Louis XV of France Facts & Worksheets

• De Saxe achieved additional triumphs at Rocoux (1746) and Lauffeld (1747). In 1746, the French military surrounded and took control of Brussels, a city that Louis entered with great success and celebration. The king rewarded De Saxe with the Chateau de Chambord in the Loire Valley for his triumphs.

PERSONAL GOVERNMENT

• Following Fleury’s death in January 1743, the Duke of Noailles, who served as his military minister, presented the king with a letter penned by Louis XIV to his grandson, Philip V of Spain. In this correspondence, Louis XIV advised Philip V to refrain from being ruled by others and instead take charge of his affairs. Louis adhered to this counsel and decided to govern without the presence of a prime minister. Two ministers, Jean Baptiste de Machault D’Arnouville as the finance minister and Comte d’Argenson as the minister of the forces, had the highest-ranking roles in his ministry.
• Following the conclusion of the war, Louis XV opted to seize the opportunity to diminish the debt and modernise the kingdom’s taxing structure. The finance minister, D’Arnouville, assembled a set of measures which were subsequently endorsed by the king and announced through two decrees in May 1749. The initial solution involved issuing bonds with a five per cent interest rate in order to repay the 36 million litres of debt incurred due to the expenses of the war. 
• The use of this new measure yielded instant and unequivocal success. The second action taken was the elimination of the dixième, a tax that amounted to ten per cent of income and was originally implemented to fund the war. It was replaced by the vingtième, a tax that amounted to five per cent of net income. Unlike the dixième, the vingtième applied to the income of all French citizens, including the previously exempt income from the clergy and nobility. Although the new tax garnered support from a significant number of individuals, it faced immediate and intense opposition from both the nobility and the church.
• On 5 May 1749, when the document was submitted for official registration to the Parlement of Paris, which consisted of influential nobles and affluent Parisians who had bought their positions, it was declined with a vote of 106 against 49. The majority requested additional time to deliberate on the proposal. The king issued a request for quick registration, which the Parlement grudgingly approved on 19 May. Opposition to the new laws increased within the clergy and in the provinces, which had their Parlements. Although the Parlements of Burgundy, Provence and Artois complied with the king’s requests, Brittany and Languedoc declined to do so.
• The monarchy disbanded the Parlement of Brittany, mandated the members of the Parlement of Languedoc to return to their properties and local communities, and assumed direct authority over Provence.

Louis XV and the Seven Years’ War

• The French and Indian battle was a fight that took place in North America as part of the greater imperial battle between Great Britain and France, which is commonly referred to as the Seven Years’ War. The French and Indian War commenced in 1754 and concluded with the Treaty of Paris in 1763. The conflict resulted in significant territorial acquisitions for Great Britain in North America. However, disagreements on future frontier strategies and the financial burden of the war resulted in dissatisfaction among the colonies and ultimately led to the American Revolution. 
• In the face of impending defeat in North America and a precarious position in Europe, the French Government made an effort to initiate peace talks with the British. However, British Minister William Pitt (the elder), who was responsible for Southern Affairs, not only demanded that France give up Canada, but also insisted on receiving commercial advantages that the French Government deemed unacceptable. Following the unsuccessful negotiations, Spanish King Charles III extended his support to his cousin, King Louis XV, and their delegates formally agreed to an alliance called the Family Compact on 15 August 1761. 
• According to the provisions of the agreement, Spain was obligated to initiate hostilities against Great Britain if the war was not resolved by 1 May 1762. The primary objective of the Family Compact was to exert pressure on the British government to reach a peace accord. However, instead of achieving this goal, it ended up revitalising the French determination to prolong the war. As a result, on 4 January 1762, the British government, following intense internal conflicts among King George III’s ministers, declared war on Spain. 
• British naval superiority and Spanish inefficiency were the key factors that contributed to the British victory despite the strong alliance they faced. British soldiers captured French Caribbean islands, Spanish Cuba, and the Philippines. The conflict in Europe came to a halt following an unsuccessful Spanish incursion into Portugal, a nation that was allied with Britain. In 1763, ambassadors from France and Spain initiated efforts to negotiate peace.
• In the Treaty of Paris (1763), Great Britain acquired substantial territorial expansions in North America, encompassing all French land to the east of the Mississippi River, as well as Spanish Florida. However, the treaty did restore Cuba to Spain. Regrettably, the British experienced the consequences of their success, which led to complications with their American possessions.
• The war incurred significant costs, and the British government’s efforts to levy taxes on colonists to mitigate these losses led to a growing hostility among the colonists towards British endeavours to extend imperial control in the colonies. The British subjects residing in the American colonies became even more infuriated due to British efforts to restrict the growth of the colonists towards the West, as well as the unintentional instigation of a significant Indian conflict. These conflicts finally incited an insurrection among the colonies, which eventually escalated into a comprehensive war for independence. 

Assassination Attempt

• On 5 January 1757, while the king was entering his chariot in the courtyard of the Grand Trianon Versailles, a mentally disturbed man named Robert-François Damiens forcefully broke through the king’s guards. He assaulted him by cutting him in the side with a small knife. The king’s guards apprehended Damiens, and the king commanded them to detain him without causing any harm. 
• The monarch ascended the staircase to his chambers in the Trianon, only to discover that he was experiencing a copious flow of blood. He called for his physician and a clergyman and subsequently lost consciousness. The thickness of Louis’ winter gear prevented him from experiencing more severe injuries. Upon receiving the news, concerned masses congregated in the streets of Paris. The Pope, the Archduchess of Austria and King George II, who were engaged in a conflict with France, conveyed their well wishes for his prompt recovery.
• Damiens underwent torture to ascertain the presence of any collaborators and, after that, faced trial before the Parlement of Paris, known for its outspoken criticism of the king. The Parlement exhibited its allegiance to the king by imposing the utmost harsh punishment on Damiens. Damiens was executed on 28–29 March 1757 at the Place de Grève in Paris. The method used was drawing and quartering, and his body was subsequently burned over a pyre.
• The ancestral residence of his birth was engulfed in flames, resulting in the expulsion of his father, wife and daughter from the nation of France, while his siblings were compelled to alter their surnames. 

Pacte de Famine

• The Pacte de Famine was a widely embraced conspiracy idea among the inhabitants of France in the 18th century. The belief was that certain interest groups deliberately deprived people of food, particularly grain, for their advantage. During that period, the French relied heavily on grain as their primary source of sustenance. The origins of the conspiracy theory may be traced back to pre-revolutionary France, and its most prominent forms were particularly noticeable throughout the 1760s and 1770s.
• The shared mindset on the idea after that functioned as a means for the French to comprehend the political context. Under the rule of Louis XV, a significant portion of the population endured starvation and many hardships, residing in a society that urgently required reform. He faced criticism for his deficient leadership, which impeded the implementation of essential reforms. 

Last years in Versailles

• During the final years of Louis XV’s reign, the court of Versailles served as a stage for the display of social etiquette and behaviour. Marie Antoinette, who had been living in the palace since her marriage, struggled to conceal her aversion towards the king’s mistress, Madame du Barry. Above his offices, the king created a series of opulent chambers for Madame du Barry.
• Additionally, Madame du Barry also resided in the Petit Trianon, a residence originally made for Madame de Pompadour, as well as the Pavillon de Louveciennes, which was also built for Madame de Pompadour. The Court was polarised between those who embraced Madame du Barry and others from the older aristocracy, including the Duc de Choiseul and Marie Antoinette, who held her in contempt.

DEATH OF LOUIS XV

• On 26 April 1774, the king departed for the Petit Trianon accompanied by Madame du Barry and a group of nobles from his entourage. He later stated that he was experiencing illness. The following day, he took part in the hunt, opting to travel in his carriage rather than on horseback. In the evening, he remained unwell and summoned the Court physician, Le Mariniére. Upon the surgeon’s request, the king was sent back to the Palace of Versailles for medical care, accompanied by Madame du Barry and the rest of the entourage.
• King Louis XV was accompanied by a total of 12 medical professionals, consisting of six physicians and six surgeons. Each of them assessed the king’s pulse and provided their diagnosis. The surgeons attempted to bleed him three times, but it had no effect. Upon the appearance of red eruptions on his skin, the doctors initially diagnosed the condition as petite variole, commonly known as smallpox. This diagnosis brought about a sense of optimism, as both the patient and doctors assumed that he had already experienced the illness before.
• The family members, specifically the Dauphin and Marie Antoinette, were requested to depart as they had not yet contracted the disease and, hence, lacked immunity. Madame du Barry stayed with him. As time went by, the severity of the disease’s red breakouts increased, causing the doctors to become concerned about his survival. On the morning of 1 May, the Archbishop of Paris came but was denied access to the king’s room in order to prevent causing him distress.
• On 7 May, he called for his confessor and received the last sacraments. Louis passed away at 3:15 AM on 10 May 1774 in the presence of his daughters Adélaïde, Victoire, Sophie and Louise.