'The strength of the monarchy in France depended on the character of the king' 1498 - 1610

'The strength of the monarchy in France depended on the character of the king' 1498 - 1610

1. Financial Strength

   • Weak
     • Less prone to lavish spending of Rennaissance Monarchs
     • Financial woes stem from low Royal Authority
       • Inability to contain Catholic Nobles leads to more, expensive war
         • 1577 Estates General 'Cahier de Doleances' leads to 6th W.o.R
         • 1585 Treaty of Nemours forces 8th W.o.R
       • Huguenot Midi, Leaguer nobles, Royal Governors, Army commanders all misappropriating royal revenue
         • Petition to the King 1579
   • Pragmatic
     • Financially prudent
       • Louis XII
         • No increase in debt: 2.4 mil
         • 'Gens de Finances' to tackle corruption
       • Henry IV
         • Tight control of Royal Expenditure and that of Marie de Medici
         • -300 mil 1598 : +15 mil 1610
         • 'Paulette' 1604
         • 'Chambres de justice'
     • Lessen burden on 3rd Estate
       • LXII
         • Reduces taille to 2.3 mil from 3.9 mil in reign on LXI
         • Increases indirect
       • H IV
         • Taille reduced 18 mil to 15.8 mil
         • Increased empahsis on indirect taxation - gabelle extended to 5/6 areas.
   • Assertive
     • Prone to reckless spending
       • Cost of court 1.5 mil ecus/3 mil livres 1546
       • Cost of Italian war 1521-1525: 20mil livres
         • 'Revolution in Military Affairs'
     • Amass high levels of Debt
       • Debt roughly = regular annual income by 1517
       • 1559 Royal Debt = 43 million

2. Support of the Nobility

   • Assertive Kings
     • Francis I & Henry II
       • Strong personal loyalty despite challenging provincial privileges
         • Rouen 1540
         • Albi 1538
         • Taillon 1549
         • Gabelle Bordeaux 1548
       • 1 noble rebellion: Bourbon 1523
         • Seized inheritance of Seigneur de Boisy 1519, Seigneur de Bouchy 1523
       • Emergence of Protestantism yet no Catholic League
   • Weak Kings
     • Vulnerable to political faction
       • Conspiracy of Amboise 1560
     • Nobility will undermine
       • Treaty of Joinville 1584
       • Ordinances of Blois 1579
   • Pragmatic Kings
     • Henry IV
       • 30 mill on bribes
       • Abolishes Pay's d'Etat in Guyenne
       • Biron 1601, Bouillon 1602
         • Not serious - both funded and encouraged by Spanish
           • 1000 nobles profess loyalty on way to Sedan
       • liquidises internal debts
     • Louis XII
       • Consulsts nobility on marriage of daughter Claude, 1501
       • Parlementaires in Grand Conseil

3. Support of the 3rd Estate

   • Religious Policy
     • Day of the Barricades 1588 - weakest point for the monarchy
       • Support given to whoever champions violent repression of Prots i.e. Guise
         • Charles IX's gains aproval in Paris when believed to have sanctioned the St Bartholomew's Day massacre 1572
     • SNFK, Coronation vows
   • Economic Policy
     • Assertive/Pragmatic Kings still recieved stiff resistance to unpopular economic policies
       • La Rochelle 1542 - Gabelle
       • Lagny Sur Mac 1544 - Gabelle
       • Bordeaux 1548 - Gabelle
       • Grande Rebeyne 1529 - Lyons grain prices
       • Poitiers and Angiers 1601, Limoges 1602 - Pancarte