French Kingdom - Late Bourbon

  General Description   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