Western Civilization II / Unit 1 WC2 0013 short lesson, about 20 seconds
Bankrupt in 1715: Sold Titles, New Taxes, Trampled Peasants
Captions available
The idea
To pay for war Louis sold titles and offices, invented taxes, and, in the anchor's words, further trampled the peasants. At his death in seventeen fifteen the state was technically bankrupt, its small border gains bought with enormous debt.
In practice
The anchor's verdict: his practical policies were largely destructive.
Where people slip
Unit 04 shows France still the greatest power. Bankrupt and dominant coexisted.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
Unlocks
- 0014Governments Up 400 Percent: The Theory and the Cost of Absolutism
- 0020How Louis XIV Made France the Model of Europe and Bankrupted It
- 0120Absolutism and Constitutionalism Compared: France and England on Five Features
- 0602A Century of War, Sixty Percent to Interest, and a Tax System That Could Not Reach the Wealth
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