Louis XII

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  • Created by: ViralJZ
  • Created on: 21-09-15 23:06

Louis XII

Advantages

  • Decreased most of the courtiers salaries which meant less of the money was leaking from the economy to the second estate.
  • Louis kept taxes low until 1520 even though Louis XI had introduced huge taxes in the latter years of his reign.
  • Reduced pensions from 498k to 105k from 1498 to 1511, seemingly (by the Venetian envoy) he had gotten the economic situation under control in terms of pensions.
  • Reduced the taille to 1.8 million livres.
  • Already had some ecclesiastical power due to the Pragmatic Sanction of Bourges issued by Charles VII 1438 which put the king at the head of the French church.
  • Kept the debt constant at 1.2 million at the start and end of his reign.
  • Took the city of Milan in October 1499.
  • Treaty of Blois signed in 1504 meant that the HRE recognized French rule in Milan in exchange for Louis' daughter having to marry the grandson of the emperor.
  • Led the League of Cambrai in 1508 with England, Savoy, the Papal States, Florence and Aragon and in 1509 he defeated Venice.
  • Established new Parlements in Provence (south of France) and Normandy.
  • Grand Conseil stocked with legal experts which meant they could defend royal prerogative in royal disputes. Athough parlement felt undermined, Louis allowed them to sit in the Grand Conseil.
  • Marriage alliance with Brittany in 1499 which incorporated Brittany into the French territory (formally in 1532).
  • Maintained strong relations with important nobles (Bourbons) by appointing them as advisers.
  • Assembly of the Notables in 1506 confirmed the marriage of his daughter to Francis demonstrating the importance of the nobility.
  • Started the writing down of the customs of Northern France.
  • 1499 Ordinance of Blois lessened corruption in the justice system by making training required to get an office.
  • Although waging war did mean that employment rose and the nobility would be occupied and thus not have to be dealt with.

Disadvantages

  • Due to war and military options a few short years after the taille was reduced it had to be increased to 3 million livres.
  • He also raised the gabelle.#
  • George D'Amboise's reforms were very limited in terms of their scope (with most of his assessments and visitations being carried out in monasteries and abbeys in Paris)
  • George D'Amboise, Louis' main reformer died in 1510 before any major changes were cemented.
  • Clerical opposition to church reform.
  • Lost Milan to the Sforza's in 1500.
  • Although the Treaty of Granada should have peacefully agreed on the partition of Naples between Ferdinand and Louis, it didn't and war broke out between the two.
  • Defeated twice in 1503 at the battles of Ceringnale and River Garigliano.
  • He wished to try to take Milan once he had lost it, this led to the break up of the League of Cambrai.
  • 1511 Holy League formed to drive Louis out of Italy, and 1512 France lost their leading general Gaston de Foix and were driven from Milan.
  • Henry VII and Maximilian defeated Louis at the Battle of Spurs in Artois in 1513. And to end the overrunning of France Louis agreed to marry Mary, the sister of Henry VIII, tying him to England.
  • Cutting pensions meant that the nobility would have developed a dissatisfaction with his policies.
  • Louis began to unify language by imposing Langue d'oc on Brittany , however there were still some native languages such as Breton which existed.
  • 1510 Ordinance of Lyons was in many ways a repeat of the Ordinance of Blois and so we see that the Ordinance of Blois must have had little effect.
  • According to Machiavelli his failure to secure Naples was due to his unnecessary alliance with Ferdinand.
  • Didn't act as protector of the Italian people after he took Milan and so he gradually lost influence. Also he helped Pope Alexander which already seemingly held too much power according to the Italians.
  • To finance wars there were economic repercussions such as increased venality and taxation.

Evaluation

Louis makes many attempts to centralize power and although not much is done to try and pull France from debt, Louis does attempt to reform the system while attempting not to alienate the third estate. He did this relatively successfully, keeping peace for most of his reign at home, however it is sensible to say he only set the foundations for central power. Codification was no where near complete, Religious reform still faced fierce opposition from the clergy, economic reform still faced fierce opposition from the second estate. However he did start to do all these things which set down the foundations to be built upon. Also he moves towards being a renaissance monarch shown by his diplomacy with scholars such as Janus Lascaris and Alejandro. Although he failed to attract Leonardo Da Vinci.

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