Although Louis dreamed of a Spanish inheritance for his heirs, his military policy was not to expand French territory. He fought his early wars for defensive purposes—to secure France’s northern border and to dislodge the Spanish from strategic towns.
Louis fought the War of the Devolution (1667-1668) to assert his claims to a portion of Spain’s possessions after his wife’s father, Philip IV, died. Louis claimed the Spanish Netherlands in place of the wedding gift that Philip IV had never paid.
The French aggression in the Spanish Netherlands caused relations between France and Holland to deteriorate. The Dutch had already fought the Spanish for generations to protect against an invasion of their country. They had no intention of allowing the French to pose the same threat by occupying the territories on their border. The result was war in the Netherlands from 1672 to 1678, during which Louis again demonstrated the effectiveness of French might. In a sweeping campaign, Louis almost succeeded in conquering Holland. To protect themselves, the Dutch opened their dikes, flooded the countryside, and turned Amsterdam into a virtual island. Louis’s armies could not advance farther, and they began negotiating a truce. War resumed, however, when Spain and Austria allied themselves with Holland, and Louis signed a treaty with England in 1670 to keep the English navy neutral. Neither side could win a decisive victory, and both suffered from financial exhaustion, which ultimately led to a treaty to end the war.
Louis revoked, or ended, the Treaty of Nantes. This Treaty said that there would be freedom of religion in France. This means that everybody in France could worship the way they wanted to. When Louis revoked the Treaty of Nantes, he said that all people in France must be Catholic. Because of this, 50 thousand Protestant workers left France and went to America, England, and Germany.
While Louis ruled, France became the most powerful country in all of Europe, and many other countries copied the French people's way of dressing and thinking. He also encouraged people to explore Canada, and tried very hard to make France larger. Louis spent a lot of money on wars, and France went into deep debt because of him.
By the middle of the 1680s the Sun King was losing much of his shine. Mazarin had taught him to work rigorously, and Louis maintained a punishing schedule throughout his life, shrugging off a series of minor illnesses and not listening to the advice of his physicians. Eventually a broken arm put an end to his vigorous horseback riding, and gout ended his long walks around Versailles. He was wheeled to the throne room or carried to his carriage. In 1683 his first wife died, and Louis secretly married his longtime mistress, Françoise d’Aubigné, Marquise de Maintenon. In 1711 he went through the tragedy of the death of his oldest son and the following year that of his oldest grandson. Therefore, the kings successor was his little five year old great grandson Louis Duke of Anjou, who became King Louis XV of France after the death of his great-grandfather in 1715.
French kings after Louis XIV taxed a lot of money from the poor people to try and pay off the debt. This is part of what led to the French Revolution.
In a world that regarded territory, power, and wealth as paramount, Louis XIV was recognized as a great king. He transformed France into the dominant nation in Europe, expanded its boundaries, and left his heirs secure in their possessions. Louis reached the height of his power in the 1670s, and he protected what he had achieved for the next four decades in the face of a Europe united against him. Moreover, he eventually realized his dream of seeing a Bourbon on the Spanish throne. During Louis’s reign, France also consolidated the administration of its colonial possessions and commerce, becoming a world power. On the domestic front, Louis strengthened the central government’s control over the diverse regions of France, incorporating his territorial gains into a united state. On the other hand, he provoked controversy when he restored Catholic religious unity by revoking the Edict of Nantes and repressing Protestantism. Unfortunately many of Louis’s policies, both domestic and foreign, caused great hardship to ordinary people, many of whom suffered starvation, fled their homeland, or lived in terror of persecution. Ultimately, Louis XIV wished to bring glory to France and to his dynasty, and he died believing that he had.
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games () is an important international event featuring summer and winter sports. Summer Olympic Games and Winter Olympic Games are held every four years. Originally, the ancient Olympic Games were held in Ancient Greece at Olympia. The first games were in 776 BC. They were held every four years until the 6th century AC. The first "modern" Olympics happened in 1896 in Athens, Greece. Athletes participate in the Olympics Games to represent their country.
Over time the Olympics have become bigger. In old times, women were not allowed, but now there are women's events. The Winter Games were created for ice and snow sports. The Paralympic Games were created for athletes with physical disabilities. As well, the Olympics became bigger with the addition of the Youth Olympic Games for teenage athletes. World War I and World War II led to the cancellation of the 1916, 1940, and 1944 Games. As the decision-making body, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is responsible for choosing the host city for each Olympic Games. The IOC is also responsible for choosing what sports are in the games.The creator of modern Olympics is Baron Pierre Coubertin. The Frenchman is the father of modern Olympics.
The celebration of the Games includes many rituals and symbols, such as Olympic flag and torch, as well as the opening and closing ceremonies. The first, second, and third-place finishers in each event receive, respectively, gold, silver, and bronze medals.
The Olympics of Ancient Greece featured mainly athletic but also combat and chariot racing events. During the Olympic Games all struggles among the participating city-states were postponed until the games were finished. The origin of these Olympics is shrouded in mystery and legend According to legend, it was Heracles who first called the Games "Olympic" and established the custom of holding them every four years. The most widely accepted date for the beginning of the Ancient Olympics is 776BC; based on inscriptions of the winners of a footrace held every four years starting then. The Ancient Games featured running events, a pentathlon (consisting of a jumping event, discus and javelin throws, a foot race and wrestling), boxing, wrestling, and equestrian events.
There is no agreement on when the Games officially ended, but many historians think it is 393AD, when the emperor Theodosius I declared that all Pagan religious practices should end. Another date might be 426AD, when the next emperor Theodosius II ordered the destruction of all Greek temples. After the Olympics stopped, they were not held again until the late 19th century.
An attempt to copy the ancient Olympic Games was the "L'Olympiade de la République", a national Olympic festival held annually from 1796 to 1798 in Revolutionary France. The competition had several sports from the ancient Greek Olympics.