41 Louis XV

22.1.2: Louis XV

Although Louis XV’s upbringing turned him into a great patron of arts and sciences, his reign was marked by diplomatic, military, and political failures that removed France from the position of one of the most powerful and admired states in Europe.

Learning Objective

Detail Louis XV’s upbringing and his personality as king

Key Points

  • Louis XV (1710 – 1774) was a monarch of the House of Bourbon who ruled as King of France from 1715 until his death. Until he reached maturity in 1723, his kingdom was ruled by Philippe d’Orléans, Duke of Orléans as Regent of France, and Cardinal Fleury was his chief minister from 1726 until 1743.
  • Although Louis XIV was not born as the Dauphin, the death of his great-grandfather Louis XV, his father, and his older brother made him the heir to the throne of France at the age of five.
  • The young king received an excellent education that later resulted in his patronage of arts and sciences. At the age of 15, he was married to Marie Leszczyńska, daughter of Stanisław I, the deposed king of Poland. In 1729 his wife gave birth to a male child, an heir to the throne. The birth of a long-awaited heir, which ensured the survival of the dynasty for the first time since 1712, was welcomed with tremendous joy and Louis XV became extremely popular .
  • In 1723, the king’s majority was declared by the Parlement of Paris, which ended the regency. Louis XV appointed Louis Henri, Duke of Bourbon, in charge of state affairs. The Duke pursued policies that resulted in serious economic and social problems in France, so the king dismissed him in 1726 and selected Cardinal Fleury to replace him. From 1726 until his death in 1743, Cardinal Fleury ruled France with the king’s assent. It was the most peaceful and prosperous period of the reign of Louis XV, despite some unrest.
  • Historians agree that in terms of culture and art, France reached a high point under Louis XV. However, he was blamed for the many diplomatic, military, and economic reverses. His reign was marked by ministerial instability and his reputation destroyed by military losses that largely deprived France of its colonial possessions.
  • Louis’s XV’s reign sharply contrasts with Louis XIV’s reign. Historians emphasize Louis XIV’s military and diplomatic successes. Despite the fact that Louis XIV’s considerable foreign, military, and domestic expenditure also impoverished and bankrupted France, in comparison to his great predecessor, Louis XV is commonly seen as one of the least effective rulers of the House of Bourbon.

Key Term

Dauphin
The title given to the heir apparent to the throne of France from 1350 to 1791 and 1824 to 1830. The word is French for dolphin, as a reference to the depiction of the animal on their coat of arms.

 

Louis XV (1710 – 1774), known as Louis the Beloved, was a monarch of the House of Bourbon who ruled as King of France from 1715 until his death. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reached maturity in 1723, his kingdom was ruled by Philippe d’Orléans, Duke of Orléans as Regent of France (his maternal great-uncle and cousin twice removed patrilineally). Cardinal Fleury was his chief minister from 1726 until the Cardinal’s death in 1743, at which time the young king took sole control of the kingdom.

Early Life

Louis XV was born during the reign of his great-grandfather Louis XIV. His grandfather and Louis XIV’s son, Louis Le Grand Dauphin (Dauphin being the title given to the heir apparent to the throne of France), had three sons with his wife Marie Anne Victoire of Bavaria: Louis, Duke of Burgundy; Philippe, Duke of Anjou (who became King of Spain); and Charles, Duke of Berry. Louis XV was the third son of the Duke of Burgundy and his wife Marie Adélaïde of Savoy. At birth, Louis XV received a customary title for younger sons of the French royal family: Duke of Anjou. In April 1711, Louis Le Grand Dauphin suddenly died, making Louis XV’s father, the Duke of Burgundy, the new Dauphin. At that time, Burgundy had two living sons, Louis, Duke of Brittany, and his youngest son, the future Louis XV.

A year later, Marie Adélaïde contracted smallpox or measles and died. Her husband, said to be heartbroken by her death, died from the disease the same week. Within a week of his death, it was clear that the couple’s two children had also been infected. Fearing that the Dauphin (the older son) would die, the Court had both the Dauphin and the Duke of Anjou baptized. The Dauphin died the same day. The Duke of Anjou, and now after his brother’s death the Dauphin, survived the smallpox.

Louis XV as a child in coronation robes, portrait by Hyacinthe Rigaud, Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Louis XV as a child in coronation robes, portrait by Hyacinthe Rigaud, Metropolitan Museum of Art.

In September 1715, Louis XIV died of gangrene after a 72-year reign. In August 1714, he made a will stipulating that the nation was to be governed by a Regency Council made up of fourteen members until the new king reached the age of majority. Philippe, Duke of Orléans, nephew of Louis XIV, was named president of the council, but all decisions were to be made by majority vote.

 By French royal tradition, princes were put in the care of men when they reached their seventh birthdays. Louis was taken from his governess, Madame de Ventadour, in 1717 and placed in the care of Francois de Villeroy, who had been designated as his governor in Louis XIV’s will. De Villeroy served under the formal authority of the Duke of Maine, who was charged with overseeing the king’s education. He was aided by André-Hercule de Fleury (later to become Cardinal Fleury), who served as the king’s tutor. Fleury gave the king an excellent education, including lessons from renowned professors (e.g., Guillaume Delisle, a cartographer known for his accurate maps of Europe and the newly explored Americas). Louis XV had an inquisitive and open-minded nature. An avid reader, he developed eclectic tastes. Later in life he advocated the creation of departments in physics (1769) and mechanics (1773) at the Collège de France.

In 1721, 11-year-old Louis XV was betrothed to his first cousin, the Infanta Maria Anna Victoria of Spain. The eleven-year-old king was not interested in the arrival of his future wife, the three-year-old Spanish Infanta. The king was quite frail as a boy and several medical emergencies led to concern for his life. Many also assumed that the Spanish Infanta, eight years younger than the king, was too young to bear an heir in a timely way. To remedy this situation, the Duke of Bourbon set about choosing a European princess old enough to produce an heir.Eventually, 21-year-old Marie (Maria) Leszczyńska, daughter of Stanisław I, the deposed king of Poland, was chosen to marry the king. The marriage was celebrated in 1725 when the king was 15, and the couple soon produced many children. In September 1729, in her third pregnancy, the queen finally gave birth to a male child, an heir to the throne, the Dauphin Louis (1729–1765). The birth of a long-awaited heir, which ensured the survival of the dynasty for the first time since 1712, was welcomed with tremendous joy and celebration in all spheres of French society and the young king became extremely popular.

Marie Leszczyńska in 1730, by Alexis Simon Belle.

Marie was on a list of 99 eligible European princesses to marry the young king, but she was far from the first choice on the list. She had been placed there initially because she was a Catholic princess and therefore fulfilled the minimum criteria, but was removed because she was poor when the list was reduced from 99 to 17. However, when the list of 17 was further reduced to four, the preferred choices presented numerous problems and Marie emerged as the best compromise. Queen Marie maintained the role and reputation of a simple and dignified Catholic queen. She functioned as an example of Catholic piety and was famed for her generosity to the poor and needy through her philanthropy, which made her very popular among the public her entire life as queen.

Towards the Personal Reign

In 1723, the king’s majority was declared by the Parlement of Paris, which ended the regency. Initially, Louis XV left the Duke of Orléans in charge of state affairs. The Duke of Orléans was appointed first minister upon the death of Cardinal Dubois in August 1723, but died in December of the same year. Following the advice of Fleury, Louis XV appointed his cousin Louis Henri, Duke of Bourbon, to replace the late Duke of Orléans. The ministry of the Duke of Bourbon pursued policies that resulted in serious economic and social problems in France. These included the persecution of Protestants; monetary manipulations; the creation of new taxes; and high grain prices. As a result of Bourbon’s rising unpopularity, the king dismissed him in 1726 and selected Cardinal Fleury, his former tutor, as a replacement.

From 1726 until his death in 1743, Cardinal Fleury ruled France with the king’s assent. It was the most peaceful and prosperous period of the reign of Louis XV, despite some unrest. After the financial and social disruptions suffered at the end of the reign of Louis XIV, the rule of Fleury is seen by historians as a period of recovery. The king’s role in the decisions of the Fleury government is unclear, but he did support Fleury against the intrigues of the court and the conspiracies of the courtiers.

 

Louis XV, The King

Starting in 1743 with the death of Fleury, the king ruled alone without a first minister. He had read many times the instructions of Louis XIV: “Listen to the people, seek advice from your Council, but decide alone.” His political correspondence reveals his deep knowledge of public affairs as well as the soundness of his judgement. Most government work was conducted in committees of ministers that met without the king. The king reviewed policy only in the High Council, which was composed of the king, the Dauphin, the chancellor, the finance minister, and the foreign minister. Created by Louis XIV, the council was in charge of state policy regarding religion, diplomacy, and war. There, he let various political factions oppose each other and vie for influence and power.

Historians agree that in terms of culture and art, France reached a high point under Louis XV. However, he was blamed for the many diplomatic, military, and economic reverses. His reign was marked by ministerial instability and his reputation destroyed by military losses that largely deprived France of its colonial possessions. Historians have also noted that the king left the country in the hands of his advisors while he engaged in his favorite hobbies, including hunting and womanizing. This sharply contrasts Louis XV’s reign from that of his great-grandfather and predecessor Louis XIV. Historians emphasize Louis XIV’s military and diplomatic successes, particularly placing a French prince on the Spanish throne, which ended the threat of an aggressive Spain that historically interfered in French domestic politics. They also note the effect of Louis’s wars in expanding France’s boundaries and creating more defensible frontiers that preserved France from invasion until the Revolution. Under Louis XIV, Europe came to admire France for its military and cultural successes, power, and sophistication. Europeans began to emulate French manners, values, goods, and deportment. French became the universal language of the European elite. Despite the fact that Louis XIV’s considerable foreign, military, and domestic expenditure also impoverished and bankrupted France, in comparison to his great predecessor, Louis XV is commonly seen as one of the least effective rulers of the House of Bourbon.

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