France After Louis XIV and the Mississippi Bubble

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Questions and Answers

Who succeeded Louis XIV as king of France?

Louis XV

What financial plan did John Law propose?

To invest solely in gold

To increase the money supply through paper currency (correct)

To decrease the money supply

To abolish paper currency altogether

The Mississippi Bubble was a successful financial strategy.

False

What was the result of the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle?

Louis gained control of certain towns bordering the Spanish Netherlands. Signup and view all the answers

Louis XIV's financial advisor who helped expand the French military was ______.

Jean-Baptiste Colbert Signup and view all the answers

What major event marked the financial collapse in France during John Law's time?

The Mississippi Bubble Signup and view all the answers

During whose regency did the Mississippi Bubble burst?

Duke of Orléans Signup and view all the answers

The Parliament of Paris lost its power during the regency of the Duke of Orléans.

False Signup and view all the answers

Match the following events with their corresponding dates:

Louis XIV ascends the throne = 1643 Death of Louis XIV = 1715 Mississippi Bubble bursts = 1720 War of Devolution ends = 1668 Signup and view all the answers

What marked the decline of the French monarchy during Louis XV's reign?

Military defeats and challenges from the French aristocracy. Signup and view all the answers

What role did Parlements play during Louis XV's reign?

They became centers of resistance to the monarchy's authority. Signup and view all the answers

Who aimed to maintain monarchical authority while considering local interests during Louis XV's reign?

Cardinal Fleury Signup and view all the answers

Louis XV's reign was characterized by significant military successes.

False Signup and view all the answers

What was the Mississippi Bubble?

A financial disaster involving the loss of investors' money due to John Law's economic strategies. Signup and view all the answers

Which countries formed the Grand Alliance during the War of the Spanish Succession?

England, Holland, and the Holy Roman Empire Signup and view all the answers

Charles II of Spain died without an ______ in 1700.

heir Signup and view all the answers

France was well-prepared militarily during the War of the Spanish Succession.

False Signup and view all the answers

What advanced weaponry did the English possess during the War of the Spanish Succession?

Flint-lock rifles, paper cartridges, and ring bayonets. Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

France After Louis XIV

Despite military setbacks in the War of the Spanish Succession, France remained a powerful nation in 1715.
France possessed a large population, sophisticated economy, and well-established administration, inherited from Louis XIV.
The Duke of Orléans became regent after the death of Louis XIV.
The regency period was marked by financial and moral scandals, further weakening the monarchy.

John Law and the Mississippi Bubble

The Duke of Orléans entrusted financial management to John Law, a Scottish mathematician and gambler.
Law believed increasing the money supply through paper currency would stimulate the French economy.
He established a bank and a trading monopoly (Mississippi Company) in Louisiana.
The Mississippi Company took on France's national debt.
Law's plan involved issuing company stock in exchange for government bonds.
In 1719, the price of the stock rose sharply, leading to investors profiting by exchanging stock for paper money then gold.
Law's bank lacked sufficient gold to redeem all the paper money, halting gold payments in February 1720.
Law fled the country, and the collapse of the system became known as the Mississippi Bubble, undermining French economic stability.

Renewed Authority of the Parlements

The Duke of Orléans revived the participation of the French nobility in decision-making by creating councils where nobles served alongside bureaucrats.
The nobility still longed for their historical rights and influence over the monarchy.
The Parliament of Paris regained its full power by decree.

Louis's Early Wars

Louis XIV supported the claim of his first wife, Marie Thérèse, to inherit the Spanish Netherlands, leading to the War of Devolution.
The war ended with the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1668, where Louis gained control of certain towns bordering the Spanish Netherlands.
By the late 1660s, France was superior to any other European nation in population, administration, bureaucracy, army, and national unity.
Jean-Baptiste Colbert, Louis XIV's minister, helped fund the expansion and maintenance of the French military.
Louis's main foreign policy goals were to secure international boundaries for France, prioritizing securing the Spanish Netherlands, Franche-Comté, Alsace, and Lorraine.

France from Louis XIV to Cardinal Fleury

1643: Louis XIV ascends the French throne.
1643-1661: Cardinal Mazarin directs the French government.
1648: Peace of Westphalia.
1649-1652: The Fronde revolt.
1653: The Pope declares Jansenism a heresy.
1660/1661: Papal ban on Jansenists enforced in France.
1661: Louis XIV commences personal rule.
1667-1668: War of Devolution.
1670: Secret Treaty of Dover between France and Great Britain.
1672-1679: French war against the Netherlands.
1685: Louis XIV revokes the Edict of Nantes.
1688-1697: War of the League of Augsburg.
1701: Outbreak of the War of the Spanish Succession.
1713: Treaty of Utrecht between France and Great Britain.
1714: Treaty of Rastatt between France and the Empire and Holland.
1715: Death of Louis XIV.
1715-1720: Regency of the Duke of Orléans in France.
1720: Mississippi Bubble bursts in France.
1726-1743: Cardinal Fleury serves as Louis XV's chief minister.

Louis's Repressive Religious Policies

Louis XIV believed that political unity and stability required religious conformity, leading to a crackdown on religious dissenters.
The revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685 targeted the Huguenots, French Protestants, leading to widespread persecution and emigration.
Louis XIV's religious policies aimed to enforce religious uniformity, ultimately backfiring and leading to economic and social instability in France.

Louis XV's Reign

Louis XV's reign (1715-1774) was marked by military defeats and challenges from the French aristocracy.
The French monarchy's effectiveness declined due to these challenges.
Parlements became centres of resistance to the monarchy's authority.
Parlements gained influence and represented the interests of the aristocracy and public opinion more effectively than the monarchy.
Cardinal Fleury, the chief minister of France from 1726 to 1743, aimed to maintain monarchical authority but also considered the interests of the French nobility and pursued peace abroad.
Cardinal Fleury could not prevent France from entering colonial conflicts.
Cardinal Fleury's efforts to maintain peace were unsuccessful, preventing significant conflict.
The French monarchy was facing growing challenges from the aristocracy and the people.

France After Louis XIV

Despite military setbacks in the War of the Spanish Succession, France remained a powerful European state.
The French state was distinguished by its population, advanced economy, and administrative structure.
John Law, a Scottish mathematician and gambler, was appointed by the Duke of Orléans to revitalize France's economy.
John Law's strategy involved increasing the money supply and establishing banks.
His strategy resulted in the creation of the Mississippi company, whose actions had detrimental effects on the French economy.
Investors' money was rapidly lost, creating an economic bubble.
The Duke of Orléans attempted to give more power to the French nobility in the decision-making process by establishing councils.
The nobles, accustomed to leisure at Versailles, proved insufficient in governing.
The attempt to limit the power of the monarchy by the nobility through the use of parliaments became a defining feature of 18th-century French political life.

War of the Spanish Succession

Charles II, the Spanish king, died in 1700 without an heir.
European powers had begun negotiations to partition the Spanish inheritance to maintain the balance of power.
Charles II left the entire Spanish inheritance to Louis XIV's grandson, Philip of Anjou, who became Philip V of Spain.
The decision to leave the throne to Philip of Anjou triggered concern and initiated the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1714).
The Grand Alliance, formed by England, Holland, and the Holy Roman Empire in September 1701, aimed to maintain the balance of power, securing Flanders as a neutral barrier between France and Holland.
The war quickly involved several western European powers.
The French army was poorly equipped, lacked adequate finances, and was led by mediocre generals.
The English army had advanced weaponry and superior tactics and was more successful in battle.
The map of Europe in 1714 shows the approximate borders of major European countries.
There is significant labeling of key locations such as cities (like London, Paris, Vienna, etc.) and countries.
The map also contains a scale in miles and kilometers for geographic comparison.

Additional Information

The document relates the historical context of the War of the Spanish Succession to the Nine Years' War (1689-1697) and the Peace of Ryswick (1697).
The document also mentions the reign of the Habsburg emperor Leopold I (1658-1705).
Information is provided on how the war impacted Spanish possessions like Flanders and Italy.

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Description

Explore the transitional period in France following the reign of Louis XIV, focusing on the regency of the Duke of Orléans and the financial strategies implemented by John Law. Understand how these developments impacted the French economy and led to the infamous Mississippi Bubble. This quiz will test your knowledge of key events and figures during this significant historical era.