The Life Of King Louis XIV - Part 4 - The Later Years

Welcome to part 4 of my series about Louis XIV. As mentioned in last week's video, Louis XIV was excommunicated in 1688. When the election for the Diocese of Cologne came up, the Pope refused to appoint Louis' favorite candidate, William of Fürstenberg. As a result, Louis XIV actively interfered in the election of the new Pope in 1691. The newly elected Pope restored the ties between the Papal State and France. A series of crop failures in the early 1690s caused a major famine in France in 1694. It is estimated that 2 million French citizens died, which was one-tenth of the population. One of the major factors causing the famine was the tax system set up by Louis XIV. As a result, the king and his regime became sharply criticized. In 1698, William III of Orange reached out his hand to France. To this end, an ambassador was sent to Versailles. The peace discussions held included the succession of the childless Spanish king, Charles II. Upon Charles II's death, the Spanish king appointed Louis XIV's grandson, Philippe of Anjou, as his successor. On November 16, 1699, the proclamation of the new king of Spain took place in Versailles and Louis XIV's grandson became the new king of Spain, Philippe V. Meanwhile, the relationship between the king and his younger brother, Philippe, Duc d'Orléans, hardened. For some time, Philippe had been insisting on the promotion of his son, Philippe, the Duc de Chartres, who had proved himself to be a skilled soldier. His father insisted on appointing Philippe as commander-in-chief, while Louis XIV wanted Philippe to remain at court. A final showdown between the two brothers led to Philippe having a stroke and dying the next day. After the death of his father, the Duc of Chartres inherited the Duchy of Orléans and became a wealthy man, after which the relationship between the son king and his cousin gradually improved. For a biography on the life of Monsieur Philippe Duc d'Orléans, you can click the link in the upper right corner. The accession of Louis' grandson to the throne of Spain did not trigger the expected wave of protests abroad. French and Spain worked together on trade agreements, assigning the Spanish slave trade to France. When the exiled English king James II died, Louis XIV recognized his son, James François Edward Stuart, to be the rightful king of England. Driven by both the resentment at the recognition of Stuart as the rightful king, and because of the trade interests at stake, William III, King of England, persuaded many European countries to declare war on France in 1702, marking the start of the War of the Spanish Succession. During this war, the French army suffered several major defeats. In the meantime, the king was now suffering from insomnia and gout, his digestion also deteriorated and he developed constipation, which was remedied with the help of laxatives. The news about battles lost was kept from the king, as his advisors started to fear it would negatively impact the health of the king. By 1708, the treasury was empty due to the French war expenditure. Peace negotiations failed and due to the ongoing war and the harsh winter, bread prices in France rose enormously. This resulted in growing opposition among the population directed against the monarchy. In an attempt to appease the people, Louis XIV committed a unique act on May 12, 1709. The king addressed his people personally, justifying his policies and asking them for their support. His words were distributed throughout the country. In doing so, the Sun King succeeded in gaining massive support among his people. Furthermore, the French council agreed to peace terms less favorable to France. Louis agreed that his grandson, the king of Spain, should relinquish any right to the throne of France. Six months later, on April 11, 1713, Philip V agreed to these terms and the Treaty of Utrecht was signed. On April 9, 1711, news reached Louis XIV that his son, the heir to the throne, had contracted smallpox and had died after six days of illness. The death of his only legitimate son touched the king deeply. In 1712, two other heirs of Louis XIV passed away. In an effort to prevent his dynasty from falling into the hands of Philip II of Orleans, Louis XIV appointed his now-acknowledged illegitimate sons by Madame de Montespan, Louis-Auguste and Louis-Alexandre as Princes of the Blood in July 1714, making them eligible for the French throne. Louis XIV also had a will drawn up in which he appointed both natural sons to the Regency Council. In his will, the Duc d'Orleans only became the head of that council. All decisions of the council had to be taken by majority vote. The will was kept secret until the death of the king. Due to his age, Louis XIV was now much less present as king as he was before. He usually avoided public appearances and became less politically involved. This concludes part 4 of my 5-part series on Louis XIV. In the next chapter, we'll talk about his death and legacy. See you then!