Was Louis XIV an Absolute Monarch?

Was Louis XIV an Absolute monarch?

          Louis XIV was the king that had the longest length of rein in Europe’s history. He controlled everything and ruled by absolutism. He was a strong leader and nothing could stop him or question him. Louis was an absolute monarch and I will explain why.

          A reason for him considered an absolute monarch is that he had the longest reign of power in all of Europe’s history. Louis XIV ruled from 1643 until 1715, which means he ruled 69 years. Louis, as an elected leader wouldn’t have ruled for so long.

          Louis had complete control over decision making. He said, “I order you not to sign anything not even a passport without my command.” This explains that nothing is done around the monarchy without his command this also means that he had knowledge about every single thing that’s going on in the country.

          In his time of ruling, Louis didn’t share his power. He creates new powers and ignores originally noblemen. During this time, Nicolas Fouquet became rich and powerful so he was imprisoned. He did not want any other powers to rule with him or question his orders. This made all the power go only to him and gave no chance for any other nobles or anyone who controls power to ruin his country or throw him of the thrown.

          Louis XIV also centralized power. He did that by creating bureaucracy (the organization of an institution).He also created the industry. Centralizing power makes it easier for him to control the whole monarchy and to know every single thing that’s happening and also to be close from all other parts of the monarchy.

          Louis was so strict about his absolute monarchy that he removed limits to legislative powers. He did that by removing all estates generals and no longer be estate generals. The only explanation for this is that he wants to rule alone with no other ranks or nobles to  stand in the way of his rules and commands.

          King Louis also started to glorify the monarchy. He built arches and statues. He also created the largest palaces in Europe. This was done for him to be known everywhere to for his monarchy to beshown magnificent and mostly to show his wealth and power.

          At this time, Louis fought a lot of continental wars.  He fought the Dutch and broke their trade. It made him and his monarchy gain more wealth and more land. The bigger the monarchy, the stronger its leader.

          His personality was a great reason for him to be an absolute monarch. No project was too hard for him, he transported trees from other parts of France because they didn’t grow in the area he wanted. He was also very selfish and wanted all attention to be on him. Louis displayed his power through parties and palaces and he liked to show off his women. It took 40,000 workers to build his palace. This makes him a strong leader and all his personality traits make him refuse to share power with anyone and take it all for himself.

          In conclusion, Louis surely was an absolute monarch. He did what ever possible just to not share his power. He controlled everything and no one could do anything without his permission. He was a strong leader and ruled for many decades and his reign was the longest in Europe’s history. All of these reasons explain that Louis the XIV was an absolute monarch.