An unabashed absolutist that inadvertently set France on the path to the revolution

>An unabashed absolutist that inadvertently set France on the path to the revolution
>Forced French nobles to live at Versailles, a place without plumbing that literally became a pee pee poo poo palace with people shitting and pissing in the halls.
>Had France regularly committed to costly wars that bankrupted the kingdom, paid absolutely no mind to economic costs of anything.
>Did not deserve the genius of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, a man who worked so hard to keep France's finances afloat that he died. Before he did so he grew so tired of Louis' frivolity that he actually confronted the King after having to spend the better part of the day tucking his sack into his pants
>Protestant prosecution resulted in an untold number of them fleeing to England, Germany, and the US. Resulting in the rise of silk industries in London and Berlin, as well as helping to jump start America's Northern industrial base all of which was a huge loss to France.
>Ruined the nifty new Dutch Republic

This is more or less what I've gathered about Louis XIV and I don't understand what the hype is. Was he better than this?

>thinking of Louis XVI

>An unabashed absolutist that inadvertently set France on the path to the revolution

Absolutism wasn't why the French Revolution occurred. It was the terrible famines and bread shortages that made the peasants starve to death. Unfortunately they just happened to occur during the reign of a good-hearted but weak king, Louis XVI. The Revolution never would have occurred during the reigns of Louis XIV or Louis XV, both being more decisive and ruthless men.

>>Had France regularly committed to costly wars that bankrupted the kingdom, paid absolutely no mind to economic costs of anything.

To be fair France was completely surrounded by the extremely hostile Habsburgs, leaving them in a very vulnerable position. They needed to weaken the Habsburgs to secure their own position. And by the end of his life Louis XIV realised he'd waged war too much and instructed Louis XV to reign in peace for as long as he could.

>Ruined the nifty new Dutch Republic

Fuck the Dutch.

I thought Napoleon ruined the Dutch Republic

The Dutch were made a client state of the French Republic before Napoleon rose to power.

>An unabashed absolutist that inadvertently set France on the path to the revolution
While I do think that the relationship Louis XIV created between the monarchy and nobility, especially in regards to their more or less forced relocation to Versailles, as well as his enormous spending did help set France on the course to revolution I can hardly fault him for being an absolutist. In fact one of the things I do appreciate about him was how he had members of the aristocracy that shirked their duties/abused the people tried and punished. While this definitely was not out of some sense of altruism it was a refreshing change of pace seeing abusive marquis get their due punishment. He also had to regularly contend with uprisings and talks of treason and was forever traumatized by a childhood memory in which rebelling nobles stormed his bed chambers and freaked him the fuck out.

So how was it Louis fault?

Huh? I never said it was. All I said was "Fuck the Dutch", implying I don't care if they get fucked over, or by whom.

Yes but OP said it

Louis began a series of wars with the Dutch that forever diminished the new Republic's power and influence to the point where the Dutch still refer to the beginning of hostilities as the Raampjar or the disaster year.

>Versailles had no plumbing

More details please.

The Dutch ended up still having a considerable colonial empire all the way into the 20th century, so they shouldn't bitch too much about being btfo by Louis. The French were fucked just as badly - if not more so - by Prussia and Germany from 1870 to 1918.

What did he even gain from those wars? French Guyana and a couple of islands? He should have wasted that effort on someone else, the dutchies could have been his allies against both Spain and the eternal Anglo

The palace began construction in a rural area before the advent of common central plumbing to begin with. There was no present sewer system to tap into as there would be in areas close to cities. It's probably a myth that people were pissing and shitting in the halls but there's no doubt chamber pots and the like would still be going around/being emptied out on grounds. Naturally, with the mass amount of people living there, you'd have a large buildup of bodily waste.

It used to be said that you could smell Versailles before you saw it.

The dutch were his allies but betray him because they freak out when they see if Louis conquer totally spanish netherland ( belgium ) in fact the whole Europe freak out and this is the reason why he "do so much wars " it's not as if he wanted

Serves him right for getting greedy

France always have been greedy , i think he wanted to rush thing

The fuck are you talking about? The Dutch had been allies with France for a long time but gained the ire of Louis for signing the Triple Alliance which was partly in response to Louis XIV autistic aggression and encroachment in the Spanish Netherlands. It also was sensible for the Dutch to sign the treaty seeing as how they had just wrapped up a costly war with England and desired peace and commercial prosperity. Louis was undoubtedly motivated by his personal dislike of the Protestant, Republican Dutch, whom he considered the antithesis to his rule as a Catholic absolutist. So in expending vast sums of money he broke up the alliance, outright bribing England and Sweden and initiating a gangbang.

I mean in the end it was worth it, since he left France militarily and politically dominant in Europe, and had broken the Habsburg monopoly.

...

>An unabashed absolutist that inadvertently set France on the path to the revolution
the revolution take part 70 years after him whatever thing he do Louis XV and even Louis XVI could have revert it but they was too weak
>Forced French nobles to live at Versailles, a place without plumbing that literally became a pee pee poo poo palace with people shitting and pissing in the halls.
France decadence was also a thing of Louis XV this assholes only fucked pompadour during his reign
>Had France regularly committed to costly wars that bankrupted the kingdom, paid absolutely no mind to economic costs of anything.
France was strangled by the habsburgs since François 1er he is the king who finally put it to a end and everyone freak out because of that
>Did not deserve the genius of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, a man who worked so hard to keep France's finances afloat that he died. Before he did so he grew so tired of Louis' frivolity that he actually confronted the King after having to spend the better part of the day tucking his sack into his pants
Make to much depense it's true
>Protestant prosecution resulted in an untold number of them fleeing to England, Germany, and the US. Resulting in the rise of silk industries in London and Berlin, as well as helping to jump start America's Northern industrial base all of which was a huge loss to France.
True but thoses fucker was loud
>Ruined the nifty new Dutch Republic
They betray him first !

Some would argue that he also impoverished and bankrupted the nation.

Louis had personal dislike for protestant it's true but he was a "raison d'etat" man first so i disagree

>Launch aggressive campaigns in the Spanish Netherlands with intents on conquering the Dutch people who had long been preoccupied with trying to boot out the other Catholic, Spanish monarch fucking them over.
>Encroach on the borders of the Dutch republic, putting increased pressure on them
>Openly persecute protestants while being not entirely bashful about his hatred for them.
>Dutch Republic signs the triple alliance in response
>WHAT THE FUCK YOU DUTCH FUCKERS BETRAYED ME

You have to take into account the little cold age for his last years THIS is what truely impoverished the nation . He still let a strong economic since the regent have successfully pay the loss thanks to law

t. nigel james harrington

>Forced French nobles to live at Versailles, a place without plumbing that literally became a pee pee poo poo palace with people shitting and pissing in the halls
If you believe this you shouldn't be allowed on a history board

It's a fact. The part about shitting and pissing in the halls probably isn't necessarily true but the place was pretty fucking gross.

>Protestant prosecution resulted in an untold number of them fleeing to England, Germany, and the US. Resulting in the rise of silk industries in London and Berlin, as well as helping to jump start America's Northern industrial base all of which was a huge loss to France.
Anyone got anymore on this it sounds interesting.?