Coordinates | 12°2′36″N77°1′42″N |
---|---|
name | The Cult |
landscape | Yes |
background | group_or_band |
alias | Death Cult |
origin | Bradford, Yorkshire, England |
genre | Alternative rock, gothic rock, , hard rock |
years active | –1995, 1999–present |
label | Beggars Banquet, Atlantic, Roadrunner, Sire, Warner Bros., Aderra, Cooking Vinyl |
associated acts | Southern Death Cult, Holy Barbarians, Theatre of Hate, Circus Diablo |
website | |
current members | Ian AstburyBilly DuffyJohn TempestaChris Wyse }} |
The Cult are a British rock band that was formed in 1983. They gained a dedicated following in Britain in the mid 1980s as a post-punk band with singles such as "She Sells Sanctuary", before breaking mainstream in the United States in the late 1980s as a hard rock band with singles such as "Love Removal Machine" and "Fire Woman". The band fuses a "heavy metal revivalist" sound with the "pseudo-mysticism ... of The Doors [and] the guitar-orchestrations of Led Zeppelin ... while adding touches of post-punk goth rock". Since their earliest form in Bradford during 1981, the band has had various line-ups, and the longest-serving members are vocalist Ian Astbury and guitarist Billy Duffy, the band's two songwriters.
After moving to London, the band released the album ''Love'' in 1985, which charted at #4 in the United Kingdom, and which included singles such as "She Sells Sanctuary" and "Rain". In the late 1980s, the band dropped their post-punk sound in favour of hard rock with their third album, ''Electric''; the polish on this new sound was facilitated by Rick Rubin, who produced the record. Their fourth album, ''Sonic Temple'', proceeded in a similar vein, and these two LPs enabled them to break into the North American market. By the early 1990s, the band was fraying behind the scenes, due to alcohol abuse and off-stage tensions, leading to a split-up in 1995. The band reunited in 1999 and recorded the album ''Beyond Good and Evil'', and they reissued all of their albums in Asia and Eastern Europe in 2003 and Japan in 2004. In 2006, the band reformed again to perform a series of worldwide tours. In October 2007, the band released the album ''Born into This'', on the Roadrunner Records label. In July 2009, Astbury announced that The Cult would not record or produce any more studio albums, focusing on LPs and Digital Releases instead for new material, though he eventually changed his mind and declared that there will be a new album in the near future.
The band signed to independent record label Situation Two, an offshoot of Beggars Banquet Records, and released a three-track, triple A-side single, ''Moya'', during this period. They toured through England headlining some shows on their own and also touring with Bauhaus and Theatre of Hate. The band played their final performance in Manchester during February 1983, meaning after only sixteen months the band was over. A compilation under the name ''The Southern Death Cult'' was released, this being a collection of the single, radio sessions with John Peel for Radio One and live performances - one of which was recorded by an audience member with a tape recorder.
In April 1983, Astbury teamed up with guitarist Billy Duffy and formed the band "Death Cult". Duffy had previously been in The Nosebleeds (along with Morrissey), Lonesome No More and then Theatre of Hate. In addition to Astbury and Duffy, the band also included Jamie Stewart (bass) and Raymond Taylor Smith (later known as Ray Mondo) (drums), both from the Harrow, London based post-punk band, Ritual. Death Cult made their live debut in Oslo, Norway in late June 1983 and released the ''Death Cult'' EP in July 1983, then toured throughout Europe. In September 1983, Mondo was deported to his home country of Sierra Leone and replaced by Nigel Preston, formerly of Theatre of Hate. The single "God's Zoo" was released in October 1983. Another European tour, with UK dates, followed later that autumn. To tone down the gothic connotations of their name, and to gain broader appeal, the band changed its name to "The Cult" in January 1984 before appearing on the (UK) Channel 4 television show, ''The Tube''.
The Cult's first studio record, ''Dreamtime'', was recorded at Rockfield Studios, in Monmouth, Wales in 1984. The record was originally to be produced by Joe Julian, but after having already recorded the drum tracks, the band decided to replace him with John Brand. The record was ultimately produced by Brand, but guitarist Duffy has said that the drum tracks used on the record were those produced by Julian, as Preston by that time had become too unreliable. The band recorded the songs which later became known as "Butterflies", "(The) Gimmick", "A Flower in the Desert", "Horse Nation", "Spiritwalker", "Bad Medicine (Waltz)", "Dreamtime", "With Love" (later known as "Ship of Fools", and also "Sea and Sky"), "Bone Bag", "Too Young", "83rd Dream", and one untitled outtake. It is unknown what the outtake was, or whether it was developed into a song at a later date. Songs like "Horse Nation" showed Astbury's already intense interest in Native American issues, with the lyrics to "Horse Nation", ''"See them prancing, they come neighing, to a horse nation"'', taken almost verbatim from the book ''Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee'', while "Spiritwalker" dealt with shamanism, and the record's title and title track are overtly influenced by Australian Aboriginal beliefs.
On 4 April 1984, The Cult released the single "Spiritwalker", which reached #1 on the independent charts in the UK, and acted as a teaser for their forthcoming album ''Dreamtime''. This was followed that summer by a second single, "Go West (Crazy Spinning Circles)", before the release of ''Dreamtime'' in September; the album reached #21 in the UK, and sold over 100,000 copies in Britain alone. On 12 July 1984, the band performed five songs live in the BBC Maida Vale 5 studio. Both before and after the album's release, The Cult toured extensively throughout Europe and England before recording another single, "Resurrection Joe" (UK #74), released that December. Following a Christmas support slot with Big Country, The Cult toured Europe with support from The Mission (then called The Sisterhood). ''Dreamtime'' was released initially only in Britain, but after its success, and as The Cult's popularity grew worldwide, it was issued later in approximately 30 countries.
In May 1985, The Cult released their fourth single, "She Sells Sanctuary", which peaked at #15 in the UK and spent a total of 23 weeks in the Top 100. The song was recently voted #18 in VH1's Indie 100. In June 1985, following his increasingly erratic behaviour, Preston was fired from the band. Big Country's drummer Mark Brzezicki was picked to replace Preston, who died in 1992. Brzezicki was also included in the video for "She Sells Sanctuary". The Cult recorded their second album, ''Love'' in July and August 1985. The band's music and image shifted from their punk-oriented roots to 1960s psychedelia influences. ''Love'' was a chart success, peaking at #4 in the UK and selling 100,000 copies there towards a total of 500,000 copies throughout Europe , as well as 100,000 in Australia and 500,000 copies in the United States. To date, the record has sold over two and a half million copies worldwide.
From mid-1985 to 1986, the band went on a worldwide tour with new drummer Les Warner (who had previously played with Julian Lennon and Johnny Thunders). Two more official singles from the ''Love'' album followed; "Rain" (charting in the UK at #17) and "Revolution" (charting in the UK at #30). Neither of these singles charted in the US. Another single, "Nirvana", was issued only in Poland. The album version of "Rain", as well as the remix "(Here Comes the) Rain", were used in the Italian horror film Dèmoni 2. Once back in England, the band booked themselves into the Manor Studios in Oxfordshire, with producer Steve Brown (who had produced ''Love''), and recorded over a dozen new songs. The band were unhappy with the sound of their new album, titled ''Peace'', and they decided to go to New York so that producer Rick Rubin could remix the first single, "Love Removal Machine".
Rubin agreed to work with the band, but only if they rerecorded the song. Rubin eventually talked them into rerecording the entire album. The band's record company, Beggars Banquet, was displeased with this, as two months and £250,000 had already been spent on the record. However, after hearing the initial New York recording, Beggars Banquet agreed to proceed. The first single, "Love Removal Machine", was released in February 1987, and the new version of the album appeared in April that same year, now renamed as ''Electric'', reaching #4 and eventually outselling ''Love''. The band toured with Kid Chaos (also known as "Haggis" and "The Kid") on bass, with Stewart on rhythm guitar. Two more singles, "Lil Devil" and "Wildflower", were released during 1987. A few tracks from the original ''Peace'' album appeared on the single versions of "Love Removal Machine", and "Lil Devil". The full ''Peace'' album would not be released until 2000, when it was included as Disc 3 of the ''Rare Cult'' box set.
In the US, The Cult, now consisting of Astbury, Duffy, Stewart, Warner and Kid Chaos, were supported by the then unknown Guns N' Roses. The band also appeared at Roskilde Festival in Denmark in June 1987. When the world tour wound through Australia, the band wrecked £30,000 worth of equipment, and as a result they could not tour Japan, as no company would rent them new equipment. At the end of the tour the ''Electric'' album had been certified Gold in the UK, and sold roughly 3 million copies worldwide , but the band were barely speaking to each other by then. Haggis left the band at the end of the ''Electric'' tour to form The Four Horsemen for Rubin's Def American label. Astbury and Duffy fired Warner and their management team Grant/Edwards, and moved to Los Angeles with original bassist Stewart. Warner sued the band several times for his firing, as well as for what he felt were unpaid royalties due to him for his performance on the ''Electric'' album, resulting in lengthy court battles. The Cult signed a new management deal and wrote 21 new songs for their next record.
For the next album, Stewart returned to playing bass, and John Webster was brought in to play keyboards. The band used Chris Taylor to play drums during rehearsals and record the demos, with Kiss drummer Eric Singer performing during the second demo recording sessions. The Cult eventually recruited session-drummer Mickey Curry to fill the drumming role and Aerosmith sound engineer, Bob Rock, to produce. Recorded in Vancouver, Canada from October to December 1988, the ''Sonic Temple'' record went Top 10 in both the UK and the US, where it was certified Gold and Platinum respectively. The band went on tour in support of the new album and new single "Fire Woman" (UK #15) (NZ #1), with yet another new drummer, Matt Sorum, and Webster as keyboard player. The next single, "Edie (Ciao Baby)" (UK #25) has become a regular song at concerts for many years.
In Europe, the band toured with Aerosmith, and in the US, after releasing another single "Sun King" (UK #42), they spent 1989 touring in support of Metallica before heading out on their own headlining tour later that same year. A fourth single, "Sweet Soul Sister" (UK #38), was released in February 1990, with the video having been filmed at Wembley Arena, London, on 25 November 1989. "Sweet Soul Sister" was partially written in Paris and was inspired by the bohemian lifestyle of that city. Released as a single in February 1990, the song was another hit in Britain, and reportedly reached number one on the rock charts in Brazil. After playing a show in Atlanta, Georgia, in February 1990, the band's management told Astbury that his father had just died of cancer. As a result, the remainder of the tour was cancelled after a final leg of shows were performed in April. After the tour ended, the band were on the verge of splitting due to Stewart retiring and moving to Canada to be with his wife, and Sorum leaving to join Guns N' Roses.
In 1990, Astbury organized the Gathering of the Tribes festival in Los Angeles and San Francisco with artists such as Soundgarden, Ice-T, Indigo Girls, Queen Latifah, Iggy Pop, The Charlatans, The Cramps and Public Enemy appearing. This two day festival drew 40,000 people, and inspired Lollapalooza, which started in 1991. Also in 1990, a ten CD box set was released in Britain, containing rare songs from The Cult's singles. The CDs in this box set were all issued as picture discs with rice paper covers, housed in either a white box called "Singles Collection", or a black box called "E.P. Collection '84 - '90". In 1991, director Oliver Stone offered Astbury the role of Jim Morrison in Stone's film ''The Doors'' . He declined the role because he was not happy with the way Morrison was represented in the film, and the role was ultimately played by Val Kilmer.
The Cult's ''Ceremonial Stomp'' tour went through Europe in 1991 and North America in 1992. In 1991 The Cult played a show at the Marquee Club in London, which was recorded and released in February 1993, packaged with some vinyl UK copies of their first greatest hits release. Only a handful of CD copies of it were ever manufactured originally, however it was subsequently reissued on CD in 1999. An incomplete bootleg video of this show is also in circulation.
The band were sued by the parents of the Native American boy pictured on the cover of ''Ceremony'', for alleged exploitation and for the unauthorized use of the child's image. This image of the boy is also burned in the video for "Wild Hearted Son". This lawsuit delayed the release of ''Ceremony'' in many countries including South Korea and Thailand, which did not see the record's release until late 1992, and it was unreleased in Turkey until The Cult played several shows in Istanbul in June 1993.
A world tour followed with backing from future Thin Lizzy drummer Michael Lee and bassist Kinley Wolfe, and keyboardist John Sinclair returning one last time, and the Gathering of the Tribes moved to the UK. Here artists such as Pearl Jam performed. The warm-up gig to the show, in a small nightclub, was dedicated to the memory of Nigel Preston, who had died a few weeks earlier at the age of 31. Following the release of the single "The Witch" (#9 in Australia) and the performance of a song for the 1992 ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' movie soundtrack entitled "Zap City", produced by Steve Brown and originally a B-side to "Lil' Devil", two volumes of remixes of "She Sells Sanctuary", called ''Sanctuary Mixes MCMXCIII, volumes one and two'', and in support of ''Pure Cult: for Rockers, Ravers, Lovers, and Sinners'', a greatest hits compilation which debuted at #1 on the British charts and later went to number one in Portugal, Astbury and Duffy fired the "backing band" and recruited Craig Adams (The Mission) and Scott Garrett for performances across Europe in 1993, with some shows featuring Mike Dimkitch on rhythm guitar. This tour marked the first time the band performed in Turkey, Greece, and the Slovak Republic.
When the band began the ''Beauty's On The Streets'' tour in winter 1994, they augmented the line up with James Stevenson on rhythm guitar. As with the ''Ceremony'' record several years earlier, no other official singles were released, but several other songs were released on a strictly limited basis: "Sacred Life" was released in Spain and the Netherlands, "Be Free" was issued in Canada and France, "Saints Are Down" was issued in Greece, but none of the songs gained much commercial success. During this tour, The Cult made their first ever appearance in Norway.
In November 1996, a number of CD reissues were released: the band's American record company released ''High Octane Cult'', a slightly updated "greatest hits" compilation released only in the US and Japan; ''The Southern Death Cult'', a remastered edition of the fifteen-song compilation CD; a ten-song compilation CD by Death Cult called ''Ghost Dance'', consisting of the untitled four-song EP, the single "God's Zoo", and four unreleased songs from a radio broadcast; and a remastered repackaging of the ''Dreamtime'' album, containing only the ten original songs from the record in their original playing order and almost completely different but original artwork. ''Dreamtime Live at the Lyceum'' was also remastered and issued on video and for the first time on CD, with the one unreleased song from the concert, "Gimmick".
In November 2000, Beggars Banquet released 15000 copies of a six-disc boxset (with a bonus seventh disc of remixes for the first 5000 copies) titled ''Rare Cult''. The boxset consists of album out-takes, demos, radio broadcasts, and album B-sides. It is most notable for including the withdrawn "Peace" album in its entirety. In 2001, the band signed to Atlantic Records and recorded a new album, ''Beyond Good and Evil'', originally being produced by Mick Jones of Foreigner, until Jones bowed out to tour with Foreigner. Astbury and Duffy co-wrote a song with Jones, an odd occurrence, as in the past, neither Astbury or Duffy would co-write their material. Bob Rock was the producer, with Martyn LeNoble and Chris Wyse as recording bassists, as Mike Dimkitch played rhythm guitar on tour, and Matt Sorum returning as drummer. Although Sorum has previously toured with the band on the Sonic Temple tour in 1989, this was the first time that he had recorded a studio album with the band.
However ''Beyond Good and Evil'' was not the comeback record the band had hoped for. Despite reaching #37 in the US, #22 in Canada, and #25 in Spain, sales quickly dropped, only selling roughly 500,000 copies worldwide. The first single "Rise", reached #41 in the US, and #2 on the mainstream rock charts, but Atlantic Records quickly pulled the song from radio playlists. Astbury would later describe the experience with Atlantic to be "soul destroying", after Atlantic tried to tamper with the lyrics, the record cover, and choice of singles from the record.
After the first single from the record, the band's working relationship with Atlantic was on paper only, with Atlantic pulling "Rise" from the radio stations playlists, and stopping all promotion of the record. The second single "Breathe" was only released as a radio station promo, and the final single "True Believers" was only on a compilation sampler disc released in January 2002 (after The Cult's tour had already ended). Despite "True Believers" receiving radio airplay in Australia, both singles went largely unnoticed, and both Astbury and Duffy walked away from the project. LeNoble rejoined the band for the initial dates in early 2001, and Billy Morrison filled in on bass for the majority of the 2001 tour.
The European tour of 2001 was canceled, largely due to security concerns after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and the band flew back to the US to tour again with Aerosmith. But the eleven-week tour was considered by fans to be a disaster, as the band played only a brief rundown of their greatest hits. In October 2001, a show at the Grand Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles was filmed for release on DVD. After the tour ended in December 2001, the band took most of 2002 off, apart from a few shows in the US to promote the release of the DVD, with Scott Garrett and Craig Adams rejoining the band.
At the same time, Duffy was part of Coloursound with bassist Craig Adams and ex-Alarm frontman Mike Peters, then Dead Men Walking (again with Peters) and later Cardboard Vampyres. Sorum became a member of the hard rock supergroup Velvet Revolver. In 2003, all of The Cult's records were issued on CD, with several bonus tracks being issued on the Russian, Belarusian, and Lithuanian versions. These eastern European releases had many printing mistakes on the jacket sleeves and lyric inserts. In October 2004, all of The Cult's records were again remastered and issued again on CD, this time in Japan in different cardboard foldout sleeves. "She Sells Sanctuary" appeared in the 2002 video game ''Grand Theft Auto: Vice City'', playing on rock station V-Rock.
Astbury announced in February 2007 that he was leaving Riders on the Storm and returning to The Cult. He stated: "I have decided to move on and focus on my own music and legacy." The Cult was featured on Stuffmagazine.com's list of ultimate air guitar players. On 21 March 2007, it was announced that the band would be touring Europe with The Who. The first confirmed tour date was in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, in early June, with at least a dozen shows set to follow.
The band played a gig in London's West End at the CC Club on 7 June 2007, along with nearly two dozen shows across continental Europe during summer. The tour also includes the first performance in Romania and Croatia.
The band performed a UK and European tour in late-February and early-March 2008. On March 24, they began their North American tour including a major 13-city tour in Canada. During September 2008, The Cult did a brief series of dates in the northeast United States, and they will tour in Brazil as part of the South American tour in October 2008. As of May 2008, according to The Gauntlet, The Cult are currently unsigned and no longer under contract with Roadrunner Records. In October 2008, it was announced that The Cult would headline the inaugural Rock 'n' Roll Marathon in San Antonio, to be run 16 November 2008. The Cult announced plans for a tour showcasing their 1985 Love album across the USA and then the UK in October where they will play at the Royal Albert Hall.
Coinciding with the remastered ''Love'' album and 4 disc ''Omnibus'' boxed set, the Cult kicked off the long awaited ''Love Live Tour'' in late summer. Performing their classic ''Love'' album in its entirety, each show was played with the ''Love'' tracks opening with "Nirvana" to "Black Angel". A quick intermission followed, then other Cult hits were played (varying by venue): "Sun King", "Dirty Little Rock Star", "Electric Ocean", "Illuminated". Then followed the favorites "Fire Woman", "Lil Devil", "Wild Flower", and lastly "Love Removal Machine". In the evening of 10 October 2009 at the Royal Albert Hall in London, the band performed a second encore with original Cult bassist Jamie Stewart and drummer Mark Brzezicki, who played drums with the band during the ''Love'' album recording sessions in July and August 1985. The band sold ''Love Live'' USB Flash-drives for each show during the tour.
The band has officially announced the release of its first new studio recording since 2007, "Every Man And Woman Is A Star" . The new single is being released as a two-week exclusive through the iTunes store beginning July 31, 2010.
On August 1, 2010; the band played the sold out music festival Sonisphere, which marked their first UK performance since the tour for their Love album. During the performance the debuted their new single, "Every Man and Woman is a Star". "Every Man and Woman is a Star" was released exclusively at iTunes on August 1, 2010.On September 14, 2010 the band embarked on a new U.S. tour and released ''Capsule 1''. ''Capsule 1'' was released in conjunction with media technology company Aderra Inc. and was made available in multiple formats including a CD/DVD DualDisc, USB Flash Drive, 12 inch vinyl, FLAC download and MP3 download. The collection includes a short film made by singer Ian Astbury and Rick Rogers.
On October 26, 2010 the band and Aderra Inc. announced the release of a new song, Embers, available exclusively through iTunes beginning Nov. 1, 2010 and "Capsule 2" available through their webstore on November 16, 2010.
Pictures from The Cult's recent tour stop in Chicago on October 28, 2010 can be seen at a local radio station website.
;Touring musicians
;Former members
Category:Musical groups established in 1983 Category:Sire Records artists Category:Music from Yorkshire Category:British post-punk music groups Category:Gothic rock groups Category:English hard rock musical groups
ast:The Cult da:The Cult de:The Cult eml:The Cult es:The Cult fa:د کالت fr:The Cult it:The Cult nl:The Cult no:The Cult pl:The Cult pt:The Cult ru:The Cult simple:The Cult fi:The Cult sv:The CultThis text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
Coordinates | 12°2′36″N77°1′42″N |
---|---|
name | Louis XIV |
succession | King of France and Navarre |
reign | 14 May 1643 – 1 September 1715() |
coronation | June 07, 1654 |
cor-type | france |
full name | Louis-Dieudonné de France |
predecessor | Louis XIII |
successor | Louis XV |
regent | Anne of Austria (until 1651) |
spouse | Maria Theresa of Spain Françoise d'Aubigné |
issue | Louis, ''le Grand Dauphin''Princess Anne ÉlisabethPrincess Marie AnnePrincess Marie ThérèsePhilippe Charles, Duke of Anjou Louis François, Duke of Anjou |
house | House of Bourbon |
father | Louis XIII of France |
mother | Anne of Austria |
birth date | September 05, 1638 |
birth place | Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France |
death date | September 01, 1715 |
death place | Palace of Versailles, Versailles, France |
place of burial | Saint Denis Basilica, Saint-Denis, France |
religion | Catholicism |
signature | Louis XIV Signature.svg }} |
Louis XIV (5 September 1638 1 September 1715), known as the Sun King (French: ''le Roi-Soleil''), was King of France and of Navarre. His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, began at the age of four and lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days. As such, it is one of the longest documented reigns of any European monarch.
Louis began his personal rule of France in 1661 after the death of his chief minister, the Italian Cardinal Mazarin. An adherent of the theory of the divine right of kings, which advocates the divine origin and lack of temporal restraint of monarchical rule, Louis continued his predecessors' work of creating a centralized state governed from the capital. He sought to eliminate the remnants of feudalism persisting in parts of France and, by compelling the noble elite to inhabit his lavish Palace of Versailles, succeeded in pacifying the aristocracy, many members of which had participated in the Fronde rebellion during Louis' minority. By these means he consolidated a system of absolute monarchical rule in France that endured until the French Revolution.
France was the leading European power and fought three major wars—the Franco-Dutch War, the War of the League of Augsburg, and the War of the Spanish Succession—and two minor conflicts—the War of Devolution and the War of the Reunions. Louis encouraged and benefited from the work of prominent political, military and cultural figures such as Mazarin, Colbert, Turenne and Vauban, as well as Molière, Racine, Boileau, La Fontaine, Lully, Le Brun, Rigaud, Le Vau, Mansart, Charles and Claude Perrault, and Le Nôtre.
Upon his death just days before his seventy-seventh birthday, Louis was succeeded by his five-year-old great-grandson, Louis XV. All his intermediate heirs—his son Louis, ''le Grand Dauphin''; the Dauphin's eldest son Louis, duc de Bourgogne; and Bourgogne's eldest son and his second eldest son, Louis, duc de Bretagne (the older brothers of the future Louis XV)—predeceased him.
Recognising that his death was imminent, Louis XIII in 1643 prepared for his son's impending minority rule. He decreed that a regency council should rule on Louis's behalf for the duration of the minority. Contrary to custom, he did not make Anne the sole regent despite her having given birth to Louis and his brother Philippe, because he doubted her political abilities. He did however make her the head of the Council.
Subsequently, in 1648, Mazarin successfully negotiated the Peace of Westphalia. Although war continued between France and Spain until the Treaty of the Pyrenees in 1659, the Peace of Westphalia ended the Thirty Years' War in Germany. Its terms ensured Dutch independence from Spain, awarded some autonomy to the various German princes, and granted Sweden seats on the Imperial Diet and territories to control the mouths of the Oder, Elbe and Weser. France, however, profited most from the settlement. Austria ceded to France all Habsburg lands and claims in Alsace and acknowledged her ''de facto'' sovereignty over the Three Bishoprics. Moreover, eager to emancipate themselves from Habsburg domination, petty German states sought French protection. This anticipated the formation of the 1658 League of the Rhine, leading to the further diminution of Imperial power.
As the Thirty Years' War came to an end, a civil war—the ''Fronde''—erupted in France. It effectively checked France's ability to exploit the Peace of Westphalia. Mazarin had largely pursued the policies of his predecessor, Cardinal Richelieu, augmenting the Crown's power at the expense of the nobility and the ''Parlements''. The ''Frondeurs'', political heirs of a dissatisfied feudal aristocracy, sought to protect their traditional feudal privileges from an increasingly centralized royal government. Furthermore, they believed their traditional influence and authority was being usurped by the recently ennobled bureaucrats (the ''Noblesse de Robe'') who administered the Kingdom and on whom the Monarchy increasingly began to rely. This belief intensified their resentment.
In 1648, Mazarin attempted to tax members of the ''Parlement de Paris''. The members not only refused to comply, but also ordered all his earlier financial edicts burned. Buoyed by the victory of Louis, duc d’Enghien (later ''le Grand Condé'') at Lens, Mazarin arrested certain members in a show of force. Paris erupted in rioting. A mob of angry Parisians broke into the royal palace and demanded to see their king. Led into the royal bedchamber, they gazed upon Louis, who was feigning sleep, were appeased, and quietly departed. The threat to the royal family prompted Anne to flee Paris with the king and his courtiers. Shortly thereafter, the conclusion of the Peace of Westphalia allowed Condé's army to return to aid Louis and his court.
As this first ''Fronde'' (''Fronde parlementaire'', 1648–1649) ended, a second (''Fronde des princes'', 1650–1653) began. Unlike that which preceded it, tales of sordid intrigue and half-hearted warfare characterised this second phase of upper-class insurrection. To the aristocracy, this rebellion represented a protest against and a reversal of their political demotion from vassals to courtiers. It was headed by the highest-ranking French nobles, among them Louis's uncle, Gaston, duc d'Orléans, and first cousin, ''la Grande Mademoiselle''; more distantly related Princes of the Blood, like Condé, his brother, Conti, and their sister the duchesse de Longueville; dukes of legitimised royal descent, such as Henri, duc de Longueville, and François, duc de Beaufort; and ''princes étrangers'', such as Frédéric Maurice, duc de Bouillon, his brother, the famous Marshal of France, Turenne, and Marie de Rohan, duchesse de Chevreuse; and scions of France's oldest families, such as François, duc de La Rochefoucauld.
The ''Frondeurs'' claimed to act on Louis's behalf and in his real interest against his mother and Mazarin. However, Louis's coming-of-age and subsequent coronation deprived them of their pretext for revolt. Thus, the ''Fronde'' gradually lost steam and ended in 1653, when Mazarin returned triumphantly after having fled into exile on several occasions.
Louis began his personal reign with administrative and fiscal reforms. In 1661, the treasury verged on bankruptcy. To rectify the situation, Louis chose Jean-Baptiste Colbert as ''Contrôleur général des Finances'' in 1665. However, Louis first had to eliminate Nicolas Fouquet, the ''Surintendant des Finances''. Fouquet was charged with embezzlement. The ''Parlement'' found him guilty and sentenced him to exile. However, Louis commuted the sentence to life-imprisonment and also abolished Fouquet's post. Although Fouquet's financial indiscretions were not really very different from Mazarin before or Colbert after him, his ambition was worrying to Louis. He had, for example, built an opulent château at Vaux-le-Vicomte where he lavishly entertained a comparatively poorer Louis. He appeared eager to succeed Mazarin and Richelieu in assuming power and indiscreetly purchased and privately fortified Belle Île. These acts sealed his doom.
Divested of Fouquet, Colbert reduced the national debt through more efficient taxation. The principal taxes included the ''aides'' and ''douanes'' (both customs duties), the ''gabelle'' (a tax on salt), and the ''taille'' (a tax on land). Louis and Colbert also had wide-ranging plans to bolster French commerce and trade. Colbert's mercantilist administration established new industries and encouraged manufacturers and inventors, such as the Lyon silk manufacturers and the ''Manufacture des Gobelins'', a producer of tapestries. He invited manufacturers and artisans from all over Europe to France, such as Murano glassmakers, Swedish ironworkers, and Dutch shipbuilders. In this way, he aimed to decrease foreign imports while increasing French exports, hence reducing the net outflow of precious metals from France.
Louis instituted reforms in military administration through Le Tellier and his son Louvois. They helped to curb the independent spirit of the nobility, imposing order on them at court and in the army. Gone were the days when generals protracted war at the frontiers while bickering over precedence and ignoring orders from the capital and the larger politico-diplomatic picture. The old military aristocracy (the ''Noblesse d'épée'') ceased to have a monopoly over senior military positions and rank. Louvois in particular pledged himself to modernizing the army, re-organizing it into a professional, disciplined and well-trained force. He was devoted to the soldiers' material well-being and morale, and even tried to direct campaigns.
Legal matters did not escape Louis's attention, as is reflected in the numerous ''Grandes Ordonnances'' he enacted. Pre-revolutionary France was a patchwork of legal systems, with as many ''coutumes'' as there were provinces, and two co-existing legal traditions—customary law in the northern ''pays de droit coutumier'' and Roman civil law in the southern ''pays de droit écrit''. The 'Grande Ordonnance de Procédure Civile' of 1667, also known as Code Louis, was a comprehensive legal code attempting a uniform regulation of civil procedure throughout legally irregular France. It prescribed ''inter alia'' baptismal, marriage and death records in the state's registers, not the church's, and also strictly regulated the right of the ''Parlements'' to remonstrate. The ''Code Louis'' played an important part in French legal history as the basis for the ''Code Napoléon'', itself the origin of many modern legal codes.
One of Louis's more infamous decrees was the ''Grande Ordonnance sur les Colonies'' of 1685, also known as ''Code Noir''. Although it sanctioned slavery, it did attempt to humanise the practice by prohibiting the separation of families. Additionally, in the colonies, only Roman Catholics could own slaves, and these had to be baptised.
The Sun King generously supported the royal court and those who worked under him. He brought the Académie Française under his patronage, and became its "Protector". He allowed Classical French literature to flourish by protecting such writers as Molière, Racine and La Fontaine, whose works remain greatly influential to this day. Louis also patronised the visual arts by funding and commissioning various artists, such as Charles Le Brun, Pierre Mignard, Antoine Coysevox and Hyacinthe Rigaud whose works became famous throughout Europe. In music, composers and musicians such as Lully, Chambonnières and François Couperin thrived.
Over the course of four building campaigns, Louis converted a hunting lodge built by Louis XIII into the spectacular Palace of Versailles. With the exception of the current Royal Chapel (built near the end of Louis's reign), the palace achieved much of its current appearance after the third building campaign, which was followed by an official move of the royal court to Versailles on 6 May 1682.
Versailles became a dazzling, awe-inspiring setting for state affairs and the reception of foreign dignitaries. At Versailles, the king alone commanded attention. Several reasons have been suggested for the creation of the extravagant and stately palace, as well as the relocation of the monarchy's seat. For example, Saint-Simon speculated that Louis viewed Versailles as an isolated power center where treasonous cabals could be more readily discovered and foiled. Alternatively, the ''Fronde'' allegedly caused Louis to hate Paris, which he abandoned for a country retreat. However, his many improvements, embellishments and developments of Paris, such as the establishment of a police and street-lighting, lend little credence to this theory. As further examples of his continued care for the capital, Louis constructed the ''Hôtel des Invalides''—a military complex and home to this day for officers and soldiers rendered infirm either by injury or age. While pharmacology was still quite rudimentary in his day, ''les Invalides'' pioneered new treatments and set new standards for hospice treatment. The conclusion of the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1668 also induced Louis to demolish the northern walls of Paris in 1670 and replace them with wide tree-lined boulevards. Louis also renovated and improved the Louvre and many other royal residences. Bernini was originally to plan additions to the Louvre. However, his plans would have meant the destruction of much of the existing structure, replacing it with an Italian summer villa in the centre of Paris. Bernini's plans were eventually shelved in favour of Perrault's elegant colonnade. With the relocation of the court to Versailles, the Louvre was given over to the arts and the public. During his visit from Rome, Bernini also executed a portrait bust of the king.
name | King Louis XIVPar la grâce de Dieu, Roi de France et de Navarre |
---|---|
dipstyle | His Most Christian Majesty |
offstyle | Your Most Christian Majesty |
altstyle | Monsieur Le Roi }} |
The War of Devolution did not focus on the payment of the dowry. Rather, Louis's pretext for war was the "devolution" of land. In Brabant, children of the first marriage traditionally were not disadvantaged by their parents’ remarriages, and still inherited property. Louis's wife was Philip IV's daughter by his first marriage, while the new King of Spain, Charles II, was his son by a subsequent marriage. Thus, Brabant allegedly "devolved" on Maria Theresa. This excuse led to France's attack on the Spanish Netherlands.
Internal problems in the Dutch Republic aided Louis's designs. The most prominent politician in the United Provinces at the time, Johan de Witt, Grand Pensionary, feared the ambition of the young William III, Prince of Orange, specifically dispossession of his supreme power and the restoration of the House of Orange to the influence it had enjoyed before the death of William II, Prince of Orange. The Dutch were thus initially more preoccupied with domestic affairs than the French advance into Spanish territory. Moreover, the French were nominally their allies against the English in the ongoing Second Anglo-Dutch War. Shocked by the rapidity of French successes and fearful of the future, the Dutch nonetheless turned on their nominal allies and made peace with England. Joined by Sweden, the English and Dutch formed a Triple Alliance in 1668. The threat of an escalation of the conflict and a secret treaty partitioning the Spanish succession with Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I, the other major claimant to the throne of Spain, induced Louis to make peace. The Triple Alliance did not last very long. In 1670, French gold bought the adherence of Charles II of England to the secret Treaty of Dover. France and England, along with certain Rhineland princes, declared war on the United Provinces in 1672, sparking off the Franco-Dutch War. The rapid invasion and occupation of most of the Netherlands precipitated a coup that toppled De Witt and brought William III to power.
In 1674, when France lost the assistance of England, which sued for peace by the Treaty of Westminster, William III received the help of Spain, the Emperor Leopold I, and the rest of the Empire. Despite these diplomatic reverses, the French continued to triumph against overwhelming opposing forces. Within a few weeks, French forces led by Louis captured all of Spanish-held Franche-Comté in 1674. Despite being greatly outnumbered, Condé trounced William III's coalition army of Austrians, Spaniards and Dutchmen at the Battle of Seneffe, and prevented him from descending on Paris. Another outnumbered general, Turenne, conducted a daring and brilliant campaign in the winter of 1674–1675 against the Imperial armies under Raimondo Montecuccoli, driving them back across the Rhine out of Alsace, which had been invaded. Through a series of feints, marches and counter-marches in 1678, Louis besieged and captured Ghent. By placing Louis in a military position far superior to his enemies, these victories brought the war to a speedy end. Six years of war had exhausted Europe, and peace negotiations were soon concluded in 1678 with the Treaty of Nijmegen. Although Louis returned all Dutch territory he captured, he retained Franche-Comté and gained more land in the Spanish Netherlands.
The conclusion of a general peace permitted Louis to intervene in the Scanian War in 1679 on behalf of his ally Sweden. He forced Brandenburg-Prussia to the peace table at the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye and imposed peace on Denmark-Norway by the Treaty of Fontainebleau and the Peace of Lund.
The successful conclusion of the Treaty of Nijmegen enhanced French influence in Europe, but Louis was still not satisfied. In 1679, he dismissed his foreign minister Simon Arnauld, marquis de Pomponne, because he was seen as having compromised too much with the allies. Louis maintained the strength of his army, but in his next series of territorial claims, Louis avoided using military force alone. Rather, he combined it with legal pretexts in his efforts to augment the boundaries of his kingdom. Contemporary treaties were intentionally phrased ambiguously. Louis established the ''Chambres des Réunions'' to determine the full extent of his rights and obligations under those treaties.
Cities and territories such as Luxembourg and Casale were prized for their strategic position on the frontier and access to important waterways. Louis also sought Strasbourg, an important strategic crossing on the Rhine through which various Imperial armies had invaded France. Although a part of Alsace, Strasbourg was not part of Habsburg-ruled Alsace and was thus not ceded to France in the Peace of Westphalia. Following the determinations of the ''Chambres des Réunions'', Louis seized these and other territories. Infuriated by his annexations, Spain declared war, precipitating the War of the Reunions. However, the Spanish were rapidly defeated because the Emperor (distracted by the Great Turkish War) abandoned them, and the Dutch only supported them minimally. By the Truce of Ratisbon in 1684, Spain was forced to cede most of the conquered territories to France for a duration of 20 years.
Meanwhile, diplomatic relations were initiated with distant countries. In 1669, Suleiman Aga led an Ottoman embassy, reviving the old Franco-Ottoman alliance. Then, in 1682, after the reception of the embassy of Mohammed Tenim in France, Moulay Ismail, Sultan of Morocco, allowed French consular and commercial establishments in his country. Louis once again received a Moroccan ambassador in 1699. He also received a Persian embassy led by Mohammed Reza Beg in 1715.
From further afield, Siam dispatched an embassy in 1684, reciprocated by the French magnificently the next year under Alexandre, Chevalier de Chaumont. This, in turn, was succeeded by another Siamese embassy under Kosa Pan superbly received at Versailles in 1686. Louis then sent another embassy in 1687 under Simon de la Loubère, and French influence grew at the Siamese court, which granted Mergui as a naval base to France. However, the death of Narai, King of Ayutthaya, the execution of his pro-French minister Phaulkon and the Siege of Bangkok in 1688 ended this era of French influence.
France also actively participated in Jesuit missions to China. To break the Portuguese dominance there, Louis sent five Jesuit "mathematicians" (Fontaney, Bouvet, Gerbillon, Le Comte and Visdelou) to the court of the Kangxi Emperor in 1685. Louis also received the visit of a Chinese Jesuit, Michael Shen Fu-Tsung. Furthermore, he had at his court a Chinese librarian and translator—Arcadio Huang.
Louis initially supported traditional Gallicanism, which limited papal authority in France, and convened an ''Assemblée du Clergé'' in November 1681. Before its dissolution eight months later, the Assembly had accepted the Declaration of the Clergy of France, which increased royal authority at the expense of papal power. Without royal approval, bishops could not leave France and appeals could not be made to the Pope. Additionally, government officials could not be excommunicated for acts committed in pursuance of their duties. Although the King could make ecclesiastical law, all papal regulations without royal assent were invalid in France. Unsurprisingly, the pope repudiated the Declaration.
By attaching nobles to his court, Louis achieved increased control over the French aristocracy. Pensions and privileges necessary to live in a style appropriate to their rank were only possible by waiting constantly on Louis. Moreover, by entertaining, impressing and domesticating them with extravagant luxury and other distractions, Louis expected them to remain under his scrutiny. This prevented them from passing time on their own estates and in their regional power-bases, from which they historically waged local wars and plotted resistance to royal authority. Louis thus compelled and seduced the old military aristocracy (the ''noblesse d'épée'') into becoming his ceremonial courtiers, further weakening their power. The underlying rationale for Louis's actions could be found in experiences of the ''Fronde''. Louis judged that royal power thrived better by filling high executive or administrative posts with commoners or the more recently ennobled bureaucratic aristocracy (the ''noblesse de robe''). These could be more easily dismissed than a grandee of ancient lineage whose entrenched influence would be more difficult to destroy. In fact, Louis's final victory over the nobility may have ensured the end of major French civil wars until the Revolution about a century later.
The 1680s would see France not only becoming more isolated from its former allies, but also at the height and apogee of its power. Louis's policy of ''Réunions'' brought France to its largest extent during his reign. Furthermore, the bombardment of the Barbary pirate strongholds of Algiers and Tripoli produced favourable treaties and the liberation of Christian slaves. Lastly, in 1684, Louis ordered the bombardment of Genoa for its support of Spain in previous wars, and procured Genoese submission and an official apology by the Doge at Versailles.
Despite evidence of affection early on in their marriage, Louis did not remain faithful to Maria Theresa for long. He took a series of mistresses, both official and unofficial, among them Mademoiselle de La Vallière, Madame de Montespan, and Mademoiselle de Fontanges. Through these liaisons, he produced numerous illegitimate children, most of whom he married to members of cadet branches of the royal family.
Louis proved more faithful to his second wife, Madame de Maintenon. It is believed that they were married secretly on or around 10 October 1683 at Versailles. This marriage, though never announced or publicly discussed, was an open secret and lasted until his death.
Responding to petitions, Louis initially excluded Protestants from office, constrained the meeting of synods, closed churches outside Edict-stipulated areas, banned Protestant outdoor preachers, and prohibited domestic Protestant migration. He also disallowed Protestant-Catholic intermarriages if objections existed, encouraged missions to the Protestants and rewarded converts to Catholicism. Despite this discrimination, Protestants largely did not rebel, and there occurred a steady conversion of Protestants, especially among the noble elites.
In 1681, Louis dramatically increased his persecution of Protestants. The principle of ''cuius regio, euis religio'' generally had also meant that subjects who refused to convert could emigrate, but Louis banned emigration and effectively insisted that all Protestants must be converted. Secondly, following René de Marillac and Louvois's proposal, he began quartering dragoons in Protestant homes. Although this was within his legal rights, the ''dragonnades'' inflicted severe financial strain on Protestants and atrocious abuse. Between 300,000 and 400,000 Huguenots nominally converted, as this entailed financial rewards and exemption from the ''dragonnades''.
On 15 October 1685, citing the extensive conversion of Protestants which rendered privileges for the remainder redundant, Louis issued the Edict of Fontainebleau, which revoked the Edict of Nantes. His reasons for doing so have been debated. Louis may have been seeking to placate the Catholic Church, which had chafed under his numerous restrictions, or he may have acted to regain international prestige after the defeat of the Turks without French aid, or to end the remaining division in French society dating to the Wars of Religion. Perhaps, he may have just been motivated by his coronation oath to eradicate heresy.
The Edict of Fontainebleau exiled pastors, demolished churches, instituted forced baptisms and banned Protestant groups. Defying royal decree, about 200,000 Huguenots (roughly one-fourth of the Protestant population, or 1% of the French population) fled France, taking their skills with them. Thus, some have found the Edict very injurious to France. However, others believe this an exaggeration. Although many left, most of France's preeminent Protestant businessmen and industrialists converted and remained. The reaction to the Revocation was mixed. French Catholic leaders applauded, but Protestants across Europe were horrified, and even Pope Innocent XI, still arguing with Louis over Gallicanism, criticised the violence.
Growing concern about France led to the formation of the 1686 League of Augsburg by the Emperor, Spain, Sweden, Saxony and Bavaria; it intended to return France at least to the borders agreed to in the Treaty of Nijmegen. Conversely, the Emperor's refusal to change Ratisbon into a permanent treaty amplified Louis's fear that the Emperor's Balkan victories entailed an imminent attack on the Reunions.
The birth of James II's son and Catholic heir, James Stuart, precipitated the Glorious Revolution, an event that Louis found threatening. The Protestant William III of Orange sailed for England with troops despite Louis's warning that France would regard it as a ''casus belli''. James II was deposed and his throne expropriated by his daughter and son-in-law, Mary II and William III (now also of England). Vehemently anti-French, William III pushed his new kingdoms into war, thus transforming the League of Augsburg into the Grand Alliance. In 1688, however, this was as yet unsettled. Expecting the expedition to absorb William III and his allies, Louis dispatched troops to the Rhineland to compel confirmation of Ratisbon and acceptance of his demands about the succession crises, as his ultimatum to the German princes indicated. He also sought to protect his eastern provinces from Imperial invasion by depriving the enemy army of sustenance, thus explaining the pre-emptive devastation of much of southwestern Germany (the "Devastation of the Palatinate").
French armies were generally victorious throughout the war because of Imperial commitments in the Balkans, French logistical superiority, and the quality of French generals such as Condé's famous pupil, François Henri de Montmorency-Bouteville, duc de Luxembourg. His triumphs at Fleurus, Steenkerque and Neerwinden preserved northern France from invasion and dubbed him ''le tapissier de Notre-Dame'' for the numerous captured enemy standards he sent to decorate the Cathedral.
Although the attempt to restore James II failed at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690, France accumulated a string of victories from Flanders in the north, Germany in the east, and Italy and Spain in the south, to the high seas and the colonies. Louis personally supervised the capture of Mons and the reputedly impregnable fortress of Namur; Luxembourg's capture of Charleroi gave France the defensive line of the Sambre. France also overran most of the Duchy of Savoy after the battles of Marsaglia and Staffarde. While naval stalemate ensued after the French victory at Beachy Head and the Allied victory at Barfleur-La Hougue, the Battle of Torroella exposed Catalonia to French invasion, culminating in the capture of Barcelona. Although the Dutch captured Pondicherry, a French raid on the Spanish treasure port of Cartagena (in present-day Colombia) yielded a fortune of 10 000 000 livres. By the Treaty of Turin in 1696, which finally hastened the end of the War, Victor Amadeus, Duke of Savoy, separately concluded peace and switched sides. Thereafter, negotiations for a general peace began in earnest, culminating in the Treaty of Ryswick.
Although Louis returned Catalonia and most of the Reunions, he secured permanent French sovereignty over all of Alsace, including Strasbourg, thus guaranteeing the Rhine as the Franco-German border to this day. Louis's generosity to Spain despite French military superiority, which could have resulted in more advantageous terms, has been read as a concession to foster pro-French sentiment; it may ultimately have induced Charles II to name Louis's grandson, Philippe, duc d'Anjou, as heir.
Besides the return of Pondicherry and Acadia, Louis's ''de facto'' possession of Saint-Domingue was recognised. Compensated financially, he renounced interests in the Electorate of Cologne and the Palatinate, and returned Lorraine to its duke, albeit under restrictive terms allowing unhindered French passage. The Treaty allowed the Dutch to garrison forts in the Spanish Netherlands as a protective barrier against possible French aggression and recognised William III and Mary II as joint sovereigns of the British Isles. Consequently, Louis withdrew support for James II.
Though the final peace may appear a diplomatic defeat for Louis, he in fact fulfilled many of the aims laid down in his 1688 ultimatum. In any case, to him peace in 1697 was victory.
The main claimants to the throne of Spain were French and Austrian and closely linked to Charles II. The French claim was derived from Anne of Austria (Philip III of Spain's eldest daughter) and Marie-Thérèse (Philip IV's eldest daughter). Based on the laws of primogeniture, France had the better claim as it originated from eldest daughters in each generation. However, the princesses’ renunciations to the throne complicated matters; nevertheless, Marie-Thérèse's renunciation was considered null and void owing to Spain's breach of the marriage agreement. In contrast, no renunciation tainted the claims of Charles, Archduke of Austria. He descended from Maria Anna (Philip III's youngest daughter).
The English and Dutch feared that a French or Austrian-born Spanish king would threaten the balance of power and thus preferred the Bavarian Joseph Ferdinand, Leopold I's grandson, through his first wife Margaret Theresa of Spain (Philip IV's younger daughter). But, to appease the parties and avoid war, the First Partition Treaty of 1698 divided the Italian territories between ''le Grand Dauphin'' and the Archduke, awarding the rest of the empire to Joseph Ferdinand. Presumably, the Dauphin's new territories would become part of France when he succeeded Louis. Passionately against his empire's dismemberment, Charles II in 1699 reiterated his will of 1693, which named Joseph Ferdinand as his sole successor.
Six months later, Josef Ferdinand died. Louis and William III in 1700 again concluded a Partition Treaty, allocating Spain, the Low Countries and colonies to the Archduke, and Spanish lands in Italy to the Dauphin. Acknowledging that his empire could only remain undivided by bequeathing it entirely to a Frenchman or an Austrian, and pressured by his German wife, Maria Anna of Neuburg, Charles II named the Archduke Charles as sole heir.
Louis was confronted with a difficult choice. He could agree to the partition and hopefully avoid a general war, or accept Charles II's will and alienate others. Initially, Louis may have inclined towards abiding by the partition treaties. However, the Dauphin's insistence persuaded Louis otherwise. Moreover, Jean-Baptiste Colbert, marquis de Torcy pointed out that war with the Emperor would almost certainly ensue even if Louis only accepted part of the Spanish inheritance. He emphasised William III's reluctance to assist France in war because he "made a treaty to avoid war and did not intend to go to war to implement the treaty". He confirmed that Philip V retained his French rights despite his new Spanish position. Admittedly, he may only have been hypothesising a theoretical eventuality and not attempting a Franco-Spanish union. However, Louis also sent troops to the Spanish Netherlands, evicting Dutch garrisons and securing Dutch recognition of Philip V. In 1701, he transferred the ''asiento'' to France, alienating English traders. He also acknowledged James Stuart, James II's son, as king on the latter's death, infuriating William III. These actions enraged Britain and the United Provinces. Consequently, with the Emperor and the petty German states, they formed another Grand Alliance, declaring war on France in 1702. French diplomacy, however, secured Bavaria, Portugal and Savoy as Franco-Spanish allies.
Marlborough and Eugene of Savoy's victory at Blenheim caused Bavaria's occupation by the Palatinate and Austria, compelling Maximilian II Emanuel to flee to the Spanish Netherlands. Portugal and Savoy defected to the Allies after Blenheim. Later, the battles of Ramillies and Oudenarde precipitated the capture of the Low Countries and an invasion of France, whereas the Battle of Turin forced Louis to evacuate Italy, leaving it open to Allied armies.
Defeats, famine and mounting debt greatly weakened France. Two massive famines struck France between 1693 and 1710, killing over two million people. In both cases the impact of harvest failure was exacerbated by wartime demands on the food supply. In his desperation, Louis XIV even ordered a disastrous invasion of Guernsey in the autumn of 1704 with the aim of raiding their successful harvest.
By the winter of 1708–1709, Louis became willing to accept peace at nearly any cost. He agreed to surrender the entire Spanish empire to the Archduke, and even to return all that he gained over sixty years in his reign and revert to the frontiers of the Peace of Westphalia. However, he stopped short of accepting the Allies’ inflexible requirement that he attack his own grandson to force the humiliating terms on the latter. Thus, the war continued.
By the general settlement, Philip V retained Spain and the colonies, Austria received the Low Countries and divided Spanish Italy with Savoy, and Britain kept Gibraltar and Minorca. Louis agreed to withdraw his support for James Stuart, and ceded Newfoundland, Rupert's Land and Acadia in the Americas to Britain. Admittedly, Britain gained the most from the Treaty, but the final terms were very much more favourable to France than those of 1709 and 1710. France retained Île-Saint-Jean and Île Royale, and notwithstanding Allied intransigence, was returned most of the captured Continental lands, preserving its ''antebellum'' frontiers. Louis even acquired additional territory, such as the Principality of Orange, and the Ubaye Valley, which covered transalpine passes into Italy. Moreover, Louis secured the rehabilitation to pre-war status and lands of his allies, the Electors of Bavaria and of Cologne.
Reciting the psalm ''Domine, ad adjuvandum me festina'' (''O Lord, make haste to help me''), Louis "yielded up his soul without any effort, like a candle going out". His body lies in Saint-Denis Basilica, outside Paris.
The Dauphin had predeceased Louis in 1711, leaving three children: Louis, Duke of Burgundy; Philip V of Spain; and Charles, Duke of Berry. The eldest, Burgundy, followed in 1712, and was himself soon followed by his elder son, Louis, Duke of Brittany. Thus, on Louis XIV's deathbed, his heir was his five-year-old great-grandson, Louis, Duke of Anjou, Burgundy's youngest son, and Dauphin after the deaths in short succession of his grandfather, father and elder brother.
Louis foresaw a minority and sought to restrict the power of his nephew, Philippe d'Orléans, who as closest surviving legitimate relative in France would become the prospective Louis XV's regent. Accordingly, he created a regency council as Louis XIII did in anticipation of his own minority with some power vested in his illegitimate son, Louis Auguste de Bourbon, duc du Maine.
Orléans, however, would have Louis's will annulled by the ''Parlement de Paris'' after his death and make himself sole regent. He stripped Maine and his brother, Louis-Alexandre de Bourbon, comte de Toulouse, of the rank of "prince of the blood", which Louis had given them, and significantly reduced Maine's power and privileges.
"Do not follow the bad example which I have set you; I have often undertaken war too lightly and have sustained it for vanity. Do not imitate me, but be a peaceful prince, and may you apply yourself principally to the alleviation of the burdens of your subjects".
Given the Baroque inclination to magnify one's sins as a demonstration of piety, however, some historians argue that Louis may have been too harsh with himself. His early reforms and centralisation of France also marked the birth of the modern State and served as an example of political organisation for much of Europe during the Enlightenment.
It has been argued that Louis's considerable foreign, military and domestic expenditure impoverished and bankrupted France. Other historians, however, have dismissed such claims. They draw a distinction between the royal treasury, which was impoverished, and France, which was not. In support, they cite the ''Lettres Persanes'' by the socio-political thinker and commentator Montesquieu as literary evidence of the wealth and opulence of France and French society even in the darkest days of the royal treasury.
Alternatively, it has been argued that Louis's failure to reform French institutions at a time when monarchy was secure in France led to the social upheaval culminating in the Revolution. In response, other scholars have argued that Louis had little reason to dabble with the reformation of institutions which largely worked well under him. Moreover, he could not reasonably have foreseen and provided for events occurring nearly eighty years after his death, during which time his successors could have successfully instituted reforms but failed to do so.
Ultimately, in often triumphant wars against several great European alliances, Louis gave France ten new provinces, an overseas empire and the pre-eminent position in Europe. His political and military victories, as well as numerous cultural achievements, earned France the admiration of Europe for its success, power and sophistication. Much of Europe began to emulate French manners, values, goods and way-of-life. The European elite even conversed increasingly in predominantly French. Louis himself became the model for many Enlightenment monarchs.
Louis, it seems, had his personal flaws. Saint-Simon, who claimed that Louis slighted him, criticised him thus:
"There was nothing he liked so much as flattery, or, to put it more plainly, adulation; the coarser and clumsier it was, the more he relished it".However, the anti-Bourbon Napoleon honoured Louis not only as "a great king", but also as "the only King of France worthy of the name". Indeed, even the German Protestant philosopher Leibniz commended him as "one of the greatest kings that ever was". And Lord Acton went so far as to describe Louis as "by far the ablest man who was born in modern times on the steps of a throne". Finally, comparing Louis to Augustus, Voltaire dubbed his reign "an eternally memorable age" and "''le Grand Siècle''" (the "Great Century").
Indeed, Rigaud's portrait exemplified the height of royal portraiture in Louis's reign. Although Rigaud made a credible likeness of Louis, the portrait was neither meant as an exercise in realism nor to explore Louis's personal character. Rather, it was intended to glorify the monarchy. Rigaud's original, now housed in the Louvre, was originally meant as a gift to Louis's grandson, Philip V of Spain. However, Louis was so pleased with the work that he kept the original and commissioned a copy to be sent to his grandson. That became the first of many copies, both in full and half-length formats, to be made by Rigaud, often with the help of his assistants. The portrait also became a model for French royal and imperial portraiture down to the time of Charles X, over a century later. In his work, Rigaud proclaims Louis's exalted royal status through his elegant stance and haughty expression, the royal regalia and throne, rich ceremonial fleur-de-lys robes, as well as the upright column in the background, which, together with the drapperies, serves to frame this image of majesty. Despite the vast expanse of canvas he had to cover, Rigaud was also concerned with details and depicted in great detail the King's costume, even his shoe buckles.
Quite contrary to that apocryphal quote, Louis XIV is actually reported to have said on his death bed: "''Je m'en vais, mais l'État demeurera toujours.''" ("I depart, but the State shall always remain").
In 1910, the American historical novelist Charles Major wrote ''"The Little King: A Story of the Childhood of King Louis XIV"''. Louis is a major character in the 1959 historical novel ''"Angélique et le Roy"'' ("Angélique and the King"), part of the Angelique Series. The protagonist, a strong-willed lady at Versailles, rejects the King's advances and refuses to become his mistress. A later book, the 1961 ''"Angélique se révolte"'' ("Angélique in Revolt") details the dire consequences of her defying this powerful monarch.
A character based on Louis plays an important role in ''The Age of Unreason'', a series of four alternate history novels written by American science fiction and fantasy author Gregory Keyes.
While The Taking of Power by Louis XIV, directed by Roberto Rossellini in 1966, shows Louis's rise to power after the death of Cardinal Mazarin, Le Roi Danse (The King Dances), directed by Gérard Corbiau in 2000, reveals Louis through the eyes of Jean-Baptiste Lully, his court musician. Julian Sands portrayed Louis in Roland Jaffe's Vatel in 2000.
Louis features significantly in Neal Stephenson's Baroque Cycle, specifically ''The Confusion'', the greater part of which takes place at Versailles.
In the ''39 Clues'' series universe, it has been noted that Louis was part of the Cahill branch, Tomas.
The 16-year-old Louis XIV, as played by the Irish actor Robert Sheehan, was a major character of the short-lived historical fantasy series ''Young Blades'' from January to June 2005.
Category:1638 births Category:1715 deaths Category:Burials at the Basilica of St Denis Category:People from Saint-Germain-en-Laye Category:House of Bourbon (France) Category:Kings of France Category:Dauphins of Viennois Category:Dauphins of France Category:Roman Catholic monarchs Category:Anti-Protestantism Category:Princes of France (Bourbon) Category:Princes of Andorra Category:Modern child rulers Category:French military personnel of the Nine Years' War Category:Recipients of the Order of the Holy Spirit Category:18th-century French people Category:17th-century French people Category:People of the Regency of Philippe d'Orléans Category:People of the Ancien Régime Category:Deaths from gangrene
af:Lodewyk XIV van Frankryk ang:Hloþƿiȝ XIV Franclandes ar:لويس الرابع عشر ملك فرنسا an:Loís XIV de Francia be:Людовік XIV be-x-old:Людовік XIV bs:Luj XIV, kralj Francuske br:Loeiz XIV (Bro-C'hall) bg:Луи XIV ca:Lluís XIV de França cs:Ludvík XIV. cy:Louis XIV, brenin Ffrainc da:Ludvig 14. af Frankrig de:Ludwig XIV. et:Louis XIV el:Λουδοβίκος ΙΔ΄ της Γαλλίας es:Luis XIV de Francia eo:Ludoviko la 14-a (Francio) eu:Luis XIV.a Frantziakoa fa:لوئی چهاردهم hif:Louis XIV of France fr:Louis XIV de France fy:Loadewyk XIV fan Frankryk ga:Louis XIV na Fraince gl:Luís XIV de Francia ko:루이 14세 hy:Լյուդովիկոս XIV hr:Luj XIV., kralj Francuske io:Louis 14ma id:Louis XIV dari Perancis is:Loðvík 14. it:Luigi XIV di Francia he:לואי הארבעה עשר, מלך צרפת ka:ლუი XIV (საფრანგეთი) sw:Louis XIV wa Ufaransa ku:Louis XIV. la:Ludovicus XIV lv:Luijs XIV lb:Louis XIV. vu Frankräich lt:Liudvikas XIV hu:XIV. Lajos francia király mk:Луј XIV ml:ലൂയി പതിനാലാമൻ mr:चौदावा लुई, फ्रान्स arz:لويس الاربعتاشر ملك فرنسا ms:Louis XIV dari Perancis nl:Lodewijk XIV van Frankrijk ja:ルイ14世 (フランス王) no:Ludvig XIV av Frankrike nn:Ludvig XIV av Frankrike oc:Loís XIV de França pnb:لوئی چودواں pms:Luis XIV ëd Fransa pl:Ludwik XIV pt:Luís XIV de França ro:Ludovic al XIV-lea al Franței qu:Louis XIV rue:Людвік XIV Французьскый ru:Людовик XIV sq:Luigji XIV scn:Luiggi XIV di Francia simple:Louis XIV of France sk:Ľudovít XIV. sl:Ludvik XIV. Francoski sr:Луј XIV sh:Luj XIV fi:Ludvig XIV sv:Ludvig XIV av Frankrike tl:Louis XIV ng Pransya ta:பிரான்சின் பதினான்காம் லூயி th:พระเจ้าหลุยส์ที่ 14 แห่งฝรั่งเศส tr:XIV. Louis uk:Людовик XIV (король Франції) vi:Louis XIV của Pháp fiu-vro:Louis XIV vls:Lodewyk XIV war:Louis XIV han Fransya yi:לואי דער פערצנטער yo:Louis 14k ilẹ̀ Fránsì zh-yue:路易十四世 bat-smg:Liodvėks XIV zh:路易十四
This text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
Coordinates | 12°2′36″N77°1′42″N |
---|---|
alt | Portrait photograph of Bear McCreary |
name | Bear McCreary |
background | non_performing_personnel |
born | February 17, 1979 Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States |
years active | 1998–present |
label | La La Land Records |
occupation | Composer |
spouse | Raya Yarbrough }} |
Bear McCreary (born 17 February 1979) is an American composer and musician living in Los Angeles, California. He is known for his work on the re-imagined ''Battlestar Galactica'' television series.
From 1998 until 2005, McCreary built up a body of work scoring short films. McCreary is a pianist and a self-taught accordionist, and plays in the avant-jazz band 17 Billion Miles of DNA.
McCreary is married to singer/songwriter Raya Yarbrough, with whom he worked on the music of Battlestar Galactica.
McCreary composed for ''Caprica'', a prequel series set in the fictional ''Battlestar Galactica'' universe, and is a highly potential candidate for composing the Battlestar Galactica: Blood and Chrome, should it become a series.
The score to the finale of season 1, "Christopher Chance", utilized the largest orchestra ever assembled for episodic television, and he took the opportunity to re-record the main title theme with a new orchestration with this larger ensemble.
In July 2010, he received his first Emmy nomination for the ''Human Target'' theme.
In a post on his blog on July 25, 2010, Bear announced the new creative leadership brought in for season 2 had not asked him to return for it, and he would be leaving the series.
Bear is currently working on ''The Knights of Badassdom'', his second movie with director Joe Lynch (of ''Wrong Turn 2'') and third time for actress Summer Glau.
He has made an 8-bit rendition of the ''Dark Void'' theme, which was originally an April Fools joke. However, the theme was used for the 8-bit prequel, ''Dark Void Zero''. He composed all the songs in a 8-bit fashion by connecting the wires on an actual NES console and cartridge to create authenticity.
Bear composed the soundtrack for SOCOM 4: U.S. Navy SEALs for the PS3, which came out in 2011.
He arranged James Rolfe's Angry Video Game Nerd 2010 Christmas video for the You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch song parody, with orchestra and 8-bit audio elements.
Title | Type | Released | Tracks | Notes | |
Television Soundtrack | 16 March 2004 | 26 | Credited for 8 tracks | ||
Television Soundtrack | 21 June 2005 | 30 | |||
Television Soundtrack | 20 June 2006 | 23 | |||
Motion Picture Soundtrack | 12 December 2006 | 17 | |||
Motion Picture Soundtrack | 18 September 2007 | 16 | |||
Television Soundtrack | 23 October 2007 | 21 | |||
Television Soundtrack | 26 August 2008 | 28 | |||
''Rest Stop: Don't Look Back'' | Motion Picture Soundtrack | 21 October 2008 | 20 | ||
Television Soundtrack | 16 December 2008 | 24 | |||
Television Soundtrack | 16 June 2009 | 18 | |||
Television Soundtrack | 28 July 2009 | 34 | 2-disc edition | ||
''Dark Void'' | Video Game Soundtrack | 9 February 2010 | 27 | ||
Motion Picture Soundtrack | 23 February 2010 | 19 | |||
Television Soundtrack | 19 October 2010 | 63 | 3-disc limited edition (2000 copies) CD album, 2-disc online edition | ||
''SOCOM 4'' | Video Game Soundtrack | 12 April 2011 | 19 | iTunes Release, On May 10 a 2-Disc album with expanded track listing will be released | |
''Play For Japan: The Album'' | Charity Album | May 2011 | Unknown | To be released on the iTunes store; features several other video game composers | |
''The Cape'' | Television Soundtrack | TBA | TBA | ||
Television Soundtrack | TBA | TBA |
Category:1979 births Category:American accordionists Category:American film score composers Category:American television composers Category:Living people Category:Musicians from Florida Category:Musicians from Washington (state) Category:People from Bellingham, Washington Category:People from Fort Lauderdale, Florida Category:Thornton School of Music alumni
de:Bear McCreary fr:Bear McCreary hr:Bear McCreary hu:Bear McCreary ms:Bear McCreary pl:Bear McCreary sr:Бер Макрири sv:Bear McCrearyThis text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
The World News (WN) Network, has created this privacy statement in order to demonstrate our firm commitment to user privacy. The following discloses our information gathering and dissemination practices for wn.com, as well as e-mail newsletters.
We do not collect personally identifiable information about you, except when you provide it to us. For example, if you submit an inquiry to us or sign up for our newsletter, you may be asked to provide certain information such as your contact details (name, e-mail address, mailing address, etc.).
When you submit your personally identifiable information through wn.com, you are giving your consent to the collection, use and disclosure of your personal information as set forth in this Privacy Policy. If you would prefer that we not collect any personally identifiable information from you, please do not provide us with any such information. We will not sell or rent your personally identifiable information to third parties without your consent, except as otherwise disclosed in this Privacy Policy.
Except as otherwise disclosed in this Privacy Policy, we will use the information you provide us only for the purpose of responding to your inquiry or in connection with the service for which you provided such information. We may forward your contact information and inquiry to our affiliates and other divisions of our company that we feel can best address your inquiry or provide you with the requested service. We may also use the information you provide in aggregate form for internal business purposes, such as generating statistics and developing marketing plans. We may share or transfer such non-personally identifiable information with or to our affiliates, licensees, agents and partners.
We may retain other companies and individuals to perform functions on our behalf. Such third parties may be provided with access to personally identifiable information needed to perform their functions, but may not use such information for any other purpose.
In addition, we may disclose any information, including personally identifiable information, we deem necessary, in our sole discretion, to comply with any applicable law, regulation, legal proceeding or governmental request.
We do not want you to receive unwanted e-mail from us. We try to make it easy to opt-out of any service you have asked to receive. If you sign-up to our e-mail newsletters we do not sell, exchange or give your e-mail address to a third party.
E-mail addresses are collected via the wn.com web site. Users have to physically opt-in to receive the wn.com newsletter and a verification e-mail is sent. wn.com is clearly and conspicuously named at the point of
collection.If you no longer wish to receive our newsletter and promotional communications, you may opt-out of receiving them by following the instructions included in each newsletter or communication or by e-mailing us at michaelw(at)wn.com
The security of your personal information is important to us. We follow generally accepted industry standards to protect the personal information submitted to us, both during registration and once we receive it. No method of transmission over the Internet, or method of electronic storage, is 100 percent secure, however. Therefore, though we strive to use commercially acceptable means to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee its absolute security.
If we decide to change our e-mail practices, we will post those changes to this privacy statement, the homepage, and other places we think appropriate so that you are aware of what information we collect, how we use it, and under what circumstances, if any, we disclose it.
If we make material changes to our e-mail practices, we will notify you here, by e-mail, and by means of a notice on our home page.
The advertising banners and other forms of advertising appearing on this Web site are sometimes delivered to you, on our behalf, by a third party. In the course of serving advertisements to this site, the third party may place or recognize a unique cookie on your browser. For more information on cookies, you can visit www.cookiecentral.com.
As we continue to develop our business, we might sell certain aspects of our entities or assets. In such transactions, user information, including personally identifiable information, generally is one of the transferred business assets, and by submitting your personal information on Wn.com you agree that your data may be transferred to such parties in these circumstances.