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LOUIS 16 Loxns Louis XIV., called the Grand Mon- arque, 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; LOXMiS ...V. the Parisians, irritated against Mazarin and the queen, took up arms; and the king, his mother, and the car Unal were obliged to fly. The Spaniards, profiting by these troubles, made several conquests in Champagne, Lorraine, and Italy. In 1651 the king assumf^<] 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 whirh the allies w^re unsnocess^'ul, and which ws terminated in 1678 by the treaty of Nimeguen. Louis committed an act of impolitic cru^^lty, 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 oflF 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. Louis XV., King of France; born in Versailles, France, Feb. 15, 1710. He was great-grandson and successor of the preceding; and Louis XIV. dying when he was only five years of age, the king- dom was placed under the regency of Philip, Duke of Orleans. Louis was crowned in 1722, and declared of age the following year. In 1725 the king married the daughter of the King of Poland. On the death of the last-men- tioned monarch, in 1733, Louis supported the election of his father-in-law, Stanis- laus, against the Elector of Saxony, which occasioned a war between France and the emperor. The French were suc- cessful in Italy, and a peace was con- cluded in 1738. The death of the Em- peror Charles opened a new scene. In the struggle for the succession Louis sup- port'^d the pretensions of the Elector of Bavaria, who called himself Charles VII. In 1744 Louis took the field in person.