Elizabeth Kennedy
Shloss
Western Civ
19 November 2014
Louis XIV: The Sun King Louis XIV was a dominant, compelling King who ruled as an absolute monarch of France from 1628-1715. Louis had a great impact on France and subsequently the Western world. Louis XIV, during his reign in France made several innovations and achievements in ruling a nation that have been broadly adopted in the western world including centralizing government, expanding France’s borders, and raised influence of the arts. The palace of Versailles was built in order to centralize government and King Louis XIV’s absolute power, which affected France’s nation by shifting the center of government under his control. In 1682, King Louis XIV moved his court and government to the new, exquisite Palace of Versailles. By creating this luxurious palace to draw people in and symbolize his wealth and power, Louis XIV was also centralizing government and gaining authority. In order to weaken the power of the nobles, Louis XIV manipulated and moved them into his palace to work as servants. This distracted the nobles and increased his power. By shifting his court and government to Versailles he gained more authority and control from the nobles and distanced himself from the population of Paris. This palace epitomized the envy of all other rulers and cultural center of the Western Civilization.
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Louis’ ability to shift his government and court to Versailles and centralize government conveys his manipulative power and competency. Louis XIV was also able to expand among France’s borders by battling astringent wars with other nations. Louis also was a great patronage of the arts and influenced many of the western world literature and architecture. Louis was one of the most powerful rulers who achieved various innovations regarding the influence on western