminal and civil cases came under the jurisdiction of the royal courts. The edict of 1788 to the seigneurial courts left only the functions of bodies of preliminary inquiry in the field of criminal justice. In the field of civil litigation, the seigneurial courts had jurisdiction only in cases with a small amount of claim. It is interesting that these cases could, at the discretion of the parties, be immediately transferred to the royal courts. Consider now the general royal courts. The general royal courts consisted of three instances: the prevotal courts, the imposing courts and the parliamentary courts. In addition to general courts, there were privileged courts (university, religious, palace). still functioned special courts, where cases affecting departmental interests were considered: the Accounting Chamber, as well as the Chamber of Indirect Taxes, the Mint Administration, had their own courts, and there were maritime and customs courts. Military courts were of particular importance. Since we are done with military ships, now let's talk about the army. As we know, the regular army has always been a very important political institution, especially in the era of absolutism, so we must consider it. Reliance on the army was the natural state of absolute monarchy. It is logical that attention to its organization and combat effectiveness was constant and increasing. Interestingly, already at the beginning of the XVI century. french army was permanent and hired. AT Peaceful time it numbered about 3 thousand heavily armed knights, several tens of thousands of free shooters, used, as a rule, for garrison service, and several thousand mercenaries. An example can be given that during the years of the Italian wars, the active armies reached 30-40 thousand people. After the development of firearms, knightly cavalry, foreign mercenaries and archers, for obvious reasons, gradually lose their importance. Chistyakov also helps us in this.

At that time, the army of condottieri (mercenaries), which flourished in the first half of the 17th century, became the dominant type of military organization. It is interesting that captains and colonels received, and often bought from the king, the right to recruit light cavalry and infantry armed with muskets. The number of such an army in peacetime did not exceed 25 thousand people. And the entry of France into the Thirty Years' War led to a rapid (3-4 times) growth of the army and gave rise to attempts to put an end to the traditions of foreign mercenarism. The military reform of Louis XIV was a new step in military construction. First of all, the military administration was separated from the command. This administration was headed by a Special Secretary of State (Minister of War). The secretary had a military quartermaster devoted to him, he was responsible for logistic support army, also for discipline, he also headed the military tribunal. A general staff was established, a military uniform was introduced, artillery and navy were also improved, and the construction of border fortresses was begun. Most importantly, a time sheet was installed military ranks and positions. And the government refused to attract foreign mercenaries to the army. In addition, the principle of recruiting from the local population was introduced. Representatives of the lower strata of the third estate become soldiers and sailors. Members of society who do not belong to any social class from the city or village, i.e. vagabonds and beggars, often with a criminal record, are the dregs of a society that is going through a process of primitive accumulation of capital. Unfortunately, in an army of such a social composition of military personnel, discipline was maintained only by methods of violence and drill. It was not allowed to disobey the orders of officers. We can say that the army was made into an obedient instrument of defense of the absolute monarchy. Militarily, the country was divided into 40 governorships (XVIII century) headed by commissars subordinate to the Minister of War. As expected, the officer corps was recruited exclusively from nobility, preference was given to hereditary nobility, which found legislative confirmation in 1781. We write this based on the opinion of Galonza.

Only titled nobility were appointed to high officer positions. Such a class selection of officer cadres made the army a reliable instrument of royal power. You can take a closer look at the navy. First of all, let's say that the formed navy was built on the principles of forced recruitment. Beginning in 1669, it was found that the entire male population of the country, living on sea ​​coast, was obliged to serve in turn for a year on the ships of the navy. As we guess, attempts to evade this service, as well as hiring on foreign ships (even merchant ones) were qualified as a state crime.

By 1677, the efforts of Colbert created a national shipbuilding industry. France began to have a fleet of more than 300 ships. Relying on its most powerful military organization in Europe, France pursued an active expansionist policy (generally quite successful). However, the external splendor of the army could not hide the fierce confrontation that flourished in it between the rank and file and the officer corps. Command posts in the army could only be filled by representatives of the nobility, and mainly by that part of it that had a hereditary title. An edict of 1781 established that a person applying for an officer's position had to document his hereditary nobility up to the 4th knee (this rule was also observed when enrolling in military educational institutions). Thus, the interests of the service nobility were significantly infringed, which, as everyday army practice showed, was capable of supplying the most trained and qualified officer cadres to the army. The bulk of officers from among hereditary nobles tried in every possible way to evade service. It has been calculated, for example, that on the eve of the revolution, out of 35,000 officers, only 9,000 were directly in the army. In 1688, new military units of a semi-regular nature were organized - the so-called royal militia. These units were built on the basis of the principle of military service and were recruited from rural youth. In peacetime, the militia carried out garrison and guard duty, and in case of war it was an important source of replenishment for the regular army. The staffing of the militia and its leadership was entrusted to the provincial quartermasters. I think we can still consider the police. France was the first country in Europe where a regular professional police force was formed. Naturally, its construction began from the capital. Here, in 1666, on the advice of Colbert, a special commission was established, chaired by Chancellor Segur, which proposed to the king a draft reform relating to the improvement and public safety of Paris. During the period of absolute monarchy, the foundations of a professional police force are laid, almost completely separated from the administration with independent tasks and functions. Let's look at what the police were divided into, the police are divided into general (security police) and political, as well as open and secret, scientific methods of undercover work and the detection of political opponents of absolutism and hardened criminals are emerging. It is interesting that the total supervision and control of the police over entire associations and public groups that are free-thinking and advocating the reorganization of society and the state on a new socio-political basis is beginning to be established. We are based on the opinion of Galonza. With regard to the police, France was divided into 32 departments, each of which had its own police department, headed by an intendant subordinate to the minister of the interior. The Department of the Metropolitan Police was headed by a lieutenant general (since 1667), subordinate first to the Minister of the Court, and then to the Minister of the Interior. In addition, the lieutenant general coordinated the work of police departments in the departments. The main police forces were concentrated in the capital and other large cities, on major roads and trade routes, seaports and so on. Let's say that the heads of police departments had specialized units under their command, for example, mounted police guards, gendarmerie, judicial police, which conducted preliminary investigations in criminal cases. As expected, Special attention the government gave to the police of Paris. In Paris, each quarter of the city had its own police service, headed by commissars and sergeants. The police, in addition to maintaining order and fighting crime, in addition, the police also supervised morals, brothels, drinking establishments, fairs, artists and much more. Now let's say a few words about the city government, which began to rebuild in the conditions of state centralization. The edict of 1692 established that the city authorities (mayors, municipal councilors) were no longer elected by the population, but were appointed from the center (after the purchase by these persons of the corresponding position). The cities retained the right to pay off the appointed persons, but on condition that they contribute a significant sum of money to the treasury. Consider financial system. As we understand, as it strengthened, absolutism needed a constant increase in its income - this was required by the growing army and the swollen state apparatus. An example can be given to illustrate this fact. For example, if during the reign of Louis XII (1498 - 1515), tax collections averaged 3 million livres per year (equivalent to 70 tons of silver), then in mid-sixteenth century. The annual collection was 13.5 million livres (equivalent to 209 tons of silver). In 1607, 31 million livres (equivalent to 345 tons of silver) entered the treasury, and 30 years later, in the context of the Thirty Years' War, the government collected 90-100 livres per year (more than 1 thousand tons of silver). During the heyday of absolutism, the French tax system was based on a combination of direct and indirect taxes, and this same tax system was extremely difficult and ruinous for the peasantry. Royal collectors collected them, often resorting to direct violence. Often the royal power gave the collection of taxes at the mercy of bankers and usurers.

The tax-farmers showed such zeal in collecting legal and illegal fees that many peasants were forced to sell their buildings and implements and leave for the city, replenishing the ranks of workers, the unemployed and the poor. Which of the taxes brought more finance to the treasury? Let's say that the bulk of revenues to the treasury was brought by direct taxes. And the most important of the direct taxes was the talya (tax on real estate or gross income) - actually turned into a peasant tax, since the privileged classes were exempted from it, and the cities, interestingly, paid off for relatively small amounts. Let's say that when the state was in great need of finance, it raised taxes, often many times over. Let's give an example. In the last 8 years of Richelieu's reign, which coincided with the most intense period of the Thirty Years' War, the size of the tagle increased almost 9 times (from 5.7 million to 48.2 million livres). Since the peasantry was no longer able to pay talya, after the end of the war, the state attempted to reduce it, both in absolute terms and in its share in total mass government revenue. It was clear that something had to be done about this, so in 1695 the so-called capitation was introduced as a temporary measure - a per capita income tax for military purposes. Why was he special? The fundamental novelty of capitation was that it was originally planned to levy this tax from all classes, including the privileged (even from members royal family), which in itself is nonsense. Capitalization was laid out in accordance with the division of the entire population into 22 categories, belonging to which was determined by the amount of income brought by a profession or state (from 1 livre to 9 thousand livres). In 1698, the capitation was canceled, but not for long. It was restored again in 1701 and has since become permanent. Unfortunately, the principle of proportionality in the collection of this tax was never achieved: the most privileged class - the clergy - was exempted from capitation, various tax benefits were created for the nobility, so that the third estate again turned out to be the main payer of capitation, which certainly made people's lives harder. belonging to it. From 1710, another tax was introduced - the royal tithe, levied on real income citizens of all classes, the amount of these incomes was determined in accordance with specially completed tax returns . As conceived by the initiators of this innovation, the tithe was to replace all pre-existing taxes and be a single proportional income tax. This was another attempt to make a proportional income tax. However, as was to be expected, the new tax was simply added to all the old ones, almost equal in magnitude to the capitation and half inferior to the tag. The uneven taxation, although somewhat softened, was by no means eliminated. Interestingly, as early as next year, after the appearance of this tax, the clergy managed to free themselves from paying this new tax at the cost of some increase in their "voluntary" donations to the treasury. We understand that not only the clergy have done this. Also, many cities and entire provinces managed to pay off him. As expected, in 1717 the royal tithe was abolished, but subsequently, in connection with the participation of France in wars, it was introduced twice more for relatively short periods. In 1749, instead of it, a new tax was introduced, which was called the royal twenty (5% tax on all income), which began to be levied permanently. Apparently, this tax was not enough, therefore, in 1756, the second twenty was introduced; this turned out to be also not enough, therefore, in 1760, the third twenty also appeared, so that in the end the income was taxed by 15%. The greatest profit to the treasury from indirect taxes was brought by such taxes as, ed. Ed is a tax on the sale of wine, and as we know, France is famous for its wine. You can also call such a tax as gabel. Gabel is a tax on the sale of salt. It can be said about salt that usually its price was 10-15 times higher than it really should have cost. In addition, the French treasury was replenished by selling posts. Note that every 10-12 years up to 40,000 positions were created and sold. We are based on the opinion of Korsunsky. For example, it is estimated that during the reign of Louis XIV, positions were sold in the amount of 500 million livres, customs and foreign trade duties, fees from merchant guilds and craft workshops, state monopolies (postal, tobacco and others.). Compulsory royal loans were often practiced, which were taken from large financiers on the security of tax revenues. Also, to enrich the treasury, confiscation of property was practiced by the verdict of the judiciary. For clarity, we give an example of such an enrichment of the treasury. So, after the conviction of the former inspector general of finances N. Fouquet (1664), the value of his confiscated property amounted to about 100 million livres. As we already understand, the tax burden was distributed across the country very unevenly. The largest flow of finance to the treasury was given by the central and northeastern provinces. In addition, let's say that the specific amounts of taxes, as well as the forms of their collection in the whole country, were not uniform. The system of farming out was widely used in the country, according to which the state transferred the right to collect taxes to private individuals (taxers) for a certain fee. Let's take a look at the redemption options available. There were several options for farming out: general (when the right to collect all taxes was given to the farmer from all over the country), special (when only certain types of taxes were farmed out) and others. The system described by us opened up great opportunities for the enrichment of tax-farmers, since the amount of taxes actually collected by them could be several times higher than the money contributed to the treasury. An illustrative example can be given. So, during the years of the regency of Philip of Orleans, out of 750 million livres of taxes and taxes paid by the population, only 250 million livres got into the treasury. As we understand it, taxpayers from the third estate suffered primarily from the negative aspects of the taxpayer system, for whom taxes and requisitions absorbed up to two-thirds of total income. Military units were attached to help the tax-farmers. As we understand it, the tax collection procedure itself acquired not the usual character, but the character of a military campaign, which was accompanied by executions, executions and arrests. As expected, the increase in tax oppression, as well as the abuses perpetrated by tax-farmers and official authorities, were factors that played the role of powerful detonators (where is the detonator ???) of public discontent and social conflicts.

3. The birth of absolutism in France. Louis XI

Absolutism in France was founded by Louis XI on the ruins of feudalism. In 1461, Louis XI succeeds the throne of Charles VII and becomes King of France. The reign of Louis XI was marked by political intrigues of a not very plausible kind, the purpose of which was to unite the fragmented France and eliminate the independence of large feudal lords. In this the king was more fortunate than his predecessors. Louis XI, being far from a novice in politics, already had quite a lot of experience in government. It is known that as early as 1439, Charles VII began to realize that his son's ambitions could harm him.

Why did he start thinking like that? His heir, Louis, showed too much independence on his first mission to Languedoc and was hastily recalled by the king. After a year had passed, Louis openly opposed his father, leading a revolt of the nobility. The defeat of this movement, known as Prageria, forced Louis to reconcile with his father. Charles VII, but did not moderate his desire for independence. In 1444, Louis XI received an order to withdraw from France "flayers" - gangs of soldiers who terrorized the kingdom.

It was assumed that Louis would conquer the Swiss cantons to support the policies of the Habsburgs. In fact, he conducts his own diplomacy, different from the policy of France, and signs a treaty with the Swiss. In 1446, Charles VII removes his son Louis from public affairs, entrusting him with the administration of the Dauphine province. Thus, he endowed the honorary title of "Dauphin" with political reality. Louis took advantage of this: having expelled his father's confidant, Raoul de Gocourt, he created a parliament in Grenoble, developed fairs, turned the Dauphine into a kind of experimental field, where he tested the policy that he would later apply in France. Finally, Louis, against the will of Charles VII, marries Charlotte of Savoy. The independence of the heir forced his father to intervene, and in 1456 he raised troops against Louis. But the Dauphin fled to Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, who received him and sheltered him in his castle. These examples clearly show what kind of experience Louis XI actually had in government. When Charles died, Philip, at the request of Louis, was present at his coronation in Reims, elevated him to a knighthood and accompanied him to Paris. The people enthusiastically welcomed Philip and treated Louis coldly. Unfortunately, the result of the rivalry with his father was a mistake that Louis XI made at the beginning of his reign in 1461. The monarch began a total purge of the army, although the officers acted contrary to him only because they were following the orders of the rightful king. Hasty financial reforms weaken the state. However, at the same time, Louis redeems the Burgundian city on the Somme from the duke, which causes a feeling of chagrin among the Burgundians. Finally, the barons, his former comrades, unite in the "League of the Common Good" and lead the rebellion, in which the Duke of Brittany Francis II and Louis XI's brother Charles of Berry take part. The conflict ends after the Battle of Monterey in 1465. Despite an uncertain outcome, this battle allows Louis XI to hold Paris and negotiate. The king is compelled to give up Normandy to his brother and, without any compensation, to return to the Burgundians the cities on the Somme, which he redeemed. The board gets off to a bad start. But Louis XI, using the strife among his enemies, was perfectly able to turn a temporary setback into a political success with lasting consequences. Gradually, he returns everything that he gave. His brother Charles is forced to return Normandy, and in 1468 the king imposes a treaty on the Duke of Brittany, which prepared the annexation of Brittany to France. Louis successfully restores his power and deprives his main rival Charles the Bold of allies. Louis faced a new danger from Burgundy. We rely on the opinion of Guizot. Let's look at this conflict. Philip the Good managed to build peaceful relations with the neighbors of the Duchy of Burgundy, but his son, Charles the Bold, who succeeded him on the throne in 1467, wished to have a royal title. The new duke decides to unite his territories, connecting Burgundy with the Netherlands, directly through Lorraine, the lands of which were separated by French and German possessions during the division of the Carolingian empire under the Treaty of Verdun in 843. This can explain the actions of the new duke in areas such as the Rhine, Alsace, as well as in Lorraine. We can safely say that thanks to the wealth of such areas as Flanders and Brabant, Charles began to have quite large amounts of money. And finally, Charles, with the help of his third wife, Margaret of York, who was the sister of Edward IV of England, Burgundy began to have an interesting feature, she could use English troops in France at any time. And this, as we understand, meant a high danger for Louis. As obvious as it was, Louis XI also understood this. He understood that with a man like Carl it was worth behaving extremely carefully. And Ludovic decides to take action. In 1468, when Louis meets Charles the Bold at Péronne, the city of Liège, which was a Burgundian possession, revolts at the instigation of the King of France. And in the return move went Charles the Bold. Nearly Charles takes and captures Louis. While in captivity, Louis is forced to return to Charles such a region as Champagne, but that's not all. Charles forces Louis to agree to accompany him to Liege, where, thanks to the instigation of the king, there was a rebellion. As we understand, it did not promise anything good. In Liege, the humiliated monarch had to be present in the bloody performance that was performed on the allies of Louis. Of course, this was a very strong lesson for the king. But you can also say that the lesson was not in vain for Louis. The king begins to deal crushing blows to his enemies in response. The first victim was one of his generals, whose name was Charles de Melon. After that, people like Balyu and Harokurt, who were clergymen, were imprisoned in iron cages, from which they were destined to leave only after 10 years. Then the turn went for the commander-in-chief of St. Paul and the Duke of Nemours: they were beheaded. As we understand, Louis XI did not trust the nobility, so he surrounded himself with people who owed him everything, such as, for example, Olivier le Dan, who was a barber, or Tristan Lermitte. The king had a favorite castle, the castle of Plecy-les-Tours, and it can be said that this "spider" weaves its webs in this castle. But in 1461 something else very important happens.

In 1461, Henry VI of Lancaster was deposed in England in favor of Edward IV of York. Since Edward IV of York was the brother-in-law of Charles the Bold, Louis, not without empty reason, was afraid of their alliance. And the king needed to think about what to do next to prevent this. Therefore, in 1470, Louis finances a conspiracy, as a result of which the English throne is returned to Henry VI, so that it would be beneficial for him. Louis XI has an idea to isolate Charles the Bold, as he represented a serious danger. The king does next step: leads his army to cities such as the Somme, attacks Saint-Quentin, then the city of Amiens. The king thinks that Charles the Bold will not be able to do anything. But to the great regret of Louis, in England the restoration of Henry VI was short-lived, and in 1471 Edward IV, an ally of Burgundy, regained legal power. We base ourselves on Guizot's opinion.

This, for obvious reasons, does not please Louis, but it plays into the hands of Karl. Charles' counteroffensive in Picardy was lightning fast. But fortunately for Louis, Beauvais puts up a very stubborn resistance to the Burgundians: all the townspeople come to the defense and even women come out to defend the walls of the fortress. Thanks to their fierce struggle, the king's troops were able to resist the Burgundians. In the course of fierce fighting, the army of Charles the Bold soon begins to run out of food, and, as we know, no army can exist without food. Therefore, Karl was forced to surrender. From this moment on, Karl directs his forces to the east. Alsace, redeemed from the Duke of Austria, is defended with the help of Swiss mercenaries, who at that time were considered the best warriors of Louis's allies. Carl needs support. He is looking for someone who could support him, and offers the son of Frederick III, the German emperor, the hand of his daughter Maria Maximilian, but he prefers to refuse Karl's offer. Subsequently, Charles attacks Cologne, but everywhere his enemies find the support of Louis. An interesting fact is that in 1474 an anti-Burgundian league was formed, it was formed thanks to its financing by the king of France. The anti-Burgundian League consists mainly of such states as Switzerland and Emperor Frederick III. As a result of these actions, Carl is in isolation. However, do not forget about Edward IV, who owes his return to the throne to Charles, and Edward promises to invade the territory of France. And in June 1475, Edward gathers an army of 30 thousand people in Calais. But Karl is very attached to the very long siege of Neuss, this is a fortress near Cologne, which is defended by porters. It can be emphasized that for some time the stubbornness of Charles plays a cruel joke on him: he still continues the siege, while the English troops are waiting for him. At some point, Charles comes to his senses, but he misses a lot of time, and his own army is not ready to fight, while at this moment Louis XI manages to mobilize the resources of his kingdom to confront the English army. Beginning in August, Edward IV prefers to negotiate with Louis at Piquini rather than fight solely for the interests of Charles the Bold. Louis decides to give him 75,000 crowns and promises an annual maintenance of 50,000 crowns. Some time later, after a big holiday in Amiens, Edward decides to go home and leaves Charles, who was forced to negotiate with Louis, who is already trying to unite everyone who has suffered losses from the policy of the Burgundians. Anyway, Louis decides to continue expanding financial assistance to those who were opponents of Burgundy and, as a result, undermines the finances of Charles the Bold by persuading the Medici bank to refuse him any loans. On March 2, 1476, the porters were able to surprise the Burgundian troops. But Karl miraculously escaped only thanks to the wealth of his convoy, which was attacked by the highlanders, blinded by greed. At the same moment, Karl begins to collect a new army. But his new army suffers a major setback at the siege of Morat, where the Swiss forces press him against the lake. In this battle, 10 thousand people die, and again Charles is miraculously saved. Now Charles does not have a large and strong army, but at the beginning of 1477, Charles decides to begin the siege of Nancy, who comes to the aid of the Duke of Lorraine. But on January 5, the Burgundian troops are defeated. And here comes the end of Charles the Bold. Karl dies during the battle. As is clear, for Louis XI, the victory over the Duke of Burgundy is a huge success. Now he is a major statesman who has perfectly strengthened his state. The fact that Louis curbed the nobility and ended internecine wars led to the peace and prosperity of his state. This we can show by the example of dry numbers. In 1460, the tax, which was the main tax in the state, gave about 1,200,000 livres, and in the year of the death of Louis, which was in 1483, the same tax gave almost 4 million livres. It is clear that the king increased the collection of taxes, but it can also be safely said that the subjects of the king became more wealthy. Many facts show us that Louis is truly interested in the economic problems of his kingdom. For example, he specifically invites the Italians to create a strong silk industry, just as the king invites the Germans to start opening mines. In Lyon, Ludovic creates large fairs that successfully compete with the fairs in Geneva. You can also say that Louis is trying to turn Marseille into not just a large city, but into a center of major Mediterranean trade. We relied on Guizot's opinion. Another of the favorable factors for the kingdom is that the royal system of government, which was led by reliable people, reaches a very high level of efficiency. This is especially true of mail, since the king considered the speed of message transmission the main thing in diplomacy. One of the most important things that Louis XI did was that he was able to expand the territory of his kingdom. After the Neapolitan king Louis died in 1480, Anjou, Barrois, and then Provence were returned. But the king made the mistake of wishing to seize the Burgundian territories immediately after the death of Charles the Bold. The King had an adviser, Philippe de Comines, who had previously been in the service in Burgundy, who advised the king to marry the Dauphin to Mary, the only heiress of Charles the Bold, and enable his son to annex the Burgundian lands to France. But Louis XI decided to go the other way, and attacked Burgundy, Picardy, Flanders, and Franche-Comté, and, as might be expected, met with very stubborn resistance. After the defeat of Louis, Mary of Burgundy marries Maximilian, the son of the German emperor. Interestingly, after her death in 1482, Maximilian and Louis would share possessions: the Netherlands went to Austria, and the Duchy of Burgundy to France. And the rest Margaret of Burgundy, who was the daughter of Mary and Maximilian, brought as a dowry promised to Charles's heir - the future Charles VIII. Thus, it can be said that last mistake king has been corrected. Louis died in 1483, and his daughter Anna of France became regent. The kings in France from 1494 to 1559 were involved in the Italian Wars. It was very tempting for the dynasty then ruling in France, the Valois dynasty, to expand its territories at the expense of Italy, which at that time was the richest and most fragmented European region. It was also a good opportunity to test modern weapons. At that time, the son of Charles of Orleans and Louise of Savoy, Francis I, was 21 years old. He succeeds his cousin Louis XII on the throne. He would be a knight and an exceptionally gifted person, he boldly and energetically continues the undertakings of his predecessors in Italy. Although there were Italian wars, the monarchy in France is being strengthened. In 1516 there was an agreement whereby the King of France could appoint bishops with the prior consent of the pope. This fact, although at first glance it seems absolutely insignificant, is actually of great importance, since this agreement strengthens the power of the king over the dignitaries of the church, who seek the restoration of taxes to the treasury of the pope. Actions such as the division of France into 16 parts and the creation of a state treasury in 1523 would improve tax collection. Reorganization measures are changing the borders of the country.

In 1523, Brittany was finally annexed to France, and the resistance of the feudal lords began to subside. A sequestration has been imposed on the duchy of the constable of Bourbon, who has passed into the service of Emperor Charles V. The effectiveness of royal rule is increased by such facts as judicial reforms and the famous edict of August 10, 1539, its essence was that it prescribes the conduct of judicial acts and civil cases in the native language, that is, in French. We will repeat once again that at the pinnacle of power is the king, along with a limited council, who favor good subordinates and drive out opponents. Patriotic pride develops in the people, which fuels and enhances loyalty to the monarchy and the monarch. It is believed that France had the largest population in Europe, with approximately 15-18 million inhabitants. Due to the development of literature and the above-mentioned edict of 1539, the language of the northern peoples of France, which was called langdoyle, displaces Provencal, this is the language of the southern peoples. Thanks to an authoritative policy, royal glory increases, signs of the prosperity of the state begin to be shown: rich holidays, the construction of castles, magnificent patrols. The humanist Guillaume Bude (1467-1542) was entrusted by Francis I with the creation Royal Library, in the future it will be called the National Library. The king also orders copies of manuscripts to be made in Venice and creates a trilingual educational institution , which in the future will be called the College de France. The educational institution surrounds itself with a brilliant court and receives poets, that is, the educational institution gives the poet a stable and permanent job, among the poets that he accepted are such poets as Mellin de Saint-Gele and Clement Marot. Margherita of Navarre, was the sister of Francis I, turns the city of Nérac into a center of Neoplatonist culture. Briefly about what Neoplatonism is, we can say that this is the doctrine of a hierarchically arranged world that arises from the ultimate principle; the doctrine of the "ascent" of the soul to its source. With all this, the difference between rich and poor, between villages and villages, between people who have an education and people who do not have an education is increasing. A large percentage of the French are peasants, about 85 percent, but agricultural production, which is based mainly on a diversified economy and grains, is not so developed. The majority of people have little means, it can even be said that most of the society is begging. Based on the opinion of Guizot. Such branches of agriculture as vegetable growing and fruit growing are beginning to develop well: carrots, beets, apricots, cauliflower, which was imported from Italy, melons, mulberries, brought from the east, are grown. They will also soon bring corn from America, as well as beans and tobacco. In cities that are still affected by the plague, the supply depends on how close the villages are to them. During the reign of Francis I, a large number of people of independent views are worried about the crisis of the value system, the need for reforms and religious unrest. It can be said that during the reign of Henry II, France is experiencing a period of relatively social and political stability, which stopped when the religious wars began, when the kingdom was forced to fight for its borders, tensions in relations between Catholics and Protestants are also growing, moreover inflation increases. The France of Henry II was a peaceful and wealthy country. During this period, the population grows, the quality of agricultural products noticeably improves, and cities begin to develop quite rapidly. We can say that the population of Paris at that time exceeded 200 thousand inhabitants. And Lyon becomes an important trading center in the state. Henry II, who was married to Catherine de Medici, inherits the throne from Francis I in 1547. About Henry II, we can safely say that he was a serious and purposeful person. Unlike his father, Henry II is not as attracted to the arts and is not as cheerful as his father. However, Henry II was very responsible in his duties and valued his power. In many ways, Henry II continued the policies of his father. During the period of time when the French state was ruled by Henry II, it becomes very powerful. For the first time in the French state, the work of the government is carried out according to a ministerial system: four "secretaries of state" control the administration of the French kingdom. Such an important matter for the state as accounting for the royal treasury is entrusted to the "chief inspector". Henry II continues to bring uniformity to the legal system, he did this by creating civil and criminal courts, which are intermediaries between the supreme and lower judicial bodies. In the state, as we have repeated more than once, the highest organs of government were subordinate to the king. In 1516, the Bologna Agreement reserved for the king the right to appoint bishops and the right to interfere in the actions of the supreme court, which very often opposed the existing order. Such powers of the king were limited by King Francis I in 1542. Henry II decides to surround himself with advisors from noble royal families and decides to support the nobility in the same way. Although Henry II abolished balls and concerts, which is surprising, the court becomes even more magnificent. Etiquette, which was introduced by Catherine de Medici, becomes the standard for everyone. The monarchy is also strengthened by the famous trips of the king across the country. What is interesting is that solemn celebrations are held in the cities in honor of the arrival of the king. We must not forget to say that the court was magnificent in many respects thanks to women, especially Diane de Poitiers, who was the mistress of Henry II, can be noticed. She ordered her monogram, intertwined with that of the king, to be engraved on the pediments of Chenonceau, the Louvre and Fontainebleau. Based on the opinion of Guizot. In 1531, the fiefs of the Bourbons again passed to the king, and a little later, Brittany was officially annexed to France (in 1532). But even with the increase in territory, the French kingdom still remains fragmented. For example, the port city of Calais is in the hands of the British, just as such a city as Avignon, with which many historical memories are associated, belongs to the pope, and as a result of the struggle for the right to inherit, Charolais returns to the powerful Charles V, after a while, in 1556, to his son Philip II Spanish. In addition, for Henry II, however, there is still a threat, one might say the main difficulty, it lies in the fact that Europe is dominated by the Habsburgs, from Flanders to the Duchy of Milan and the Kingdom of Naples. And in 1551 in Parma French troops opposed to Pope Julius III. In turn, in Siena, these same French troops support the opposition against Charles. The new Pope Paul IV in 1556 decides to secretly agree to the invasion of Naples. Since there were Spaniards then in Naples, Francois de Guise is given the task of driving the Spaniards out of there, but Philip II decides to resume the war on the northern borders of France. He could afford it, because thanks to his marriage to Mary Tudor, he managed to create a fairly strong army, and in 1557, on August 10, the troops of Henry II were defeated near the city of Saint-Quentin. But since at that time Spain was hit by a financial crisis, Spain has to choose peace negotiations, and two main actors sign the Treaty of Cato-Cambresia. Subsequently, Henry II finally decides to abandon his intention to take over Italy and decides to leave such areas as Piedmont and Savoy. But the downside is that the soldiers consider this step an unforgivable concession. Despite all these facts, France gets back Saint-Quentin and Calais, which is pretty good news, and France also retains three bishoprics - Metz, Troyes, Verdun. In addition, in Piedmont, beyond France, five fortified cities are also kept for three years, which, apparently, could serve as military bases during new military operations, if Henry II had not died unexpectedly in July. In addition to the fact that the French state had wars with a number of other countries, the threat of civil war looms over the French kingdom. As a result of the development of the Reformation, Henry II, concerned about this fact, begins to pass repressive laws.

In 1547, an extraordinary court was created in Paris, which was called the Fire Chamber. , this court had the right to sentence, no matter how wild it sounds, to be burned. This court, which did not belong to the religious courts, passes judgment on heretics. In June 1559, the Ekuan Edict was adopted, which approved the position of commissioners who were to persecute the Protestants. In addition, during the same period of time, the influence of Calvinism intensifies, and the estate of the nobility begins to disintegrate into two irreconcilable groups of people. Until that time, the royal nobles were involved in wars outside the borders of the state, and the politics of the state could contain the tensions that were created within the French state. No matter how stupid it may sound, but with the onset of peace, the warring nobility is deprived of its main occupation. In 1559, Henry II dies on the horizontal bar. And his son, Francis II, at that moment was only 15 years old, besides, he was sick with tuberculosis. Which is also not good for the state. This is the name of the civil wars in France that took place between the Catholics, who made up the practical majority of the population of the state, and the Protestants, who were a minority, they professed Calvinism and called themselves Huguenots. In France, by 1559, there were already a large number of followers of the Protestant church, and its followers were among all classes of the population of France. It is clear that the royal authorities tried to restore Catholicism throughout France, but already in the first war, which began in 1562 and lasted until 1563, she could not crush the Huguenots. As we said earlier, Huguenots are people who professed Calvinism. The Huguenots were supported by different segments of the population, among them there were also quite a few wealthy merchants, as well as bankers who, due to their wealth, were able to hire significant detachments of professional soldiers from among Swiss co-religionists. In addition, the Huguenots were supported by quite a few aristocrats, in particular, Prince Lun de Cande, Admiral Gasper de Coligny and King Henry of Navarre. The Catholic radical party at that time was headed by the ducal family of Lorraine de Guise, who aspired to several goals, they wanted to completely expel the Huguenots from France, and they wanted to limit royal power. There was also a party of "politicians" who could be called non-moderate Catholics. They advocated the preservation of Catholicism as the dominant religion, they were in favor of granting religious freedom to the Huguenots. There were cases when they opposed the Guises on the side of the Huguenots. Duke François de Guise won a victory at Droit in 1563, but was soon killed by an assassin sent by the Huguenots. The Huguenot army won many victories in the wars of 1567 to 1568, as well as in the wars of 1568 to 1570. Unfortunately, it can be noted that these wars were distinguished by the fact that they were incredibly cruel, and on both sides. We are based on the opinion of Munchaev.

Due to the rigidity, it can be understood that, in most cases, prisoners were not taken, but there were such cases that entire villages were massacred if the inhabitants of these villages adhered to a different religion. In 1572, the fourth war began. It began after in 1572 on August 24, the Catholics staged a bloodthirsty massacre on the day of St. Bartholomew of the Huguenots, who came to Paris for the wedding of Henry of Navarre with Princess Margaret of Valois. Over 9,000 people were killed that day, including Coligny and many other Huguenot leaders. A truce was reached in 1573, but hostilities resumed again in 1574, but during these hostilities neither side achieved a decisive victory. In 1576, the state was already tired of these wars, so a royal edict was put forward, which proclaimed freedom of religion throughout the French state, the only place that was not included in this edict was Paris. During new war in 1577, the edict was confirmed, thanks to the creation of the Catholic League of Guise, but King Henry III was unfortunately unable to enforce this edict. Some time later, in 1580, another war broke out, but it did not have any decisive consequences. But, when Henry of Navarre decided to claim the throne of France in 1585, a very bloody war began, which was called the War of the Three Henrys, Henry of Navarre, Henry III and Henry de Guise participated in it. In this bloody war Henry of Navarre won a very difficult victory, despite the fact that his opponents had military support from Spain. Can you elaborate on how he did it? In 1587, Henry of Navarre defeated Henry III at Contray. Therefore, Henry III was forced to confirm the edict on freedom of religion. At that moment, the Guises decide to raise an uprising in Paris in 1588, and they expel the king from Paris. Henry decided to make concessions to the leaders of the Catholic League, he also supported exclusively the rights of Catholics, but when he returned to Paris, he arranged the assassination of Henry de Guise and his brother Louis de Guise, who was a cardinal, after that, when he enlisted the support of Henry of Navarre , who was then already declared heir to the throne of France, Henry III decided to suppress the actions of the Catholic League, but Henry III was killed in 1589 by a fanatic, this fanatic was a monk named Jacques Clement. Henry III was succeeded by Henry of Navarre, who became Henry IV of Bourbon. But the Catholic League refused to accept him as king, and this is a rather important fact, since the Catholic League enjoyed quite strong support among the population of Paris. Although the League had support in Paris, in 1589 Henry defeated the League troops at Acre and in 1590 at Ivre. However, he was never able to take possession of Paris until 1594. In order for Henry to enter the capital of France, he had to convert to Catholicism. At least some result in the religious wars was achieved in 1598, when a peace treaty was reached in Vervina. It consisted in the fact that Spain refused to support the Catholic League. In the same year, Henry IV issued the Edict of Nantes, thanks to which freedom of religion was guaranteed, and the dominance of Protestantism in about 200 cities was also recognized, and in these cities the Huguenots were given the right to build fortifications. In theory, it can formally be considered that the Huguenots won the religious wars, but in fact it can be said that it was imaginary, since the vast majority of the inhabitants of France remained faithful to Catholicism and, surprisingly, sympathized with the ideas of the League. And finally, on March 22, 1594, Henry IV enters Paris, the capital of France. Henry IV was crowned a month earlier, he long-awaitedly takes the throne of France, for which he fought for years, for which he had to change his faith in France, where supporters of Catholicism, which can be called papists, and the Huguenots were at enmity with each other not much not a little during three decades. Henry of Navarre lays the foundation of his power from the moment when, in 1589, Henry III decides to appoint him as his sole rightful heir. Protestants, as well as the Catholic League, oppose Henry of Navarre, and they are also joined by "dissatisfied", or, so to speak, "political", moderate Catholics, who do not hesitate to condemn, in their opinion, the excessive precautions of their co-religionists and want to restore the power of the king. For obvious reasons, Henry IV sets the task of subordinating the leaders of the Catholic League to his power. He decides first whether the Duke of Mayenne will join him, and then he decides whether the Duke of Epernon will join him, as well as the Duke of Mercer. And what can be said about the Dukes of Guise is that they become unshakable defenders of the throne. When Henry IV comes to power, the king immediately seeks to expel the Spaniards, who were convened by the legists, who occupy the north of France. Their struggle lasts about three years and ends with the capture of the city of Amiens in 1597, and then Spain was forced to return all the French conquests. But by this time the Wars of Religion were not over. Since Catholics remain ardent opponents of Protestants' freedom of religion, and besides, Protestants, of whom there are about a million people, hesitate to remain loyal to the king, who renounced the faith. In the years 1594-1597, they organize themselves in the provinces ruled by the assemblies, and they also proclaim an alliance with the Church of the Netherlands. These circumstances make it quite difficult to give status to Protestant churches, and this task only becomes more difficult. Therefore, Henry IV takes up the development of a new document: it will be the Edict of Nantes, which was promulgated in April 1598. As we understand, Henry IV is expected very difficult negotiations with the warring parties. In order for the king to be able to resist the resistance of the parties, one has to apply all his personal qualities, such as his great authority and his military prowess. Among other things, the loyalty of his supporters, and the moderation of parliament, play an important role for the king. To ensure that the Edict of Nantes does not provoke further discord, it consists of a solemn declaration and secret articles. In addition to freedom of conscience, the Protestants also used the freedom of worship in feudal estates, in two villages per district, and in all cities where a reformed cult actually existed. A little earlier we said that the Edict of Nantes consisted of secret articles, now let's look at what they were. Interestingly, the secret articles contained a number of reservations that retained the advantages of the Catholics. Let's see what the Protestants could do. Protestants were allowed to build their churches, they could also conduct seminars, collect councils and synods, while the fathers of the families were given the right to choose the religion for their children, which is no less important, these children were to be accepted without any discrimination in all schools and universities. And finally, in return for those restrictions, the king decides to give the Protestants 151 fortresses with or without a garrison, which obviously gives the Protestants a very real political and military force. In fact, the Edict of Nantes renews many of the points from previous edicts. But in this case, which is no less important, the king has enough power to make him respect himself. At first, Clement VIII, who was the pope at that time, expresses his dissatisfaction, but then as time passes, he comes to terms with it. At that time, we can safely say that France is experiencing a very unusual event for Europe, it consists in the fact that, faced with religious demands, the interests of citizens, whose interests are protected by politicians, prevail in this clash. But, unfortunately, this compromise is, as one would expect, fragile. This we will have to touch on a not very pleasant topic, we will touch on the topic of what a plight the people of France had. In the memoirs of the chronicler of that era, whose name was Pierre Lestoile, there were such lines. "Such a terrible cold and such a severe frost no one remembered from time immemorial. Everything went up in price. Many people were found frozen to death in the fields. One person was frozen to death on a horse." Pierre tells us about the poverty of France, which was caused by a large number of wars and, as we see in Pierre's lines, there was an unprecedented cold in France at that time. We are based on the opinion of Munchaev. Obviously, because of the cold, grain production is falling, textile factories are stopping, vineyards are freezing. The population under such conditions is weakened and becomes vulnerable to disease. Peasant uprisings break out in many regions, for example, in Normandy, these were the "gothiers" and "crocans" in Perigord. It is clear that Henry IV wants to raise the economy, for this he begins the restoration of the state and issues many decrees. These edicts are directed at the attitude to the lands, for example, in 1599, the draining of the swamps, as well as the issue of taxation and security. Also against gangs of mercenaries, thieves and vagabonds, Henry IV introduces military laws. In order to calm the peasants, who were exhausted by taxes, the king decides to establish tax breaks and wants to limit the rights of landowners to peasant property. But the peasants still suffer from civil wars and rural riots continue. But now another problem appears. Many nobles are ruined, and in order to help them, Henry IV decides to call the Calvinist Olivier de Serret, who decides to start breeding mulberry trees to obtain raw silk. Also in 1600, Serret publishes a "Treatise on Agriculture", which gives advice on how to properly manage the economy. This work, the king distributes throughout the country. Some time later, Olivier de Serret publishes the book "On how to get silk", this production is encouraged by Heinrich. Thanks to the rise in France, there is a reorganization of government, financial policy, as well as administration. The king begins to listen to the opinions of others. The king decides to organize a new council, moreover, this council includes people due to their competence, and not their position in society. Moreover, the king very often turns to them for advice. The most important thing in these gatherings is business qualities, not beautiful ceremonies. For example, the Duke of Sully Maximilien Rosny manages the financial affairs of the entire state, he enjoys the confidence of the king. The good administration of the provinces is due to the reliability of officials who could investigate wrongdoing. Henry makes a rather interesting decision, in order to strengthen the ties between the officials of the king and the authorities, constant taxes are introduced, contributions to the treasury, because the treasury in 1596 had a shortage of funds. We are talking about a tax, polleta, this is an annual contribution of money to the treasury, which was paid by an official to the king in order to keep his position for life. This tax is so named after the financier Field. Up to this point, positions have passed from father to son, provided that the "relinquishment" of the position occurs at least 40 days before the death of the holder of this position. The tax abolishes this period, instead officials pay a tax every year, which is proportional to the position they hold. This tax, which brings in about one million livres every year, will last until the revolution. This succession of offices binds the crown, the judiciary and the finance officers, who receive privileges and honors, tightly. In 1600, these efforts begin to bear fruit throughout the kingdom. An accurate budget, a monetary reform to be adopted in 1602, improves the finances of the state. Stocks of gold and silver are stored in the Bastille. The kingdom is expanding; the army is located on the right bank of the Rhone. In 1601, Bresse, Bujin, Valmory and the province of Gex will be annexed to France by the Treaty of Lyon. Since the annexation of Navarre and northern cities the area of ​​the country increases from 464 thousand sq. km to 600 thousand sq. km. In 1599, Henry's marriage to Margaret de' Medici was called invalid due to close relationship and annulled by the Pope. After that, the king, having listened to his advisers, decides to marry Maria Medici, who was the niece of the Grand Duke of Tuscany. She brings him a significant dowry and gives birth to a son, an heir who will be the future King Louis XIII. So let's say that the adventures of Henry IV do not end. Although he returned peace to France and gave his state an heir. now the problem is that a large number of nobles in the king's reception rooms demand different privileges and pensions for themselves. The higher nobility begins to disobey the king. For example, one can cite how the king gave one of his comrades-in-arms, Biron, gives the rank of marshal. They say about Biron that he was a proud and not calm person. He wanted to create an independent state from the province of Bourgogne and get rid of the king. His views were supported by the Duke of Bouillon, his name was Heinrich de la Tour d "Auvergne. It is interesting that the spirit of the rebels is supported by Spain and Savoy, even negotiations began with the agents of Philip III of Spain. But the king is warned about the conspiracy, and the king decides to call Biron to Fontainebleau and wanted to force but the marshal did not say anything, he was imprisoned and beheaded in 1602. But this does not stop the Duke of Bouillon and he continues intrigues.In 1605, having settled in Sedan, he wants to return the Protestant Union, but the attempt fails and he hands over the keys of the city and seeks refuge in Geneva. In 1606 the sovereigns submit to the king and finally the country comes to civil peace. Thanks to the arbitration of France, a truce is established for 12 years between Spain and the United Provinces of the Netherlands. Henry IV pleases his subjects, since he is simple, pragmatic and cheerful.But the struggle between Protestants and Catholics does not end, the claims of Archduke Rudolf II of Habsburg ha threaten peace in Europe. But on the other hand, the achievements of the Counter-Reformation worry the Protestants quite strongly, and the old hostility towards the Habsburgs begins. To and so complicated political situation a love story is added: the king falls in love with Charlotte Condé. We rely on the opinion of Munchaev. In 1610, on May 13, the transfer of the regency to the queen takes place in Saint-Denis. On May 14, when the king's carriage was forced to linger due to the crowd on Ferronry Street, a man suddenly appears and stabs the king with a knife, which will later become a mortal wound. The killer was a Catholic named Francois Ravaillac, he imagined himself a messenger from heaven. He was arrested, after some time he was convicted and decided on May 24 to be quartered.

4. Rise of absolutism in France: Richelieu and Louis XIV

According to many historians, the first minister of Louis XIII, his name was Richelieu, played a very important role in the formation of the existing system in France. He was later nicknamed the "Red Cardinal". In the period from 1624 to 1642, he, providing a huge impact on the king, we can say that he practically ruled the country. At the same time, his policy protected the interests of the nobility, in which Richelieu saw the strengthening of absolutism. Probably worth a little more talk about a significant figure Let's take a look at his youth. His full name is Armand-Jean du Plessis de Richelieu, this man was born on September 9, 1585, he was born in Paris or in the castle of Richelieu in the province of Poitou in the impoverished noble family . His father was the chief judicial officer of France under Henry III, his name was Francois du Plessis, and his mother came from a family of a lawyer of the Paris Parliament, her name was Suzanne de la Porte. When Jean was about five years old, his father died, leaving his wife alone with five children, they also left a dilapidated estate and considerable debts. The difficulties that he had in childhood had a huge impact on the character of Jean, since all his subsequent life he sought to regain the lost honor of the family, to have quite a lot of money, he wanted to surround himself with the luxury that he was deprived of in childhood. He was educated at the College of Navarre in Paris and was preparing to follow in his father's footsteps into the military, inheriting the title of Marquis du Chille. The main income in the family was income from the position of the Catholic clergyman of the diocese in the La Rochelle area. But in order to keep it, someone from the family had to take the monastic order. Armand was the youngest of three brothers. But since the middle brother abandoned the church career, Armand had to take the name Richilier and the rank of Bishop of Luzon (1608 to 1623). He was elected as a deputy from the clergy to the States General in 1614, he attracted the attention of the regent Marie de Medici, after some time he became her adviser, the confessor of Anna of Austria, who was the wife of Louis XIII, and then for a short time he was secretary of state for foreign and military affairs. But unfortunately, he fell into disgrace and was exiled to Avignon, however, thanks to the fact that he contributed to the reconciliation of Louis XIII with his mother, Richelieu was able to continue his career at the court of France. after a while, or rather in 1622, he received the rank of cardinal, in 1624 he was a member of the Royal Council, became the first minister and remained the de facto ruler of France until the end of his life. Now we can take a little look at the program of the famous Cardinal Richelieu. Richelieu's reign was long, he had the great confidence of Louis XIII, and his long reign also correlated with the increase in the king's authority as head of the French state. The monarch wanted to achieve absolute power, so he suppressed any resistance, he also takes the path of limiting the privileges of individual cities and provinces, and as a result, boldly destroyed opponents. On behalf of the King, Richelieu puts this policy into action. We will quote Richelieu's Political Testament. In which he describes in detail the program of government over the state and determines the priority directions of domestic and foreign policy: "Since Your Majesty has decided to give me access to the Royal Council, thereby giving me great confidence, I promise to apply all my dexterity and skill, coupled with powers which Your Majesty will deign to grant me, for the destruction of the Huguenots, the humility of pride and the exaltation of the name of the King of France to the heights on which he is supposed to be. Many historians have been misled by Richelieu's "Political Testament" and "Memoirs". Because as it turned out, they were written much later by the cardinal - the minister and his cabinet staff. Richelieu's servants, who were chosen by Richelieu himself, did a good job on his image as a cardinal - a politician, proving that some of his actions were necessary. During the period when Richelieu was in power, violent methods were often used to suppress resistance, regardless of who showed discontent. In the 17th century, the twenties can mark the end of the religious wars above all else. Among the military officials and lawyers around Louis XIII, many of whom were Catholics, there was no doubt that the Protestants wanted to create a state within a state with its own bosses, politics and structure. In 1610, there were about 200 fortresses that belonged to the Protestants, headed by commandants. Each such city had a military corps, in which the commanders carried out the orders of the aristocrats - the Huguenots. These cities, participating in the R.P.R. We rely on the opinion of Cherkasov. The fortress of La Rochelle had about 20 thousand inhabitants, it looks like a real capital of Protestants and is last stronghold Huguenots in the heart of the monarchy. It turns out that the royal state finds itself in a state of war with the Protestant state, whose individual rights and freedoms (such as the right to a political assembly, to fortify their cities, to have their garrisons) were recognized in secret articles and annexes to the Edict of Nantes, signed in the spring of 1598, about which we spoke a little earlier. As a result, since 1621, a large number of military companies have been taking place in the south-west of France and in the Languedoc region. Many of these companies were led by the king himself, who personally participated in the battles. The end of the religious wars is associated with the well-known historical fact, the capture of La Rochelle on October 29, 1628 after 11 months of siege of the fortress. All military operations were directed by Richelieu himself. He ordered the construction of a dam, amazing for those times, in order to isolate the city from the sea. The surrender of the fortress of the Huguenots, accompanied with a strong company to increase the glory of Louis XIII. Everyone should have known him as a just, punishing and forgiving king. To prove this, we can bring the solemn entry of the victorious king into Paris on December 23, 1628, where there were congratulatory speeches, military concerts, triumphal ovation arches and salutes go on this day one after another. On June 28, 1629, the Edict of Alessia was signed. He expressed the royal will for mercy and forgiveness after a difficult decade. This document preserves all the religious and legal provisions of the Edict of Nantes and in particular the principle of "coexistence". But all secret articles and appendices of the Edict of Nantes of 1598, which concerned the political privileges of Protestants, are annulled. Now any political gathering is prohibited. Richelieu decided to annul the war clauses of the Edict of Nantes and introduced a policy of periodically destroying the fortress walls of the Huguenot cities. In the era of Richelieu, the power of the first minister allows you to keep a large number of aristocrats in submission. But the highest nobility does not stop trying to regain their greatness. Such an attempt took place in the Louvre on November 11, 1630, when the queen - mother Marie de Medici, who was not quite a big power of Richelieu, quarreled with her son Louis XIII, demanded that the cardinal be removed from power. After this long argument, the opponents of the cardinal decided that he was defeated. But the king, not listening to his mother, imprisons Richelieu's opponents. The queen was forced into exile, first to Compiègne and then to the city of Brussels. The king had a brother, Gaston of Orleans, and a possible heir, since the King did not have an heir until 1638, Gaston understands this event as a betrayal of Richelieu and wants to raise his province against Richelieu. Gaston of Orléans is defeated and hides in Lorrain, the duchy of Charles IV, who supported the policy of the Habsburgs, and the overlords of Spain and the Netherlands, who were often enemies of France. In 1631, on May 31, Gaston d'Orleans publishes a manifesto in Nancy, where he exposes Richelieu's control over Louis XIII, and in general the entire state. A little later, Gaston takes part in the rebellion of the Duke of Montmorency in Languedoc, which was suppressed by the royal troops. On October 1632, the Duke of Montmorency was executed. This execution for some time pacified the aristocracy. Thus, the second point of Richelieu's "program" is fulfilled: to pacify the pride of the highest nobility. The nobility of the 17th century often resorted to duels. Since the state did not want to sacrifice young people, during the reign of Louis XIII, strict edicts were issued declaring duels "a crime against the king" and forbidding them. But all the same, for a whole century, the duel will be the subject of the most lively disputes. At that time, foreign policy issues became very important in France. On May 19, 1635, Louis XIII solemnly declares war on Spain. But, rather surprisingly, the war is becoming very strong factor which quite well increases the authority of the king, who decides to take on the role of commander in chief. The huge scope, no small human sacrifice and financial costs justify the use of extreme measures for the "urgent needs of the state." These are the words that begin many edicts that introduced new taxes for the people. After a while, the taxes become so great that they exceed the church tithe. Since the state needs finances, the quartermasters are endowed with greater powers than local officials. For example, quartermasters can suppress the discontent and rebellions of the people in the provinces. They also form tribunals, the decision of which can only be appealed by the Royal Council. The quartermasters begin to interfere in local affairs and want to take over the three branches of government, which were considered the police, the courts and finances. Since the power of the state was unlimited, taxation systems also developed, and the powers of local government offices were also limited, those years when Richelieu had great power can be considered the time of the foundation of absolutism, which, as we have already said, repeatedly reaches its climax under Louis XIV. Well, now let's finally tell a little about the king who had the phrase "the state is me . As we have already guessed, we will talk about Louis XIV. In this story, we will use the opinion of Borisov Yu.V. Louis XIV lived from 1638 to 1715. (Appendix 1) He was the eldest son of the son of Louis XIII and Anne of Austria, he was born in Saint-Germain-en-Laye near Paris, his date of birth was September 5, 1638. His mother was the daughter of Philip III, so we can say that he combined the two most powerful European dynasties of the Bourbons and the Habsburgs. When his father died in 1643, Louis was not crowned until he came of age in 1654. At that time of the year, Louis was not an adult, his mother was considered regent, but in fact the ruler was then the Italian Cardinal Mazarin, who was the first minister. It was not as easy as it seems, which is evident from the fact that during the movement of the Fronde, the rebellion of large aristocrats against the crown and personally Mazarin (1648-1653), young Louis and his mother had to flee Paris in 1648. As a result, Mazarin was able to defeat the Fronde, and at the conclusion of the Iberian Peace in November 1659, he brought the war with Spain to a victorious end. Including Mazarin arranged the marriage of Louis and Maria Theresa, who was the eldest daughter of Philip IV of Spain. When Mazarin died in 1661, Louis, to the surprise of everyone, decides to rule independently without the first minister. According to Borisov, the main passion of Louis was fame, this can be seen in his nickname "King Sun". When Louis ruled France had sufficient manpower, the population in France was approximately 18 million - about 4 times the population of England. Military reforms begin, they are carried out by the ministers of war Le Tellier and his son Marquis de Louvois, they combine efficiency with cruelty. We can cite such facts that the training of officers and the equipment of the army improved, the number of commissars who were in charge of military productions and local services also increased, the role of artillery also greatly increased, under the leadership of the then best military engineer in Europe, the Marquis de Vaubon, the construction of fortresses, siege structures has become a science. Louis had commanders such as the Prince de Condé, the Viscount de Turenne, the Duke of Luxembourg and Nicolas Catin, these commanders are among the most famous military leaders of France in the entire history of this state. The administrative apparatus was headed by 6 ministers, they were the chancellor, the general controller of finance and four secretaries of state. Talk a little about each of them. The judicial departments were subject to the chancellor, and the comptroller general managed financial affairs, and four secretaries disposed of the departments of the navy, foreign affairs, and Huguenot affairs. Also, 34 quartermasters worked with these officials in the field, each of them had considerable power in his district and submitted information to the top. We see that under such a system, our king had almost unlimited scope for his activities, especially when he was assisted by a capable minister, with Louis such was Jean Baptiste Colbert, who was comptroller general from 1665. Let's talk a little about Colbert and the internal policy of the state. Colbert knew some information about jurisprudence and banking, which helped him translate his reforms into laws and operate in the field of finance. And his knowledge of the social and economic conditions of France was the result of his unparalleled capacity for work. Under his authority were all spheres except the army and foreign policy. He regulated industrial production, and on several occasions foreign capitalists and artisans came to the country. to regions with good natural conditions introduced new productions. International trade was under the control of a large number of consuls and was governed by the rules of the maritime code. Duties were imposed on imported finished products, and raw materials were allowed to be imported free of charge. He also revived colonial system , he made acquisitions in the West Indies, and forged close ties between the mother country and the colonies. Also, after the implementation of his decrees, a strong navy was created, and the wealth of France increased. Let's look at the foreign policy situation. With great resources and good leadership, Louis was able to win a lot, and many foreign relations became dynastic relations. Well, for example, one cousin of Louis was Charles II, King of England, as well as Scotland, another brother was Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor; he was also the brother-in-law of the king. Interestingly, the mothers of Louis and Leopold, like their wives, were sisters and Spanish princesses, which for about four decades made the issue of succession very important after the death of the childless king of Spain, Charles II. This inheritance, which went to the owner of the throne, included not only Spain, but also the southern Netherlands adjacent to France, now this territory is modern Belgium, and also Spanish possessions in Italy and in the New World. Louis' demands were reinforced by the fact that, in her marriage contract, his wife Maria Theresa renounced her claim to the throne on the condition of a substantial dowry. But since this was not done, Louis declared that the queen's right to the throne remained in force. Let's talk a little about the wars in which Louis participated. Louis often pursued a consistent policy for any length of time, so his permanent acquisitions of territory were rather meager in comparison to the loss of life and loss. In fact, the monarchy in France could not survive it for a long time, since the king "squeezed it to the end. We rely on the opinion of the Boriss. He wanted to take revenge on Leopold Habsburg, his enemy, who he inherited, he wanted to take revenge, just like the Dutch, as well as the British, who overthrew his cousin James II during the revolution in 1688. Let's talk about the War of Devolution, which took place in the time interval 1667-1668. were part of the Spanish hereditary lands.According to Louis, Maria Theresa, who was his wife, all the territories of the Spanish Netherlands were due, in which, according to local law or custom, the rule was in effect that in the event of a second marriage of the father, the property passed ("devolved" ) to children from the first marriage, who had an advantage over children from the second marriage. Before anyone could object that the laws on the division of private property could in no way be applied to the territory of states, Louis sent Turenne with an army of 35,000 to Spanish Netherlands and captured a number of important cities in May 1667. In January 1668, against this threat to stability in Europe, the Triple Alliance was formed, which included England, the United Provinces (Holland) and Sweden. But a few weeks later, the French general Conde and his army captured Franche-Comté on the eastern borders of France. At the same time, Louis signed a secret agreement with Emperor Leopold, which refers to the division of the Spanish inheritance between them, which was to come into force after the death of Charles II. With this trump card in hand, Louis made peace in 1668 in Aachen, according to which he returned Franche-Comte, but left behind part of the Flemish lands, including Douai and Lille. Let's talk a little about the Dutch War. Which was in 1672 to 1678. At that time, England and France began to draw closer because of dissatisfaction with the economic success of Holland, products that came from French and British colonies . In 1669, Colbert conceived a treaty between the two monarchs that was aimed at the Dutch Republic but failed. Then in May 1670, Louis decides to conclude a secret Treaty of Dover with Charles II, which stated that both monarchs would be obliged to start a war with Holland. Louis' motives were personal in nature, which corresponded to national interests: he wanted to humiliate Holland and establish a close alliance with Charles, which would be backed up by French subsidies; a little later, the positions of the Catholic Church in England were to be strengthened. In 1672, on June 6, Louis's army, which was numbering about 120,000 people, invaded Holland without a declaration of war. Then the de Witt brothers were in power, and they were torn to pieces by the crowd, who suspected them of betrayal, and then William of Orange became the commander-in-chief. Thanks to perseverance and perseverance, Wilhelm exhausted the invaders. And soon the Treaty of Nimwegen was signed in 1678. During this war, Louis achieved the return of Franche-Comte, who remained with him under the terms of the peace agreement. But he aroused discontent throughout Europe, because of the devastation of the Rhenish Palatinate, in which the majority of the population were Protestants. Now let's talk a little more about the war of the Augsburg League, which was 1688-1697. After the war, Louis's foreign policy leaves a more peaceful impression. But in fact, he maintained constant tension in Western Europe. Under rather dubious pretexts, he captured such cities as Colmar and Strasbourg. The rights to these cities were confirmed by the emperor and the government in August 1684 in the Treaty of Regensburg. These rights were confirmed for 20 years. Just like the Munich Treaty in 1938, the Regensburg Treaty was followed by some events that caused concern. These events include such as the repeal in 1685 of the Edict of Nantes, which caused rejection among the Protestant sovereigns and absurd claims to the Rhine Palatinate. European fears were reflected in July 1686 with the formation of the League of Augsburg, where the emperor himself was allied with certain Protestant and Catholic princes for joint defense. William became king of England after James II and the so-called Glorious Revolution won. Wilhelm led the fight against Louis, and at that moment he had all the material resources of England and the active help of the emperor, Spain and Brandenburg. And he had the tacit support of the pope. This war is called the War of the League of Augsburg (or the War of the Palatinate Succession). It was both on land and at sea in Flanders and in northern Italy, on the Rhine, and it began with the second devastation of the Palatinate. The most important battles were those on the Boyne in Ireland, which was July 1, 1690, when William drove James II out of Ireland, and naval battle at La Hougue, which took place on May 29, 1692, in which the British destroyed a large part of the French fleet. But the war ended in a draw: under the Treaty of Ryswick, which was signed in September 1697, Louis renounced almost everything he had won after Niemwegen, and also recognized William as king of England and promised not to support the Stuart dynasty. Now let's talk a little more about the War of the Spanish Succession, which was from 1701 to 1714. Since Wilhelm and Louis could not solve the problem of the Spanish inheritance, they agreed to divide it. When Charles II dies on November 1, 1700, in accordance with the will of his entire inheritance, the youngest of the grandchildren of Louis, the Duke of Anjou, Philip, enters the Spanish throne as Philip V. Europe is tired of wars, so it calmly made this decision. The will also stated that the crowns of France and Spain should not be reunited. But Louis decided to ignore this and decided to issue a decree stating that the right of the Duke of Anjou to the French throne remained inviolable. At the same moment, Louis decides to place French troops in the cities on the Flemish border. At the moment when James II died on September 16, 1701, Louis officially recognized his son, also James, the so-called "Old Pretender", as heir to the English throne. But Wilhelm also takes action to counter the new threats from France, on September 7, on his initiative, the Grand Alliance was founded in The Hague, the main participants were England, the Holy Roman Empire and Holland. When, in 1702, Queen Anne, enters the English throne for William, she declares war on Louis. In this war, France was opposed by forces that were under the command of two great generals, one of the bottom was the Duke of Marlborough and the other Prince Eugene of Savoy, this war was fast and maneuverable, and mainly it had strategic goals. The Allies won several victories at the battles of Hochstedt in 1704, Ramilli in 1706, Oudenard in 1708, and Malplac in 1709. But France won a victory in Spain in 1707 under Almansa, and this victory enabled Philip to retain his crown. A change of cabinet in England in 1710 led to the removal from power of the Whigs who wanted to continue the war, and in April 1713 the Tories signed the Treaty of Utrecht. Based on the opinion of Borisov. It said that Louis recognized the rights to the English throne for the Hanoverian dynasty, whose representative was to take the throne after Anna's death, and he also renounced part of the French possessions in Canada. About Holland, we can say that it was protected from encroachment by a line of defensive forts in the southern Netherlands, and the southern Netherlands itself passed from Spain to Austria. The northeastern border of the country did not change much, but Lille and Strasbourg remained with France. Philip renounced his claims to the French throne and recognized the capture of Gibraltar by England. Let us now consider the domestic policy of the last period. All the wars that we listed earlier, for obvious reasons, fell on France into an unbearable burden. And the taxation system failed, so Louis resorted to unusual measures, including, for example, the sale of aristocratic titles. And in church politics, Louis, as before, expands the independence of the French Catholic Church from the pope, and also continues to strengthen the power of the king over the clergy. When Colbert died in 1683, the king was assisted by ministers who did not differ much from the courtiers.

The revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685, which we spoke of a little earlier, was a very serious mistake of Louis, because it forced many of the Huguenots, numbering about 400,000, to leave the country and move to England, Holland, Prussia, North and South Carolina and other countries. From which it follows that France has lost the skills of these people and their capital. The repeal of the edict consisted in the simple declaration that there were no more heretics or Huguenots in France, with the simultaneous prohibition of emigration. Those Huguenots who were captured while trying to leave the country after the repeal of the edict were sent to the gallows or shot. We should at least take a look at court life and culture during the reign of Louis. After the death of Maria Theresa in 1683, Louis decided to enter into a secret marriage with Madame de Maintenon, the tutor of his illegitimate children, but she never became queen of France. It was during this period that the palace in Versailles, which was located southwest of Paris, 18 km from its center, gained worldwide fame. Unheard of luxury and refined etiquette reigned here, they seemed to be the most suitable surroundings for the Sun King. Most of the palace was built according to the instructions of Louis, and in it the king gathered the most prominent representatives of the nobility, because near the king they could not be dangerous to his power. Until about 1690, Versailles attracted writers who were the glory of France - Molière, Racine, La Fontaine, Boileau, Madame de Sevigne, as well as artists, sculptors, and musicians. But in last years During the reign of Louis, we meet at the court of only one great artist - the composer Francois Couperin. The life of the court is described in the memoirs of the Duke of Saint-Simon. The king patronized writers and artists, they, for their part, turned his reign into the brightest page in the history of France, the so-called. "the age of Louis XIV", making him a role model for other countries. Thus, French became the language of the upper classes throughout Europe, and the classicist literature of the Louis era defined and personified those laws of good taste that had been adopted in European literature for a whole century. Louis died at Versailles after a reign of sixty-one years, on September 1, 1715. His son Louis of France, he was called the Grand Dauphin, died in 1711, and Louis XV, the young great-grandson of the king, ascended the throne. We relied on the opinion of Borisov.

5. The Decline of Absolutism in France in the 18th Century

After Louis XIV died, Louis XV reigned first from 1715 to 1774, and after him Louis XVI ascended the throne, his reigns from 1774 to 1792. This period was the time of the development of French educational literature, but at the same time, this is the era of the loss by France of its former importance in international politics and internal decline. As we said a little earlier, the country after the reign of Louis XIV came to ruin, due to heavy taxes, and large public debt, as well as deficits. After the repeal of the Edict of Nantes, Catholicism triumphed over Protestantism, and absolutism also continued to dominate France in the 18th century, although in other countries sovereigns and ministers tried to act in the spirit of enlightened absolutism. According to many historians, Louis XV and Louis XVI were bad rulers, who knew nothing but court life, and they also did nothing to improve the general state of affairs in the state. Until the middle of the 18th century, all the French, who wanted changes and well understood their necessity, hoped for royal power as the only force that could bring about reforms, Voltaire and the Physiocrats thought so. But when society became disillusioned with its expectations, it began to treat power negatively, ideas of political freedom began to appear, in particular, they were expressed by Montesquieu and Rousseau. When Louis XV began to reign, he was Louis XIV's great-grandson, the Duke of Orleans Philippe ruled over the early childhood of the king. The era of the regency from 1715 to 1723 was marked by the frivolity and depravity of representatives of power and high society. During this period, France experienced a severe economic shock, which further worsened things. When Louis XV came of age, he did little business, but he loved secular entertainment and court intrigues, and he entrusted the affairs to the ministers. And he appointed the minister by listening to his favorites. For example, the Marquise of Pompadour greatly influenced the king and spent a lot of finances, and she also interfered in politics. As is obvious, the decline of France was also in foreign policy and in military art. France left its ally Poland to its fate in the War of the Polish Succession, which lasted from 173 to 1738. In the War of the Austrian Succession, Louis acted against Maria Theresa, but then Louis XV took her side and defended her interests in the Seven Years' War. These wars were accompanied by rivalry between France and England in the colonies, for example, the British were able to oust the French from the East Indies and North America. But France was able to expand its territory by annexing Lorraine and Corsica. Well, if we consider the domestic policy of Louis XV, then he destroyed the Jesuit order in France, and fought with Parliament. Under Louis XIV, Parliament was subdued, but during the regency of the Duke of Orleans, Parliament began to argue with the government and even criticize. The independence and courage of parliaments in relation to the government made the parliament quite popular among the people. In the early seventies, the government went to last resort in the fight against Parliament, but chose not a good reason. One of the provincial parliaments opened a case on charges of various iniquities local governor Duke of Eguillon, who was a peer of France and could only be tried in the Parliament of Paris. The duke had the disposition of the court, and therefore the king ordered the case to be closed, but the parliament of the capital, which was supported by all the provincial parliaments, said that this order was illegal, saying at the same time that it was impossible to dispense justice if the courts were deprived of liberty. Chancellor Mopu exiled recalcitrant judges and replaced parliaments with new courts. The discontent in society was so strong that when Louis XV died, his grandson and successor Louis XVI restored the old parliament. According to historians, he was a benevolent person, he was not averse to serving the people, but he was deprived of the will and the habit of working. quite quickly after his accession to the throne, he made a very famous physiocrat, and a good administrator Turgot, who brought reform plans in the spirit of enlightened absolutism, minister of finance or in other words general controller. He did not want to diminish the power of the king and did not approve of the restoration of parliaments, because he expected them to interfere with his work. Turgot differed from other figures of enlightened absolutism in that he was an opponent of centralization and created a whole plan for rural, urban and provincial self-government, which was based on a non-estate and elective principle. So he wanted to improve the management of the localities, interest the society in them, as well as increase the public spirit. Turgot was an opponent of class privileges, for example, he wanted to attract the nobility and the clergy to pay taxes and even cancel everything feudal rights. He also wanted to get rid of workshops and various restrictions on trade, such as monopolies and internal customs. Ultimately, he very much wanted to develop an education for the whole people and restore equality to the Protestants. Turgot was opposed by all the defenders of antiquity, even Queen Marie Antoinette herself and the court, who were very pleased with the financial savings he introduced. We rely on the opinion of Cherkasov. The clergy and the nobility were also against him, even the tax-farmers, the grain dealers, and the parliament, the parliament opposed the reforms of the minister-reformer and thus called him to fight. Various rumors were spread against Turgot in order to irritate people, to stir up various disorders, which had to be calmed by armed force. But after Turgot managed affairs for no more than 2 years, he was resigned, and it was decided to cancel what he managed to do. After Turgot was dismissed, the government of Louis XVI took the direction set by the privileged class, although the fact that reforms were needed and the opinion of society always made itself felt, many of Turgot's successors wanted to introduce changes, but they lacked Turgot's mind and his courage. The best of the new ministers was Necker, he was a good financier, valued his popularity, but lacked firmness of character. During the first 4 years of his ministry, he made certain intentions of Turgot, but greatly curtailed and changed. To give an example, in two areas he introduced provincial government, but without urban and rural, but with less rights than Turgot wanted. But Necker was soon removed for having published the budget of the state, without hiding the huge expenses of the court. During this period, France further worsened its financial condition intervention in the war North American colonies for freedom from England. But if you look from the other side, then the participation of France in the founding of the new republic, further strengthened the desire of the French for political freedom. Under Necker's successors, the government again thought about financial and administrative reforms, wanted to have the support of the people, a meeting of notables was convened twice, a meeting of notables is a meeting of representatives of all three estates by royal choice. But this meeting also sharply criticized the poor conduct of affairs by the ministers. Parliaments arose again, which did not want any reforms, but protesting against the arbitrariness of the government, the privileged part of the population protested, as well as the whole people. The government decided to replace them with new courts, but then restored them again. At this time, in 1787, people began to talk about the need to convene the States General. The authorities decided to call Necker to power for the second time, but he did not want to take over the management of finances except under the condition of convening a class representation. Louis XVI was forced to agree. In 1789 there was a meeting of government officials, this meeting was the beginning of the great French Revolution, which lasted ten years and completely transformed the social and political system of France.

June 1789, the old estate representation of France became a representation of the people, as well as the states general were transformed into a national assembly, and on July 9 it declared itself constituent assembly, on August 4, all estate and provincial privileges and feudal rights were abolished, and then the monarchic constitution of 1791 was drafted. But the form of government in France was not for long a constitutional monarchy. Already on September 21, 1792, France was proclaimed a republic. This was the era internal unrest and foreign wars. It was only in 1795 that the country moved to a correct state system, but the so-called constitution of the III year did not last long: it was overthrown in 1799 by General Napoleon Bonaparte, whose era opens the history of the XIX century in France. In the era of the revolution, France conquered Belgium, the left bank of the Rhine and Savoy and began republican propaganda in neighboring countries. Revolutionary Wars were only the beginning of the wars of the consulate and the empire, filling the first 15 years XIX century.

Conclusion

Now it's time to consider what we learned after the work done. Let's see what conclusions we came to.

We understand that the foundations of absolutism were laid under Louis XI, who lived from 1423 to 1483. He was able to complete the centralization of France by increasing its territory. In France, there were religious wars that took place between the Huguenots and the Catholics, but surprisingly, he strengthened absolutism. It is interesting that the active force in each of the parties were the lower classes and the petty nobility, and the feudal nobility, who wanted to limit royal power, led the fight. The leaders of the Catholics were the Dukes of Giza, and the Huguenots were led by Antoine Bourbon (1518-1562), Prince Louis II Conde (1621-1686), Admiral G. Coligny (1519-1572), and Henry of Navarre, who in the future will be the king of France Henry IV (1553-1610). The very important Edict of Nantes was also signed, which stated that although Catholicism was the dominant religion, the Huguenots were given freedom of religion and worship in all cities except Paris.

We see that the more absolutism became stronger, the more more role states-general decreased. In 1614, under Louis XIII, the States General were dissolved because they wanted to abolish the privileges of the upper classes. And for 175 years, the Estates General did not meet again. As we have repeatedly said, absolutism in France, according to many historians not only in France, but throughout the world, reaches its zenith under the reign of Louis XIV, who became king in 1643. He had such unlimited power that, as we have already said, the phrase "The State is me" is attributed to him. But we saw that during this period, France had very large expenses for the war, for the royal court, the king also had many favorites, for which there were also a lot of expenses, as well as huge finances went to pay for the bureaucracy, which was the most numerous , and also do not forget about public debts, all this forced the state to increase taxes. And the unprivileged classes responded to the increase in taxes with a large number of uprisings, which were in 1548, 1624, 1639 and others. As a result, we can say that the establishment of absolutism in France led to the formation of a single French nation, an increase in the economic power of the French monarchy, as well as the development of capitalism in the country. In general, this leads to the fact that in the XVI - XVII centuries. France is one of the most powerful states in Europe. Also during this period, a large number of dynastic wars take place, in which they often take place for the sake of dividing the inheritance of any state.

Bibliography

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Annex 1. (Louis XIV)

Appendix 2 (Marble Palace of Versailles)

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22. Absolute monarchy in France.

Absolute monarchy in France (Absolutism)(XVI-XVIII centuries)

France is a classic example of absolutism.

By the end of the XV century. political unification was completed, France became a single centralized state (thus, a unitary form of government is gradually being established).

social order

Beginning of the 16th century characterized by the rapid development of industry, there are various technical improvements, a new loom, etc. Small-scale production is replaced by a larger one based on hired labor - manufactories. There is a division of labor in them, the labor of hired workers is used. There is a process of initial capitalist accumulation, capital is formed, first of all, from merchants (especially from those who conducted overseas trade), from the owners of manufactories, from large artisans, masters. This urban elite formed into the class of the bourgeoisie, and as wealth grew, its importance in feudal society increased. Thus, in the field of industry, the capitalist mode of production is developing. But the bulk of the population was employed in agriculture, and in it there were feudal-serf relations, feudal fetters, i.e. in the village there is a feudal way of life.

The social structure is changing. There are still three classes. As before, the first estate - the clergy, the second - the nobility. At the same time, the nobility since the XV century. stratified into the nobility of the "sword" (the old hereditary nobility, which has access to all officer positions) and the nobility of the "robes" (people who bought a title of nobility and a court position for a high sum). The nobility of the “sword” treats the nobility of the “robes”, who occupy judicial and similar positions, rather dismissively, as if they were upstarts. Among the nobility of the “sword”, the court aristocracy, the favorites of the king, stands out especially. People who hold office under the king (sinecura). On the basis of the third estate, the bourgeois class is split off, and the big bourgeoisie (financial bourgeoisie, bankers) stands out. This part grows together with the court nobility, it is the support of the king. The second part is the middle bourgeoisie (the industrial bourgeoisie, the most significant, growing part of the bourgeoisie, which is more opposed to the king). The third part of the bourgeoisie is the petty bourgeoisie (artisans, small traders; this part is even more opposed to the king than the middle one).

Peasants everywhere bought off personal dependence, and most of the peasants (we saw this in the previous period) are now censors, i.e. personally free, obliged to pay rent to the lord, are in land dependence, on them the main tax, the main requisitions both in favor of the state, and in favor of the church, and in favor of the lord fell.

And at the same time, the proletariat (pre-proletariat) was born - the workers of manufactories. Close to them in position are apprentices, apprentices who work for their masters.

At a certain stage, when feudal relations develop in the depths of the feudal system, a kind of balance of power is established between the two exploiting classes, neither of which can outweigh. The bourgeoisie is economically strong, but deprived of political power. It is weighed down by feudal orders, but before the revolution it had not yet matured. The nobility clings tenaciously to its rights and privileges, despises the rich bourgeois, but can no longer do without them and without their money. Under these conditions, taking advantage of this balance, using the contradictions between these two classes, state power achieves significant independence, royal power rises as an apparent mediator between these classes, and absolute monarchy becomes the form of government.

Political system.

It is characterized by the following features:

1. An unprecedented increase in the power of the king, the fullness of all power. And legislative, and executive, and financial, and military ... Solitary acts of the king become law (a principle that operated in the Roman state).

2. The States General are convened less and less, and finally, from 1614 they are not convened at all until the beginning of the French bourgeois revolution (Great French Revolution) in 1789.

3. Reliance on the bureaucratic apparatus, the formation of a branched bureaucratic apparatus. The number of officials is growing sharply.

4. A unitary form of government is being approved.

5. The backbone of the king's power, in addition to bureaucracy, is a standing army, an extensive network of police.

6. Destroyed senior court. Both in the center and in the field it has been replaced<королевскими судьями>.

7. The Church is subordinate to the state and becomes a reliable support of state power.

The establishment of an absolute monarchy began under King Francis I (1515-1547) and was completed thanks to the activities of Cardinal Richelieu (1624-1642). Francis had already refused to convene the Estates General. Francis I subjugated the church. In 1516, between him and Pope Leo X in the city of Bologna, a concordat was concluded (literally, a "cordial agreement"), according to which the appointment to the highest church positions belongs to the king, and the pope is ordained to the dignity.

Under the successors of Francis I, the Huguenot wars broke out (Protestants fought with Catholics for a long time). Finally, Henry IV of the Huguenots decided to convert to Catholicism, saying, "Paris is worth a mass." The final approval of absolutism in France is associated with the activities of Cardinal Richelieu. He was the first minister under King Louis XIII. The cardinal said: "My first goal is the greatness of the king, my second goal is the greatness of the kingdom." Richelieu set the goal of creating a centralized state with unlimited royal power. He introduces a series of reforms:

1. Carried out public administration reform

A) in central office secretaries of state began to play an important role. They constituted the "small royal council". They consisted of the king's officials. This small council made a real difference in management. There was a big council of "princes of the blood". It begins to play an increasingly decorative role, i. the big council loses its real significance, the nobility is removed from management.

B) on the ground: officials were sent from the center to the provinces - "commissioners" - officials, controllers of the governors. They obeyed the small council and played an important role in overcoming parochialism, local separatism of governors, in centralization, in strengthening the central government.

2. Richelieu launched an attack on the Paris Parliament, which (in addition to its judicial function) had the right to register royal edicts and, in this regard, had the right to protest, to remonstrate, i.e. the right to declare their disagreement with the royal law. Parliament was forced to submit to the will of Richelieu and practically did not exercise its right to remonstrate.

3. Richelieu, encouraging the development of industry and trade, at the same time cruelly cracked down on those cities that were still trying to show their independence, to raise their self-government.

4. An important part Richelieu's policy was to strengthen the army and navy, while he paid great attention to the activities of intelligence and counterintelligence. An extensive police apparatus was created.

5. In the field of financial policy, Richelieu, on the one hand, said that it was impossible to increase taxes particularly excessively, that one must take into account the situation of the people, i.e. on the one hand, he opposed excessive tax increases. At the same time, in practice, taxes under him increased by 4 times, and he himself writes in the same book: “The peasant, like a mole, deteriorates without work, and therefore it is necessary to levy appropriate taxes from him.”

The heyday of absolutism in France falls during the reign of Louis XIV (1643-1715), he is called the “Sun King”, he said: “I am the Kingdom”. The power of the king is in no way and in no way limited, reliance on bureaucracy, on the police, while officials and policemen, including receive unlimited powers, police supervision is established. “Orders in sealed envelopes” are gaining popularity; the official receives a form with an arrest order, it was enough to enter any last name, any name, so that the person disappeared without a trace. That is, arbitrariness in the highest degree of bureaucracy, police and bureaucracy. This is all characteristic of an absolutist state.