Régence
 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification.(March 2024) |
La Régence | |
|---|---|
 Philippe withMarie-Madeleine de Parabèreas Athena;Jean-Baptiste Santerre,1716 | |
| Philippe d'Orléans, Duke of Orléans | |
| In office 1 September 1715 – 15 February 1723 | |
| Monarch | Louis XV of France |
| Prime Minister | Guillaume Dubois(in 1723) |
TheRégence(French pronunciation:[ʁeʒɑ̃s],Regency) was the period inFrench historybetween 1715 and 1723 when KingLouis XVwas considered aminorand the country was instead governed byPhilippe II, Duke of Orléans(a nephew ofLouis XIV of France) asprince regent.This was not the only regency in French history but the name is still associated with this period.
Philippe was able to take power away fromLouis-Auguste, Duke of Maine(illegitimate son of Louis XIV andMadame de Montespan) who had been the favourite son of the late king and possessed much influence. From 1715 to 1718 thePolysynodychanged the system of government in France, in which each minister (secretary of state) was replaced by a council. Thesystème de Lawwas also introduced, which transformed the finances of the bankrupted kingdom and its aristocracy. BothCardinal DuboisandCardinal Fleurywere highly influential during this time.
Contemporary European rulers includedPhilip V of Spain,John V of Portugal,George I of Great Britain,Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor,andVictor Amadeus II of Sardinia,the maternal grandfather of Louis XV.
Chronology
[edit]1714
[edit]- 29 July 1714:theDuke of Maineand theCount of Toulouse,Louis XIV's bastard sons, are madePrinces of the Blood.
1715
[edit]- 1 September 1715:Louis XIV dies, his will entrusts the government of France to a regency council, withPhilippe II, Duke of Orléansas an honorary president and the Duke of Maine as the real power, until his great-grandson and successor, the five-year oldLouis XV,reaches his majority (13 years old) in 1723.
- 2 September 1715:the Duke of Orléans allies himself with theParlement of Paris,who cancelled Louis XIV's will. As a Prince of the Blood, Philippe of Orléans had been a member of the Parlement.
- 9 September:Body of Louis XIV taken to theBasilica of Saint-Denis;Louis XV sets off forChâteau de Vincenneswith the Regent,Madame de Ventadour,Villeroi,Toulouse and Maine; Philip V of Spain hears of his grandfather's death;
- 12 September:Philippe of Orléans recognised Regent by order of the Parlement;
- 15 September:Parlement claims theDroit de remontrance,the right to revoke a law made by a King who had died, further supporting the Regent's claim to power.
- 1 October 1715:Polysynodywas held in Paris; it was composed of the highest nobility of the country.
- 30 December:Removal of Louis XV from the Château de Vincennes to theTuileries Palace;
- Louis XV put under the care of François de Neufville, Duke of Villeroi;Guillaume Delisleand the Cardinal Fleury are put in charge of Louis' education.
1716
[edit]- 2 May:Philippe d'Orléans allowsJohn Lawto found theBanque générale;[1]
- 27 June:Birth ofLouise Diane d'Orléansat thePalais-Royal;she was the last child of the Regent;
- 9/10 October:Alliance with Great Britain;
1717
[edit]- Triple Alliance (1717);a treaty between theDutch Republic,FranceandGreat Britain,againstSpain,attempting to maintain the agreement of the 1713Treaty of Utrecht;
- 31 March:The Regent's second surviving daughterLouise Adélaïdetakes the veil and becomes a nun under the name ofSœur Sainte-Bathilde.
- 21 May:Arrival ofPeter I of Russiain Paris; he visits the King, Versailles, the Regent, his daughterMarie Louise Élisabeth d'Orléans;he stays in Paris; he does not see theDuchess of Orléansdespite her pleas; Peter stays at theGrand Trianon;
- 6 June 1717:Purchase of theRegent Diamond;later part of theFrench Crown Jewels;
- July:the Duke of Maine and the Count of Toulouse are stripped of their rank ofPrinces of the Bloodby the Parlement
- September:Foundation of theCompagnie d'Occident et du Mississippi;
1718
[edit]- March:Arrival ofLeopold, Duke of Lorraineand his consort,Élisabeth Charlotte d'Orléans(sister of the Regent);
- 31 March:InfantaMariana Victoria of Spainborn in Madrid; later betrothed to Louis XV;
- 11 April:Death of theDowager Duchess of Vendôme;
- 7 May:Death ofMary of Modenaat theChâteau de Saint-Germain-en-Laye;she was Queen consort of the exiledJames II of England;
- 2 August:Quadruple AlliancewithAustria,France, the Dutch Republic and Great Britain – aimed at revising (principally at Spain's expense) the treaties which ended theWar of the Spanish Succession;
- 24 September:end of thePolysynodyand the reestablishment of ministers;
- 4 December:Banque générale becomes theBanque Royale;
- DecemberExposure of theCellamare Conspiracyheaded by the Duke of Maine and his wifeAnne Louise Bénédicte de Bourbon,which aimed at placingPhilip V of Spainas regent of France with the help of the Spanish Ambassador, the "príncipe de Cellamare"; the Duke and Duchess are exiled from court and return in 1720 to their home at theChâteau de Sceaux;
1719
[edit]- 9 January:Declaration of War with Spain;
- 15 April:Death ofMadame de MaintenonatSaint-Cyr-l'École;
- May:Foundation of theFrench East India Companyby John Law;
- 21 July:Death ofMarie Louise Élisabeth d'Orléans;daughter of the Regent who participated in the hectic nightlife of his court, even during several pregnancies with different men. (Jules Michelet, "Histoire de France, vol.XV, La Régence", Equateurs, 2008).
1720
[edit]- 5 January:John Law madeController-General of Finances;
- 11 February:Marriage ofCharlotte Aglaé d'Orléansto theHereditary Prince of Modenaat theTuileries Palace;
- March:Great Plague of Marseille;
- 21 March:Death ofMarie Anne de Bourbon,wife of the Duke of Bourbon;
- 26 March:Execution of the leaders of thePontcallec Conspiracyagainst the Regency.
1721
[edit]- Publication of thePersian LettersbyMontesquieu;negotiations between the Regent and Peter I of Russia begin regarding the proposed marriage of theRegent's only legitimate sonto a daughter of the Emperor, namely either theGrand Duchess Anna Petrovnaor the futureElizabeth of Russia;plans fail and Louis d'Orléans marries in 1724;
- 6 January:Arrest ofLouis Dominique Bourguignon;
- 27 March:Alliance of Spain and France;
- May:Visit ofMehmet Effendi,Ottomanambassador;
- 18 July:Death ofAntoine Watteau;
- 17 September:Death of theGrand Duchess of Tuscany;cousin of the Regent;
- 29 December:Birth of the futureMadame de Pompadour;
- Marie Anne de Bourbonis put in charge of the Infanta's education in France;
1722
[edit]- Madame la Duchesse Douairièrestarts the construction of thePalais Bourbonin Paris to a design by the Italian architectLorenzo Giardini,approved byJules Hardouin-Mansart;
- 20 January:Marriage ofLouise Élisabeth d'Orléansto the futureLouis I of Spain;
- 10 March:Arrival of InfantaMariana Victoria of Spainin Paris; daughter of Philip V of Spain andElisabeth of Parma;
- 15 June:Louis XV and the court return to Versailles; the Regent takes the old apartments of his dead cousin, the lateLouis, Dauphin of France (1661–1711);
- 22 August:Guillaume Duboismade the Chief Minister of the Regent;
- 25 October:Coronation of Louis XV atReims Cathedral;
- 8 December:Death ofElizabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate(Madame),mother of the Regent;
1723
[edit]- Louis XV orders plans for the futureSalon d'Herculeto begin;
- 2 February:Secret marriage of theCount of ToulouseandMarie Victoire de Noailles(already widowed daughter in law of Mme de Montespan) in Paris; their marriage was only announced after the death of the Regent;
- 16 February:Louis XV attains his majority upon turning 13 years old
- 23 February:Death ofAnne Henriette of Bavaria,Dowager Princess of Condé;
- 10 August:Death of Dubois; role later took on byLouis Henri, Duke of Bourbon;
- 2 December:Death of the Regent at thePalace of Versailles;
The Polysynody
[edit]There were seven parts of the Polysynody all of which had their own ministers for the Regency:
- Council of Conscience(Conseil de Conscience)
Members includedCardinal de Noailles,Armand Bazin de Bezons (Archbishop of Bordeaux),Henri François d'Aguesseau,René Pucelle,Cardinal Fleury. - Council of Foreign Affairs(Conseil des Affaires étrangères, headed byNicolas Chalon du Blé)
- Council of War(Conseil de la Guerre)
Members included:Duke of Villars,Dominique-Claude Barberie de Saint-Contest,Prince of Conti,Duke of Maine,Louis Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne,Duke of Gramont,Claude le Blanc. - Council of the Navy(Conseil de la Marine, headed by theCount of Toulouse)
- Council of Finances(Conseil des Finances, headed by theDuke of Noailles)
- Council of the Affairs the Kingdom(Conseil des Affaires du Dedans du Royaume, headed by theDuke of Antin– half brother of the Duke of Maine and Count of Toulouse)
Members included: marquis de Harlay, de Goissard,Marquis of Argenson, - Council of Commerce(Conseil du Commerce)
General
[edit]People
[edit]The Men
- Philippe II, Duke of Orléans(2 August 1674 – 2 December 1723) Born at his father'sChâteau de Saint-Cloud,he was the Duke of Chartres from birth; his mother, whom he was very close to, was a German princess of the Palatinate namedElizabeth Charlotte.In 1692 he married his first cousin,Françoise-Marie de Bourbon– the youngest illegitimate daughter of Philippe's uncleLouis XIVandMadame de Montespan.He died at Versailles in the arms of his mistress;
- Louis Henri, Duke of Bourbon(18 August 1692 – 27 January 1740) son ofLouis III, Prince of CondéandLouise-Françoise de Bourbon,he was thus the nephew of Philippe d'Orléans and was theChief minister of France1723–26; he was a great rival of the Regent and the House of Orléans in general;
- Louis-Auguste, Duke of Maine(31 March 1670 – 14 May 1736) favourite but illegitimate son of Louis XIV andMadame de Maintenon,he was despised by the Princes of the Blood due to his constant honours and great wealth he accumulated from his father. He died at Sceaux aged 66;
- John Law(pronouncedJean Lass) (21 April 1671 – 21 March 1729) was a Scottish economist who believed that money was only a means of exchange that did not constitutewealthin itself and that national wealth depended on trade. He was responsible for theMississippi Bubbleand a chaotic economic collapse in France; he died inVenice.
The Women
- InfantaMariana Victoria of Spain(31 March 1718 – 15 January 1781) was the eldest daughter ofPhilip V of Spainand his second wifeElisabeth of Parma;born in Madrid, she moved to France in 1721 and lived at the Tuileries Palace in Paris with her proposed husband; the engagement was broken off due to tense relations regarding the marriages of the Regent's daughters to Philip V's sons. The Infanta was sent back to Spain and later married the futureJoseph I of Portugal;the presentBrazilian Imperial Familydescends from Philippe d'Orléans, Louis XV as well as Mariana Victoria;
- Françoise Marie de Bourbon(4 May 1677 – 1 February 1749) was anillegitimatechild ofLouis XIVandMadame de Montespan.She married Philippe d'Orléans and was mother of 8 of his children including the next Duke of Orléans; she died at theChâteau de Saint-Cloudaged 71;
- Anne Louise Bénédicte de Bourbon(8 November 1676 – 23 January 1753) was the wife of the Duke of Maine and thus daughter-in-law of Louis XIV; she was one of the Regent's most ardent enemies and was the aunt of theDuke of Bourbon;she was also the granddaughter of theLe Grand Condé;she held court at Sceaux and was exiled toDijonafter theCellamare Conspiracywas discovered; she died in Paris having outlived most of her generation;
Places
[edit]- Palace of Versailles:Birthplace of Louis XV and the home of the French court before and after the Regency; it was at Versailles that the Duke of Orléans died in 1723;
- Palais-Royal:Paris home of theHouse of Orléans;it was from there that the Regent handled state affairs; his last daughter, Louise Diane, was also born at the palace;
- Tuileries Palace:the childhood home of Louis XV during the Regency; Louis XV was installed in theGrand Appartementsof Louis XIV located on the second floor.
Politics
[edit]The Régence marked the temporary eclipse ofVersaillesas centre of policymaking, since the Regent's court was at thePalais Royalin Paris. It marked the rise of Parisiansalonsas cultural centres, as literary meeting places and nuclei of discreet liberal resistance to some official policies. In the Paris salons aristocrats mingled more easily with thehigherBourgeoisiein a new atmosphere of relaxed decorum, comfort and intimacy.
Art history
[edit]In the arts, the style of the Régence is marked by earlyRococo,characterised by the paintings ofAntoine Watteau(1684–1721).
Rococo developed first in the decorative arts and interior design. Louis XIV's succession brought a change in the court artists and general artistic fashion. By the end of the old king's reign,rich Baroque designswere giving way to lighter elements with more curves and natural patterns. These elements are obvious in the architectural designs ofNicolas Pineau.During the Régence, court life moved away from Versailles and this artistic change became well established, first in the royal palace and then throughout French high society. The delicacy and playfulness of Rococo designs is often seen as perfectly in tune with the excesses of Louis XV's regime.
The 1730s represented the height of Rococo development in France. The style had spread beyond architecture and furniture to painting and sculpture, exemplified by the works of Watteau andFrançois Boucher.Rococo still maintained the Baroque taste for complex forms and intricate patterns, but by this point, it had begun to integrate a variety of diverse characteristics, including a taste for Oriental designs and asymmetric compositions.
Colonialism
[edit]TheRégenceis also the customary French word for the pre-independence regimes in the western North African countries, the so-calledBarbary Coast.It was applied to:
- First the Barbary Coast (Maghrebinian countries in North Africa) was formallyOttoman,but de facto independent (dominated by military governors, soon de facto princes, styleddey,beyorbeylerbey,and by theraïs,Muslimcorsairs).
