The importance of the reign of Louis XIV can be gauged from the fact that Voltaire and Will Durrant have defined the history of Europe at that time in the name of Louis XIV.
1. Kingship Theory: Definition and Demonstration
a. No division in power: After the death of Mazaren, King Louis XIV concentrated the entire administration in his hands. After this, King Louis XIV did not appoint any person to the post of Prime Minister and he said that he did not need the help of any minister, he would rule himself. He himself wanted to conduct administration policies. He used to consider his ministers and officials like clerks and servants.
b. Powers of state institutions were limited: The powers of the Parliament, States General and Municipalities of France were limited, that is why no meeting of the National Assembly called 'States General' was called during his reign. For this reason, no meeting of the National Assembly called 'States General' was called during his reign. He started saying that "I am the State."
c. Recognition of the divine right of the king: For the fatalistic people of the society, he tried to establish that he has been created by God as the king, so it is their destiny for the people to follow the orders of the king. Louis accomplished this task with great pomp and dignity. Bossue was an eloquent clergyman and widely studied in history and philosophy. He made him the teacher of his son. Every day when he used to speak in the church, he used to advocate the supremacy of the king. According to him monarchy is 'the most ancient, most appropriate and most natural form of government'. He used to say that God creates the king for his special work. God controls the world through the king. Therefore the king is responsible only to God, according to him "the king is the representative of God on earth."
d. Royal symbol SUN: He kept his royal symbol Sun. He was called Roi Soleil or Sun King. This thing was very important. Just as the sun is the center of the entire solar system, similarly he himself was the center of the entire system. And just as all the planets of the solar system revolve around the sun, getting light and life from it, in the same way life and light flowed from it in his kingdom.
e. Emphasis on prestige: To display his pride and prestige, he built a royal palace at a place called Versailles, 12 miles from the city of Paris. In its construction, the services of high quality artisans of France were taken and the palace was decorated in a very beautiful and luxurious manner. The king and his family, courtiers and high officials of the administration resided in the palace of Versailles.
f. Cultural development for image building: Louis XIV also paid special attention to the development of art, literature and music. Corneille was a well-known dramatist and is called the 'Father of French drama'. Moller was also a dramatist of high order. The skill of his writing style is clearly visible in the humorous letters of Madan de Sévienne. The style of La Fontaine and Ratsin is also very beautiful. The works of these writers had made the French language popular in Europe. That is why the reign of King Louis XIV is called the 'Golden Age' of French literature. The art, lifestyle, dress and literature of France became a model for civilized Europe.
2. Economic Reforms: Colbert's Efforts
Louis XIV appointed Colbert to the post of Finance Minister. After becoming the finance minister, his main objective was to develop and strengthen the economic condition of France. But as soon as he turned his attention to reforms, he found many problems.
- excess of government expenditure
- Tax burden on general public
- Contractual practice of collecting tax
- The impact on the exchequer due to the excess of wars
To overcome these problems, it took the following steps-
- First of all, a special court of honest and hardworking people was formed to investigate corrupt and greedy employees. Due to his efforts, the state got the hijacked amount of about 40 crore rupees.
- Colbert wanted to impose direct land tax on the elite class as well, but he could not do so due to government interference, but Colbert checked the certificates of the elites on the basis of which they were exempted from direct land tax. The nobles whose rights could not be proved, he forced them to pay land tax.
- He reduced the direct taxes of the farmers and tried to improve the breeds of animals to improve the condition of the farmers.
- For the arrangement of irrigation, the 160-mile-long Languedoc Canal was built, connecting the Rhône and Garonne rivers with the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Sea.
- Along with increasing the state's income and cutting expenditure, reduced the interest rate on loans.
- Colbert adopted Mercantilism for the advancement of trade and commerce. Under this policy, he encouraged new industries in France. Artisans and skilled trainers were invited to France from Holland, England and Italy. It was declared illegal for French artisans to go abroad.
3. Centralization of Administration
His important task was to organize the central administration. He created many committees in the administration whose members were like his servants. The first committee in the center was the 'Council of State' whose function was to advise the king regarding international problems. Second, there was the 'Council of Despatches' whose jurisdiction was related to internal administration. The third committee used to conduct financial work, which was called 'Council of Finance'. The king himself used to determine all the policies of the administration. The work of each committee was only to give advice to the king and they could not do any work independently without the approval of the king. Louis XIV himself kept a strict eye on the departments of the administration. He used to say that "Government is through work and for work."
4. Religious Policy
Louis XIV declared in France in 1682 AD that he was above the Pope in France even if it was a matter of religion. Hence the struggle started between Louis and Pope Innocent Fourteenth. This conflict is known in history as the "Rigel's struggle". Ultimately, in 1693 AD, Louis XIV had to withdraw his declaration, but the Pope also had to recognize the right of Louis to appoint vacant bishops in France. Louis XIV was definitely defeated in this struggle, but now the church of France started talking about him. Louis XIV was religiously intolerant. He adopted the policy of suppression of non-Catholics in France. Due to this, skilled, peace-loving and mercantile people like Jansenites Visually skilled merchants and artisans had to flee from France. His religious policy seriously affected his foreign policy.
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