Louis XII., surnamed the Father of his People, King of France; born in Blois, France, June 27, 1462. He was the son of Charles, Duke of Orleans. On ascending the throne in 1498 he par doned the wrongs he had suffered before his accession. He conquered the Mila nese, Genoa, and Naples; but after ravaging Italy for 15 years the French were expelled in 1513. The Emperor Maximilian, Henry VIII. of England, and the Swiss, attacking Louis in his own dominions, he was obliged to sue for peace. About three months before his death he had married the young Princess Mary, sister of Henry VIII. Louis XII. possessed many of the qualities of a good ruler; he was honest, kind-hearted, and magnanimous; he was also a friend to science, and France enjoyed under him a high degree of prosperity and security. He died Jan. 1, 1515.
Louis XIII., King of France; born in Fontainebleau, France, Sept. 27, 1601. He was the son of Henry IV. Being only nine years old at the death of his father, the care of him and the king dom were intrusted to his mother, Marie de Medici. After the king, in 1615, married a Spanish princess, the Hugue nots rose in arms, with Rohan and Sou bise at their head; and a great part of the kingdom rebelled against the king, who now delivered himself up to the guidance of Cardinal Richelieu. After victory had inclined, sometimes to one side and sometimes to the other, peace was concluded in 1623. But it was of no long duration. La Rochelle, the head quarters of the Huguenots, revolted, and was supported by England. The king drove the English to the sea, conquered the island of RIA, and at last took La Rochelle, which had sustained all the horrors of a siege for 12 months. In 1632 Gaston of Orleans, only brother of the king, revolted, out of dislike to Richelieu, and was assisted by the Duke of Montmorency, who being wounded and taken prisoner at the battle of Castel naudary in 1632 was beheaded at Tou louse. Louis and the cardinal were attacked by a mortal disease nearly at the same time; the latter died in Decem ber, 1642, and the king in May following.
Louis XIV., called the Grand Mon argue, King of France; born in St. Ger main-en-Laye, France, Sept. 5, 1638. He was the son of the preceding, and only five years old on the death of his father, the regency being in the hands of the queen-mother, Anne of Austria, under whom Mazarin acted as prime minister. The nation was then involved in a war with Spain and the emperor, but though Louis was successful abroad, his king dom was distracted by internal divisions; the Parisians, irritated against Mazarin and the queen, took up arms; and the king, his mother, and the car linal were obliged to fly. The Spaniards, profiting
by these troubles, made several conquests in Champagne, Lorraine, and Italy. In 1651 the king assumed the government, but Mazarin returning to power the year following, the civil war was re newed. On the war breaking out be tween England and Holland, Louis joined with the latter ; after a few naval actions the peace of Breda was concluded in 1667. In 1672 the French king made an attack on Holland and reduced some of its provinces in a few weeks. This in vasion produced a new confederacy against Louis, between the emperor, Spain. and the Elector of Brandenburg, in which the allies were unslircessful, and which was terminated in 1678 by the treaty of Nimeguen. Louis committed an act of impolitic cruelty, by the revo cation, in 1685, of the Edict of Nantes, granted by Henry IV. in favor of the Protestants—a measure which drove from France a vast number of ingenious mechanics and others, who settled in England and Holland. About this time another league was formed against France by the Prince of Orange, the Duke of Savoy and the Electors of Bavaria and Brandenburg. To this league were after ward added the German emperor and the King of Spain. The dauphin had the command of the French army and the campaign resulted in military successes. These were counter-balanced by the de feat of Tourville's squadron off La Hogue, by Admiral Russell, June 2, 1692. Louis in person took Namur, and Luxembourg gained the battles of Steenkirk and Neer winden. In 1696 Savoy made a separate peace with France, which was followed by a general one at Ryswick, in 1697.
The death of Charles II. of Spain in 1700 resulted in wars which lasted for thirteen years. In 1713 a treaty of peace was signed at Utrecht by France, Spain, England, Savoy, Portugal, Prussia, and Holland; and the next year peace was concluded with the emperor at Rastadt. The internal administration of his gov ernment during this long period had been marked by the highest magnificence, and conduced to the most splendid results.
The domestic history of Louis, for the greater part of his life, is far more open to censure than any part of his public conduct. Apart from this, Louis XIV. was distinguished by high qualities of heart and mind, and his self-command and moderation in all that pertains to the sovereign character cannot be doubted. He died in Versailles, France, Sept. 1, 1715.