The reigns of Louis XIV and Charles I as kings have been subject to great discussion throughout history: historians have scrutinised the value of their accomplishments and questioned the morality of their personal agendas. It is of great interest to compare and contrast the rules of both absolutist monarchs, particularly so when examining how they dealt with their enemies on the battleground, how they handled their often indebted royal treasuries, and what they brought to the flourishing arts. The extent of the rulers’ powers throughout their reigns greatly differed: Louis XIV, being the sole ruler of France along with his entourage of advisors and ministers, had more control over the state’s affairs than Charles I, as working with Parliament meant that Charles I had less power. However, by the end of their reigns, both rulers had indebted their countries to low points and both rulers had achieved nothing substantial from the wars they waged. Differently, Louis XIV could support advancements in the many fields of French art and build the bases for French art in the hundreds of years to come, whereas Charles I was simply an avid art collector.
Albeit the two absolutist rulers having their occasional streaks of success on the battleground, both Louis XIV and Charles I were unable to achieve any notable feats through their warfare. Louis XIV waged his wars against many of his allied European neighbours, often fighting for territory or his grandchild’s succession to a foreign throne; in any case, France was never at threat of an attack, but Louis XIV often enjoyed the possible glory if his troops came back triumphant. Charles I, on the other hand, fought his battles at home against the Irish and Scottish rebels who were angered by his autocratic rule or against the New Model Army that was backed by Parliament. Although Louis XIV was able to capture some southern territories, his conquests in the Spanish Netherlands and Netherlands during the War of Devolution and the Dutch War left little damage done to the enemy European Alliances. Louis XIV stopped waging war when realising that his army was of no match for the allied ones. After fighting in the Nine Years War and The War for The Spanish Succession for his grandson’s line to the throne against the threatening Habsburgs in the early 1700s, the forces of Louis XIV suffered greatly and France, after the reign of Louis XIV’s grandson Philip V as king in Spain, was not supposed to have the right to the Spanish throne. Similarly, the weak army of Charles I during his Bishops’ Wars either surrendered against Scottish rebels or suffered an invasion on English soil, as Charles I did in Newcastle. These turns of events led to a civil war between the royalists and the parliamentarians. During this civil war, the royalists had the backing of Welsh forces and were initially able to defeat the parliamentarians; however, parliamentary forces were later able to capture, imprison, and then publicly execute Charles I. As the English civil war came to an end, the death toll of soldiers and civilians totalled to a whopping 200,000. At the end of the War for The Spanish Succession, Louis XIV suffered from French and Spanish influence in Europe greatly diminishing and the influence, instead, being exercised by England.
Although both Louis XIV and Charles I had amassed massive debts at the end of their wars, both rulers had inherited the financial burden upon taking the throne, Louis XIV inheriting some sixty million livres from his father. He relied heavily on Jean Baptiste Colbert, a French politician, to be carry out the French economic affairs during the earlier part of his reign. France had been facing trade deficit with the Netherlands and other countries at the time. To fight this, Jean Baptiste Colbert introduced import tariffs from the Dutch and places elsewhere and ensured a steady inflow of finances into the royal treasury by raising taxes and making the tax collection system more efficient. Likewise, Charles I resorted to poundage and tonnage and taxing maritime activity not only in busy ports but also in inland communities to pay off his debt; however, this was against the will of Parliament. Unlike the English, France under Jean Baptiste Colbert made efforts to improve transportation infrastructure from French territories to the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, exempted local or immigrant craftsmen from taxes, and maximised yield from its colonies’ plantations in order to stimulate economic growth. At the time of Jean Baptiste Colbert’s death in 1693, the French royal debt was reduced to only about ten million livres. In England, however, Charles I had taken unpopular “Forced Loans” where he had to fulfill the favours that loaners had asked him; one of his “Forced Loans” that greatly angered members of parliament obliged him to imprison one hundred and eighty gentry. Louis XIV suffered a similar fate to that of Charles I after the death of Jean Baptiste Colbert: France had gone bankrupt and its debt was threefold of what it had been when Louis XIV took to power. Louis XIV had chased of its large workforce of Huguenot craftsmen after his revocation of the Edict of Nantes, lacked funding after his fighting in The War for The Spanish Succession, and had to impose taxes on the nobility who had never been taxed before. Charles I had wasted £2 million on his warfare by the end of his reign because of simple dissaccordances with members of Parliament. At the end of their reigns, both rulers were unable to stabilise their economies or strengthen them to a greater point as that of when they had taken the throne.
On the brighter side, Charles I and Louis XIV had a fine appreciation for the arts, Louis XIV able to establish foundations for French art in the hundreds of years to come. Charles I became an avid collector of paintings in the 17th century, acquiring the works of notable artists like Titian, Correggio, da Vinci, and Bernini and commissioned artists like van Honthorst, Mytens, and van Dyck paintings. Artist Sir Peter Paul Rubens was tasked with painting the ceiling of the Banqueting House, Whitehall by Charles I. His collection grew to an estimated 1760 paintings, but following his public execution, his collection was scattered and sold off by Parliament around Europe. His acquired works were reunited to form an exhibition at the Royal Academy of Art in London in early 2018, however. Louis XIV was not only an avid art collector but also very supportive of advancements and revolutionary works in the many fields of French art. Through his support of many writers like Jean Baptiste Poquelin, Jean Racine, and Jean de la Fontaine and musicians like Francois Couperin and Baptiste Lully, French literature and music was able to thrive. He was also able to commission great palaces, boulevards, and squares that defined Parisian and European architecture in hundreds of years to come. Most notably commissioned were the Palace of Versailles, the Champs-Élysées, and Les Invalides, the Palace of Versailles being the center of the flourishing of the arts. Louis XIV was also able to build the foundations of classical ballet when he established L’Académie Royal de Danse. Louis XIV’s support and establishment of these organisations were instrumental to advancements in every field of French artistic advancements.
To mention: Louis XIV glory; his personal agenda in terms of religion and warfare. Charles I and parliament and religion; could have had more success if he found no middle ground as he faced opposition. The image of Louis XIV was solidified because of his contribution to the arts.