The House of Bourbon (The Ancien Regime) ruled France from the death of the childless Late Valois king Henry III in 1589 CE to the re-convening of the Estates General during the French Revolution. The Late Bourbon period began as King Louis XIV consolidated monarchical power in 1661 CE and ended when King Louis XVI signed the National Assembly’s proposed constitution in 1789 CE. Nickname the “Sun King”, Louis XIV came into full power after the death of cardinal minister Mazarin in 1661 CE. The king was an avid patron of the arts, creating academies for dance, science, music, and architecture, supporting French writers, and expanding the Louvre. The palace of Versailles, then the largest building in Europe, was constructed by Louis XIV in the 1670s and 1680s.
[1]
The king also nullified the Edict of Nantes that gave rights of worship to the Huguenot Protestants with 1685 CE Edict of Fontainebleau.
[2]
While the first two periods (1661-1672 CE and 1673-1688 CE) of Louis XIV’s reign were marked by prosperity and expansion, the third period (1689 to 1715 CE) of the Sun King’s reign ended in frustration.
[3]
France was involved in a succession of wars between 1682 CE and 1712 CE (including the War of the League of Augsburg and the War of Spanish Succession) which united much of Europe against Louis XIV. Public debt also increased under the Sun King and France suffered from famine from 1693 to 1694 CE.
[4]
Under Cardinal Fleury, the regent of the second Late Bourbon King Louis XV, France entered a sustained period of peace and economic expansion from 1726 CE to 1741 CE. In the 18th century, the Enlightenment began to dominate the public sphere, and became a catalyst for the French Revolution which overthrew King Louis XVI in 1789 CE.
[5]
The French Kingdom was expanded under Louis XIV. However, France lost most of its colonial territories in the Seven Years’ War under Louis XV, and gained only Lorraine (1766 CE) and Corsica (1768 CE).
[6]
France covered 2.5 million square kilometers in 1700 CE but only between 700,000 to 1.54 million square meters in 1750-1789 CE.
[7]
More research is necessary on colonial expansion and loss of territories in this period.
Population and political organization
King Louis XIV changed the relationship between the king and his government by ruling as his own prime minister. Under the rule of the Sun King, the Estates General and the Assembly of Notables did not meet, and the Assembly of the Clergy was tightly controlled.
[8]
Louis XVI was forced to reconvene the Estates General as the National Assembly during the French Revolution. The National Assembly forced Louis XVI to sign a constitution which limited his right to rule.
[9]
The population of the French Kingdom was 21.8 million in 1685 CE and 28.5 million in 1789 CE.
[10]
In the Late Bourbon period, the population of the bourgeoisie increased from 700,000 in 1700 CE to 2.3 million in 1789 CE.
[11]
[1]: (Haine 2000, 59) Haine, W. Scott. 2000. The History of France. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/9RS462P7
[2]: (Haine 2000, 60) Haine, W. Scott. 2000. The History of France. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/9RS462P7
[3]: (Haine 2000, 60-61) Haine, W. Scott. 2000. The History of France. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/9RS462P7
[4]: (Haine 2000, 63) Haine, W. Scott. 2000. The History of France. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/9RS462P7
[5]: (Haine 2000, 66-71) Haine, W. Scott. 2000. The History of France. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/9RS462P7
[6]: (Haine 2000, 65) Haine, W. Scott. 2000. The History of France. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/9RS462P7
[7]: (Chase-Dunn spreadsheet)
[8]: (Haine 2000, 57) Haine, W. Scott. 2000. The History of France. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/9RS462P7
[9]: (Haine 2000, 72) Haine, W. Scott. 2000. The History of France. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/9RS462P7
[10]: (Ladurie 1991, 302) Ladurie, E L. 1991. The Ancien Regime. A History of France, 1610-1774. Blackwell Publishers, Oxford. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/JEZFIU2N
[11]: (Haine 2000, 64) Haine, W. Scott. 2000. The History of France. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/9RS462P7
| 31 U |
| French Kingdom - Late Bourbon |
| Paris | |
| Versailles |
| Late Bourbon French Kingdom | |
| Bourbon dynasty |
| none |
| Revolutionary Republic |
| continuity |
| Preceding: French Kingdom - Early Bourbon (fr_bourbon_k_1) [continuity] |
| unitary state |
| 455,000 people | 1660 CE |
| 530,000 people | 1700 CE |
| 556,000 people | 1750 CE |
| [2,000,000 to 2,500,000] km2 |
| 21,800,000 people | 1685 CE |
| 23,400,000 people | 1715 CE |
| 25,300,000 people | 1745 CE |
| 28,500,000 people | 1789 CE |
| 6 |
| [6 to 7] |
| [12 to 14] |
| 6 |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| inferred present |
| inferred present |
| unknown |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| absent |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| unknown |
| present | 1700 CE 1720 CE |
| present |
| unknown |
| unknown |
| unknown |
| unknown |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| unknown |
| unknown |
| present |
| present |
| absent |
| present | |
| absent |
| absent |
| absent |
| absent |
| absent |
| present |
| present |
| absent |
| absent |
| absent |
| absent |
| present |
| present |
| present | 1661 CE 1725 CE |
| inferred absent | 1726 CE 1789 CE |
| absent |
| absent |
| absent |
| absent |
| absent |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| absent |
| present |
| absent |
| present |
| Year Range | French Kingdom - Late Bourbon (fr_bourbon_k_2) was in: |
|---|---|
| (1660 CE 1788 CE) | Paris Basin |
Paris. 600,000. 18th Century.
[1]
Paris
[2]
150,000: 1450 CE
185,000: 1500 CE
210,000: 1550 CE
245,000: 1600 CE
455,000: 1650 CE
530,000: 1700 CE
556,000: 1750 CE
Urbanization: 14% 1600 CE; 17% 1700 CE; 20% 1790 CE.
[3]
[1]: (Ladurie 1991, 309)
[2]: (Chase Dunn spreadsheet)
[3]: (Ladurie 1991, 306)
21,800,000: 1685 CE; 23,400,000: 1715 CE; 25,300,000: 1745 CE; 28,500,000: 1789 CE
[1]
17th-18th century France: 20 million
[2]
Famine 1661 CE.
[3]
Famine 1693-1694 CE. Perhaps 2 million died.
[4]
Famine 1709 CE.
[3]
1720-1760 CE period of economic and population growth.
[5]
[1]: (Ladurie 1991, 302)
[2]: (Chartrand 2013)
[3]: (Ladurie 1991, 336)
[4]: (Ladurie 1991, 216)
[5]: (Briggs 1998, 158)
21,800,000: 1685 CE; 23,400,000: 1715 CE; 25,300,000: 1745 CE; 28,500,000: 1789 CE
[1]
17th-18th century France: 20 million
[2]
Famine 1661 CE.
[3]
Famine 1693-1694 CE. Perhaps 2 million died.
[4]
Famine 1709 CE.
[3]
1720-1760 CE period of economic and population growth.
[5]
[1]: (Ladurie 1991, 302)
[2]: (Chartrand 2013)
[3]: (Ladurie 1991, 336)
[4]: (Ladurie 1991, 216)
[5]: (Briggs 1998, 158)
21,800,000: 1685 CE; 23,400,000: 1715 CE; 25,300,000: 1745 CE; 28,500,000: 1789 CE
[1]
17th-18th century France: 20 million
[2]
Famine 1661 CE.
[3]
Famine 1693-1694 CE. Perhaps 2 million died.
[4]
Famine 1709 CE.
[3]
1720-1760 CE period of economic and population growth.
[5]
[1]: (Ladurie 1991, 302)
[2]: (Chartrand 2013)
[3]: (Ladurie 1991, 336)
[4]: (Ladurie 1991, 216)
[5]: (Briggs 1998, 158)
21,800,000: 1685 CE; 23,400,000: 1715 CE; 25,300,000: 1745 CE; 28,500,000: 1789 CE
[1]
17th-18th century France: 20 million
[2]
Famine 1661 CE.
[3]
Famine 1693-1694 CE. Perhaps 2 million died.
[4]
Famine 1709 CE.
[3]
1720-1760 CE period of economic and population growth.
[5]
[1]: (Ladurie 1991, 302)
[2]: (Chartrand 2013)
[3]: (Ladurie 1991, 336)
[4]: (Ladurie 1991, 216)
[5]: (Briggs 1998, 158)
levels.
[1]
1. Capital city
Paris > 400,000 c1700 CE
[2]
2. Provincial cityLyon 100,000 c1700 CE
[2]
Provincial centres < 60,000
[2]
3. Large town - municipal government4. Town - parish government?5. Village6. HamletUrbanization: 14% 1600 CE.
[3]
Colonial outposts
Pondicherry - Indian colonies lost 1755 CE (?)
Reunion
Antilles
CaribbeanMartinique 20,761: 1702 CE; 36,229: 1715 CE
Santo Domingo: 6,688: 1673 CE; 38,651: 1722 CE
Canada and North America - abandoned 1763 CEInhabitants of French origin: 2,500: 1660 CE; 7,850: 1675 CE; 20,000: 1700 CE.
[1]: (Ladurie 1991, 154, 244, 281)
[2]: (Briggs 1998, 53)
[3]: (Ladurie 1991, 306)
levels.
Roman Catholicism was the official state religion.
[1]
King chose important bishops through Conseil de conscience which eventually disintegrated into two members, the king and a Jesuit confessor.
[2]
Supreme authority divided uncertainly between the Pope, King, and Assembly of Clergy, dominated by bishops, which me every 5 years.
[3]
Levels 7-5 ordered in theory if not practice.
1. Pope
2. King3. Assembly of Clergy4. Archbishop in seeArchbishopric of Paris (founded 1622 CE) c1660-1700 CE had great influence at court
5. deputy called vicar-general?
5. Bishop in Dioceseover 120 bishoprics. due to King and Parlements not ratifying Council of Trent Bishops were free to choose own "rituals, catechism, and synodal statues"6. Archdeacon7. Parish priestover 30,000 parishes. cures, vicaires and priests
[1]: (Chartrand and Leliepvre 1997)
[2]: (Ladurie 1991, 132)
[3]: (Briggs 1998, 161)
levels.
[1]
[2]
[3]
[4]
Not entirely sure of the chain of command at the top
1. King
2. War minister3. Marshal
3. [General - cavalry honorific]
3. Colonel (Infantry) / Mestre de Camp (Cavalry)4. Sergeant-major5. Lieutenant-colonel6. Major7. Aide-major8. Captain9. Lieutenant10. Second-lieutenant (Grenadiers)11. Sergeant12. Corporal13. Anspessade or Lance-corporal14. Private
1693 CE Louis IX "created a contingent of marshals of France."
[5]
High officer to men ratio. In 1740s 1 in 11 French army were officers compared to 1 in 29 in Prussia.
[6]
Louis XIV introduced uniforms (Maison Bleue or Maison Rouge). Major reforms to army from 1763 CE which lead to reduction in size and state played greater role in covering costs and provided the uniforms (rather than issue guidelines). The listed personnel below might also include ensigns, kettle drummers, trumpet players, hautbois (oboe), cornet, pipers, surgeons, chaplains and other staff.
Royal Guard Infantry
Guards de la Porte (oldest Guard formation)5 officers, 50 foot. Swords, carbines.
Guards Francaises (founded 1563 CE)in 18th Century had 32 companies of 200 men each [wartime], divided into 6 battalions. Sergeants: halberds and swords. Officers: sword and spontoon (musket and bayonets for Genadier officers).
Guards de la Porte de Monsieur (founded 1772 CE; disbanded 1788 CE).4 officiers, 25 men. Halberds and swords)
Line Infantry1740 CE: 98 regiments, 155 battalions. 6,300 officers, 79,050 NCOs. 1747 CE: 98 regiments, 227 battalions. 9,323 officers, 164,318 NCOs. 1750 CE: 84 regiments, 172 battalions. 5,200 officers, 88,695 NCOs. 1762 CE: 88 regiments, 187 battalions. 7,737 officers, 110,000 NCOs. 1763 CE: 66 regiments, 165 battalions. 5,788 officers, 89,516 NCOs.
until 1718 CE over half the regiments contained 1 battalion, and each battalion contained 15 companies (14 fusiliers, 1 grenadiers). After 1718 CE there were 9 companies until 1734 CE when it went back to 15, then 13 from 1749 CE and 17 from 1756 CE.
infantry companies usually contained 40-45 soldiers. Company titles: Captain, lieutenant, (second-lieutenant), 2 sergeants, 3 corporals, 3 anspessades (lance-corporals), privates. Battalion titles: Lieutenant-colonel, major, aide-major. Regiment titles: Colonel, sergeant-major.
battalion: from 1757 CE horse-drawn cannon introduced. privates and corporates: 16.7mm flint-lock musket and bayonet, sword. Sergeants: swords and halberds. Officers: sword and spontoon (from 1758 CE sergeants and officers dropped the polearms and carry bayonet muskets instead).
Foreign Infantry
Cent-Suisse (founded 1480 CE)Palace Guards
Gardes-Suisse (founded 16th century, royal guard from 1616 CE)18th century, 12 companies 200 men each. Sergeants had halberds and swords, officers sword and spontoon.
Garde Suisse de Monsieur and Garde Suisse du Comte d’Artois (founded 1771 CE and 1773 CE; disbanded 1792 CE)47 officers and men. Swords and muskets.
German infantryGerman regiments drawn from German, Walloon, Lorraine, Barrois regions. Company had [40; 80-85] men [peacetime; wartime]. Grenadiers formed a 6 man squad in a company.
Royal-ItalienMostly French or Corsicans
Royal-Corse (founded 1739 CE)Battalion had 12 companies of [50; 90] men [peacetime; wartime].
Irish and Scottish regiments.Composition of companies and battalions the same as for the French regiments, except for inclusion of a grenadier company
Totals: 1716-1733 CE: 20,000. 1734-1735 CE: 34,000. 1736-1740 CE: 22,600. 1741-1748 CE: 58,000. 1749-1753 CE: 31,000. 1754-1763 CE: 48,000. 1764 CE: 28,000.
Dragoons
Regiments, [3; 5] squadrons, 4 companies, [25-35; 40-50] troopers. [peacetime; wartime]. Regiment titles: mestre de camp, lieutenant colonel, major and aide-major. Company titles: 2 Brigadiers, 1 marachel des logis, 1 lieutenant and the captain. Regiments had 13,600: 1740-48 CE, 10,700: 1740-48 CE. Sabre, pistol, musket with bayonet, (tools: axes, picks, shovels). Brass helmets confirmed from regulations of 1767 CE.
Heavy Cavalry
60 regiments (lead by Mestre de Camp) reduced to 33 in 1761 CE. 4 squadrons, which contained 2 companies with [25; 50] maitres (troopers) [peacetime; wartime]. Senior officers (mestre de camp) reported to the Minister of War or influential Marshals. Regiment titles: mestre de camp, lieutenant-colonel, major and aide-major. Company titles: 4 elite carabiniers, 2 brigadiers (sergeants), a lieutenant and a captain. General, mestre de camp General, Commissaire General: honorific appointments purchased/given to high nobility. Each had their own regiment.18,300: 1740 CE; 38,500: 1747 CE; 23,200 1760 CE; 14,400: 1763 CE. Leather waistcoat, steel skull cap, steel breast-plate (not often worn), cuirasses (in the Cuirassiers du Roi). Sword, pair of pistols, carbine, rifled carbines.
1748 CE the state investigated dress, equipment and weapons and issued regulations in 1750 CE. Until 1762 CE, when the state took over the costs, "Gentlemen’s regiments" were financed by their mestre de camp and captains who were profit-seeking.
Royal Guard Cavalry
Gendarmerie de France (founded 1422 CE; disbanded 1788 CE)16 companies by 1690 CE (only 1 company until 1647 CE) with captains usually recruited from King’s family. Answered directly to the king. 5 officers, 8 NCOs, [40; 75] troopers [peacetime; wartime]. Pistols, heavy cavalry sword, rifled carbine.
Garde du dedans du LouvreGardes du Corps (founded 15th century)4 companies, divided into two squadrons which had three brigades. Pistols, swords, flint-lock carbines, rifled carbines. Breastplate. 21 officers and 330-400 NCOs.
Garde du Corps de Monsieur (1771-1792 CE)2 companies, 50 men each, swords, pistols, carbines.
Garde du Corps du Comte d’Artois (1773-1792 CE)2 companies, 60 men each, swords, pistols, carbines.
Garde du Corps du Roi de Pologne (1737-1766 CE)1 squadron with 2 companies, each with 75 officers and men
Other units (Constabulary units armed with halberds and partisans?)
Garde du dehors du LouvreChevau-legers de la Garde (founded 1593 CE)1 company. 19 officers, 200 NCOs and men. Pistols, swords. Muskets from 1746 CE.
Gendarmes de la Garde (founded 1611 CE)1 company. 19 officers, 200 NCOs and men. Pistols, swords. Muskets from 1746 CE.
Mousquetaires de la Garde (King’s Musketeers) (founded 1622 CE; refounded 1657 CE; disbanded 1775 CE)2 companies, (grey and black), 1 squadron, 4 brigades. 17 officers and 200 NCOs. Swords, pistols, flint-lock muskets. Brigadiers on foot carried halberds. Steel breast and back plates. Captain (the king), Captain-lieutenant, Second lieutenant, Captain, Unit member.
Grenadiers a Cheval de la Garde (founded 1676 CE; disbanded 1776 CE)1 company. 10 officers, 130 NCOs and troopers. Pistols. Carbines. Curved sabres. Grenades. Axes. Dragoons.
Artillery
Corps Royal de l’Artillerie (founded 1720 CE, merged Royal-Artillerie, Royal Bombardiers, Cannoniers des cotes de l’Ocean and other bodies)5 battalions, 8 companies. Companies contained squads of gunners, bombardiers, miners and artisans. Composed only of native Frenchmen. Commanded by Inspector of the Artillery. Artillery officers had to be technically qualified and took examinations (merit promotion).
Milice Garde CoteCoast guard milita organized into parish companies comprising able-bodied men 18-60 years old living near the coast who had to provided own musket and bayonet and watch the coast.
Detached companies from 1716 CE were to defend coast. Were paid when on service and could be called up to defend coastal positions in wartime. Arms, equipment and uniforms provided by state. c1750 CE there were 36,000 in these detached companies.
[1]: (Chartrand 2013)
[2]: (Chartrand and Leliepvre 1996)
[3]: (Chartrand and Leliepvre 1997a)
[4]: (Chartrand and Leliepvre 1997b)
[5]: (Ladurie 1991 205)
[6]: (Chartrand 1996)
levels.
[1]
[2]
1. King
Following the death of Cardinal Mazarin, on March 10th 1661 Louis XIV established personal rule.
_Central government_
2. Prime Minister. Cardinal Fleury "defacto Prime Minister" from 1726-1743 CE
[3]
at other times, Councils of state were dominated by the Controleur general des finances e.g. Colbert.3. Heads of the councils of state. Conseil d’en haut (Ministers of State. Advised the king on important matters, such as religion, diplomacy and war); Conseil royal des finances (Controleur general des finances (e.g. Colbert from 1665 CE) generally made the decisions which were later approved by the king); Conseil des depeches (the Chancellor, who was excluded from Conseil d’en haut by Louis XIV, continued to play an important role in this council); Conseil de conscience; Conseillers d’etat; Maitres des requetes; Conseil d’Etat prive or Conseil des parties; Conseil d’Etat et des finances.4. Lesser bureaucrats5.
2. Parlements3. 13* regional judicial bodies - including Parlement of Paris, Parlement of Toulouse - that were courts of appeal and implemented the king’s law in the regions. *Unreferenced
_Provincial government_
X. Superintendant (office abolished with the arrest of Fouquet 1661 CE
[4]
)
2. Intendants3. Sub-delegates (had greater role from 1680s CE)
[5]
Position of provincial intendant was a rotated position, however the period of stay increased after 1666-1669 CE.
role expanded 1680s CE
[5]
3. Rulers of provincial estates4. Members of regional assembly5. permanent officials (syndics)
In Languedoc the estates collected taxes and ran their own administration (regional assemblies) with permanent officials (syndics).
3. Provincial governors
4. Seigneurs
5. Municipal government
6. ParishIn rural communities priests were government agents who made public announcements, had a legal (e.g. issuing monitoires) and administrative role (e.g. intendant questionnaires) and mediated in certain disputes.
[6]
[1]: (Ladurie 1991 130-)
[2]: (Briggs 1998)
[3]: (Ladurie 1991, 338)
[4]: (Briggs 1998, 137)
[5]: (Briggs 1998, 152)
[6]: (Briggs 1998, 174)
"Between 1655 and 1675 the royal army was transformed from a motley collection of privately raised forces, with only a small core of permanent royal troops, into a passably well disciplined and organized body of nearly 100,000 men even in peacetime. The soldiers were still mercenaries, and an element of private enterprise remained, but in essentials the War Ministry had achieved a degree of control unprecedented in early modern Europe."
[1]
[1]: (Briggs 1998, 141)
Never entirely professional as majority of posts went to nobility and could be bought and sold.
Wells and public drinking fountains (fed by river) were important sources of drinking water. Paris had about 40 fountains in 1700 CE. Water carriers sold water collected on boats. Piped water would not be widespread until the 1850s. In 1778 CE a universal piped network fed by a steam engine was planned but the company in charge of the project only connected 617 customers before it went bankrupt ten years later. [1] [2]
[1]: Roger Chartier. Power, Space, and Investments in Paris. James L McClain. John M Merriman. Ugawa Kaoru. 1994. Edo and Paris. Urban Life and the State in the Early Modern Era. Cornell University Press. Ithaca. pp. 150
[2]: Leslioe Tomory. 2017. The History of the London Water Industry, 1580–1820. Johns Hopkins University Press. Baltimore. p.193-194
"France possesses no precious metal resources and little copper. Iron ores are abundant, and there are regional deposits of lead, zinc, and coal. All of these were exploited during the Middle Ages. Evidence for ironworking exists from Merovingian France onward." [1]
[1]: (Hall in Kibler et al 1995, 1177)
For example, the Memoires of Saint-Simon (1675-1755 CE).
D’Alembert (1717-1783 CE). Comte de Buffon (1707-1788 CE). Clairaut (1713-1765 CE). Turgot (1727-1781 CE). Lagrange (1736-1813 CE). Lavoisier (1743-1794 CE). Lamarck (1744-1829 CE). Delambre (1749-1822 CE). Laplace (1749-1827 CE). Legendre (1752-1833 CE). Non-French scientists attracted to Paris: Cassini (Italian), Huygens (Dutch), Leibniz (German), Romer (Danish). [1]
[1]: (Ladurie 1991, 140)
Voltaire (1694-1778 CE) and other Philosophes. Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778 CE). Quesnay (1694-1774 CE). Montesquieu (1689-1755 CE). Condorcet (1743-1794 CE).
Moliere (1622-1673 CE). Voltaire (1694-1778 CE).
1477 CE Post relay created by Louis XI. [1]
[1]: (http://www.ladressemuseedelaposte.fr/La-Poste-en-quelques-dates)
Postal relays were for exclusive royal and administrative use until 1603 CE when relays opened to the public. Starting in Paris 1760 CE mail began to be delivered to homes. [1]
[1]: (http://www.ladressemuseedelaposte.fr/La-Poste-en-quelques-dates)
Likely to have switched to siege artillery.
Likely to have switched to siege artillery.
From the 1680s CE muskets with "cheap but reliable flintlock mechanism replaced the older weapons in which the charge in the musket’s breech was ignited by applying a piece of lighted, slow-burning match." [1]
[1]: (Parrott 2012, 62) David Parrott. Armed Forces. William Doyle. ed. 2012. The Oxford Handbook of the Ancien Régime. Oxford University Press. Oxford.
Used in field and siege warfare. In this period muzzle-loaded field guns gained lighter barrels and carriages which made them easier to transport. They proliferated in number and were developed in a number of different sizes. [1] Sieges that in the 16th and early 17th century required a protracted blockade and trench digging now could be overcome with guns. [2]
[1]: (Parrott 2012, 62) David Parrott. Armed Forces. William Doyle. ed. 2012. The Oxford Handbook of the Ancien Régime. Oxford University Press. Oxford.
[2]: (Parrott 2012, 62-63) David Parrott. Armed Forces. William Doyle. ed. 2012. The Oxford Handbook of the Ancien Régime. Oxford University Press. Oxford.
"cavalry as a proportion of armies declined steadily in the century from 1660 to 1760, from around one-third to around one-quarter of the total combatants." [1]
[1]: (Parrott 2012, 62) David Parrott. Armed Forces. William Doyle. ed. 2012. The Oxford Handbook of the Ancien Régime. Oxford University Press. Oxford.
Steel breast-plate (cavalry - often not worn). Cuirasses (cavalry, Cuirassiers du Roi). Breastplate (Gardes du Corps).
Why absent in this period rather than earlier one? Perhaps accurate firearms rendered light cavalry (which presumably used chainmail rather than heavier plate) much less effective as the riders attempting to flank could be shot from their horses in mid-gallop. If chainmail doesn’t stop a bullet, might as well not wear it at all. Note: "cavalry as a proportion of armies declined steadily in the century from 1660 to 1760, from around one-third to around one-quarter of the total combatants." [1]
[1]: (Parrott 2012, 62) David Parrott. Armed Forces. William Doyle. ed. 2012. The Oxford Handbook of the Ancien Régime. Oxford University Press. Oxford.
Steel breast-plate (cavalry - often not worn). Cuirasses (cavalry, Cuirassiers du Roi). Breastplate (Gardes du Corps).
Colbert, Secretary of State for the Navy from 1669 CE, created "almost from scratch... a navy - the colonial and commercial objectives of which were almost completely obscured by its overwhelmingly military purposes." By 1672 CE France had a fleet of 120 ships, up from 18 in 1661 CE. There were an additional 30 galleys in the Mediterranean (5 kph, rowed by slaves). [1] However, French naval expansion limited because they lacked a channel port that could receive large ships, closest anchorage was at Brest, in Brittany and after 1693 CE naval fleets were rarely used. [2] "The highest-rated ships were built on a scale and with an artillery provision which hugely increased the numbers of their crews and transformed the proportional size (as well as expense) of the naval arm of most states’ armed forces." [3]
[1]: (Ladurie 1991, 152)
[2]: (Briggs 1998, 144)
[3]: (Parrott 2012, 64) David Parrott. Armed Forces. William Doyle. ed. 2012. The Oxford Handbook of the Ancien Régime. Oxford University Press. Oxford.