Louis XIV by Olivier Bernier

Author:Olivier Bernier [Olivier Bernier]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Biography/Royalty
ISBN: 9781640191433
Publisher: New Word City, Inc.
Published: 2018-02-07T05:00:00+00:00

Ordering a splendid court, domesticating the aristocracy in Europe’s most splendid palace, exacting the most unquestioning obedience from all his subjects, all that only represented one aspect of the king’s life. Just as important, just as carefully planned, was war. Because, in our own time, war has taken on such a devastating character, the word very properly evokes fear and abhorrence: There can be no excuse, ever, for starting an aggressive war. None of this horror, however, was true in the seventeenth century. Wars were not only shorter and far more limited - guns still most often missed their target, rifles were cumbersome and inaccurate, and took a long time to reload - but they were also only fought part time: There was a campaigning season, from April to November; in winter, the contending armies went into their winter quarters to be safe until spring.

Then, too, the act of fighting was still considered praiseworthy: There was glory to be earned, bravery to be displayed. Great generals were widely admired, and conquered territory seemed highly desirable. This last, no doubt, was especially true in France: Not only was it the strongest and most populated country in Europe, but it had also failed to reach what have been since considered its natural limits, the Alps, the Pyrenees, and the modern border with Belgium. That the province of Franche-Comté, French-speaking and French-surrounded, should be Spanish clearly made no sense, and while Louis XIV never forgot his gloire, the wars of the seventies, with one exception, aimed at giving France more reasonable borders.

Unfortunately, the exception was a very sizable one. In the entire course of his long reign, Louis XIV never made a worse foreign policy mistake than when he decided to attack Holland. Vanquished, it had nothing much to offer him, and if it should resist effectively, it could only damage his reputation. To the king himself, though, the reasons seemed good enough: The Dutch had been instrumental in forcing him to make peace in 1668; by crushing them, he would remove a menace from his flank when the war with Spain resumed; and it is impossible to deny that he had been irked by the Republic’s pride.

As it was, he did not move until he felt sure of victory. Madame, just before her death, had been pivotal in concluding a treaty of alliance with Charles II, thus ensuring that the Dutch would also be opposed by Europe’s greatest maritime power. The princes whose possessions were near the Rhine were bribed into acquiescence. The Treasury was prosperous and Colbert was ready to provide more money when needed. Finally, the army was superbly trained and supplied thanks to Louvois’s tireless efforts; with generals like Condé, Turenne, and Vauban, the great engineer, it was clearly invincible.

Having thus carefully prepared his victory, the king left St. Germain on April 29, 1672. On June 12, the king and the army reached the Rhine and crossed it, defeating the Dutch in the process, and raising the reputation of France to the skies.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.