Régence  

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 +The '''''Régence''''' is the period in [[History of France|French history]] between 1715 and 1723, when King [[Louis XV of France|Louis XV]] was a [[minor (law)|minor]] and the land was governed by a [[Regent]], '''[[Philippe II, Duke of Orléans|Philippe d'Orléans]]''', the nephew of [[Louis XIV of France]].
-:''This article, part of the [[French art|French art history]] series, covers the history of the visual and plastic arts in [[France]] from the late 17th to the late 18th centuries.''+The era was the time when Philippe was able to prise power away from the [[Louis-Auguste de Bourbon, duc du Maine|Duke of Maine]] (illegitimate son of Louis XIV and [[Madame de Montespan]]) who was the favourite son of the late king and had had much influence. During the Regency there was the ''[[Polysynody]]'' which was the system of government in use in France between 1715 and 1718 and in which each minister (secretary of state) was replaced by a council. The Regent also introduced the ''[[John Law (economist)|système de Law]]'' which transformed the finances of the bankrupted kingdom and its aristocracy. [[Guillaume Dubois|Cardinal Dubois]] and [[André-Hercule de Fleury|Cardinal Fleury]] were key people during the time.
-'''French Rococo''' and '''Neoclassicism''' are terms used to describe the visual and plastic arts and architecture in Europe from the late 17th to the late 18th centuries.+Contemporary European rulers were [[Philip V of Spain]]; [[John V of Portugal]]; [[George I of Great Britain]]; [[Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor]] and [[Victor Amadeus II of Sardinia|Victor Amadeus II, Duke of Savoy]]; Savoy was the maternal grand father of Louis XV.
-In France, the death of [[Louis XIV of France|Louis XIV]] lead to a period of licentious freedom commonly called the [[Régence]]. The heir to Louis XIV, his great grandson [[Louis XV of France]], was only 5 years old; for the next seven years France was ruled by the regent [[Philippe II of Orléans]]. Versailles was abandoned from 1715 to 1722. Painting turned toward "fêtes galantes", theater settings and the female nude. Painters from this period include [[Antoine Watteau]], [[Nicolas Lancret]] and [[François Boucher]]. +==Origins==
-The [[Louis XV style]] of decoration (although already apparent at the end of the last reign) was lighter: pastels and wood panels, smaller rooms, less gilding and fewer brocades; shells and garlands and occasional Chinese subjects predominated. Rooms were more intimate. After the return to Versailles, many of the baroque rooms of Louis XIV were redesigned. The official etiquette was also simplified and the notion of privacy was expanded: the king himself retreated from the official bed at night and conversed in private with his mistress.+*'''29 July 1714''' the Duke of Maine and his brother the [[Louis-Alexandre de Bourbon, comte de Toulouse|Count of Toulouse]] are made Princes of the Blood much to the annoyance of many;
-The latter half of the 18th century continued to see French preeminence in Europe, particularly through the arts and sciences, and the [[French language]] was the lingua franca of the European courts. The French academic system continued to produce artists, but some, like [[Jean-Honoré Fragonard]] and [[Jean-Baptiste Siméon Chardin]], explored new and increasingly impressionist styles of painting with thick brushwork. Although the hierarchy of genres continued to be respected officially, [[Genre works|genre painting]], [[landscape]], [[portrait]] and [[still life]] were extremely fashionable.+'''''Will of Louis XIV'''''
-The writer [[Denis Diderot]] wrote a number of times on the annual [[Paris Salon|Salons]] of the Académie of painting and sculpture and his comments and criticisms are a vital document on the arts of this period.+*1 September 1715 : ''Death of Louis XIV at Versailles; reading of Louis XIV's will''.
 +*By order of Louis XIV, till the time that the young [[Louis XV of France|Duke of Anjou]] reaches his majority (1723) the kingdom would be governed by the [[Louis-Auguste de Bourbon, duc du Maine|Duke of Maine, ''bâtard légitimé de France'']]. The nephew of the late King, [[Philippe II, Duke of Orléans]] would hold the honourific title of "President of the Regency council" (« président du conseil de régence »)
-One of Diderot's favorite painters was [[Jean-Baptiste Greuze]]. Although often considered [[kitsch]] by today's standards, his paintings of domestic scenes reveal the importance of [[Sentimentalism]] in the European arts of the period (as also seen in the works of [[Jean-Jacques Rousseau]] and [[Samuel Richardson]].)+==Prising of Power==
-One also finds in this period a kind of ''[[Pre-romanticism]]''. [[Hubert Robert]]'s images of ruins, inspired by Italian cappricio paintings, are typical in this respect. So too the change from the rational and geometrical ''French garden'' (of [[André Le Nôtre]]) to the ''English garden'', which emphasized (artificially) wild and irrational nature. One also finds in some of these gardens curious ruins of temples called "follies".+*'''2 September 1715''' : ''Cancellation of Louis XIV's will''; alliance of the Duke of Orléans and the '''[[Parlement|Parlement de Paris]]'''. Before the death of Louis XIV Philippe d'Orléans had been a member of the Parlement de Paris due to being a [[Prince du Sang]];
 +**Philippe d'Orléans had the will of Louis XIV cancelled with the approval of the Parlement de Paris. Philippe was named Regent for the young king Louis XV as ''Régent du royaume'' (Regent of the Kingdom);
 +**''Droit de remontrance'' - this was the right of the Parlement de Paris to revoke a law made by a King who had died; this allowed the parlement and the Regent to withdraw the late kings will without question;
 +*'''[[October 1|1 October]] 1715''' : ''[[Polysynody]]'' was held in Paris; it was composed of the highest nobility of the country;
-The middle of the 18th century saw a turn to [[Neoclassicism]] in France, that is to say a conscious use of Greek and Roman forms and iconography. In painting, the greatest representative of this style is [[Jacques Louis David]] who, mirroring the profiles of Greek vases, emphasized the use of the profile; his subject matter often involved classical history (the death of Socrates, Brutus). The dignity and subject matter of his paintings were greatly inspired by [[Nicolas Poussin]] in the 17th century.+==''La Régence''==
-The [[Louis XVI style]] of furniture (once again already present in the previous reign) tended toward circles and ovals in chair backs; chair legs were grooved; Greek inspired iconography was used as decoration.+Under the style and title of ''[[Royal Highness|His Royal Highness]]'' '''Monseigneur Le Régent''' Philippe d'Orléans was officially recognised Regent of France for Louis XV. Philippe was, after the king, the most important man in the country followed by his son [[Louis d'Orléans, Duke of Orléans|Louis d'Orléans]] (1703–1752). Louis d'Orléans was allowed into the Council of the Regency on 30 January 1718.
-The French neoclassical style would greatly contribute to the monumentalism of the [[French revolution]], as typified in the structures [[Eglise de la Madeleine|La Madeleine]] church (begun in 1763 and finished in 1840) which is in the form of a [[Greek temple]] and the mammouth [[Panthéon]] (1764-1812) which today houses the tombs of great Frenchmen. The rationalism and simplicity of classical architecture was seen — in the [[Age of Enlightenment]] — as the antithesis of the backward-looking [[Gothic art|Gothic]].+'''''Chronology'''''
-The Greek and Roman subject matters were also often chosen to promote the values of republicanism. One also finds paintings glorifying the heroes and martyrs of the French revolution, such as David's painting of the assassination of [[Jean-Paul Marat]].+===1715===
-[[Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres]], a student of David's who was also influenced by [[Raphael]] and [[John Flaxman]], would maintain the precision of David's style, while also exploring other mythological (Oedipus and the sphynx, Jupiter and Thetis) and oriental (the Odalesques) subjects in the spirit of [[Romanticism]].+*'''2 September''' : Cancellation of Louis XIV's will;
 +*'''9 September''' : Body of Louis XIV taken to [[Saint-Denis]]; Louis XV sets off for [[Château de Vincennes|Vincennes]] with the Regent, [[Madame de Ventadour]], Villeroi, Toulouse and Maine; Philip V of Spain hears of his grand fathers death;
 +*'''12 September''' : Philippe d'Orléans recognised Regent by order of the Parlement;
 +*'''15 September''' : ''Droit de remontrance'' issued by the Parlement supported the Regents claim;
 +*'''30 December''' : Removal of Louis XV from the [[Château de Vincennes]] to the [[Tuileries Palace]];
 +*Louis XV put under the care of [[François de Neufville, duc de Villeroi|François de Neufville]], Duke of Villeroi; [[Guillaume Delisle]] and the Cardinal de Fleury are put in charge of Louis' education;
-==References==+===1716===
-*André Chastel. ''French Art Vol III: The Ancient Régime'' ISBN 2-08-013617-8+
 +*'''14 March''' : Creation of the [[Chambre Ardente]]; an extraordinary court of justice in France, mainly held for the trials of heretics;
 +*'''2 May''' : Philippe d'Orléans allows [[John Law (economist)|John Law]] to found the ''Banque générale'';
 +*'''27 June''' : Birth of [[Louise Diane d'Orléans]] at the [[Palais-Royal]]; she was the last child of the Regent;
 +*'''9/10 October''' : Alliance with Great Britain;
 +*Future [[Charles III of Spain]] born in Madrid (d.1788);
 +===1717===
 +
 +*'''[[Triple Alliance (1717)]]; a treaty between the Dutch Republic, France and Great Britain, against Spain, attempting to maintain the agreement of the 1713 [[Treaty of Utrecht]];
 +*'''31 March''' : The Regents second surviving daughter [[Louise Adélaïde d'Orléans|Louise Adélaïde]] takes the veil and becomes a nun under the name of ''Sœur Sainte-Bathilde''; her parents were not impressed;
 +*'''21 May''' : Arrival of [[Peter I of Russia]] in Paris; he visits the King, Versailles, the Regent, his daughter [[Marie Louise Élisabeth d'Orléans]]; he stays in Paris; he does not see the [[Françoise-Marie de Bourbon|Duchess of Orléans]] despite her pleas; Peter stays at the [[Grand Trianon]];
 +*'''6 June 1717''' : Purchase of the [[Regent Diamond]]; later part of the [[French Crown Jewels]];
 +*'''July''' : the Duke of Maine and his brother the [[Louis-Alexandre de Bourbon, comte de Toulouse|Count of Toulouse]] are stripped of their rank of ''Prince of the Blood'' by the Parlement
 +*'''September''' : Foundation of the ''Compagnie d'Occident et du Mississippi'';
 +*Famous personages born in this year include [[Maria Theresa of Austria]], [[Louis François I de Bourbon, prince de Conti|Prince of Conti]] (grandson of the Regent), the [[Charles-Guillaume Le Normant d'Étiolles|husband of Madame de Pompadour]] and the [[Marie-Anne de Mailly-Nesle duchess de Châteauroux|Duchess of Châteauroux]];
 +
 +===1718===
 +
 +*'''March''' : Arrival of the [[Leopold, Duke of Lorraine|Duke of Lorraine]] and his consort, [[Élisabeth Charlotte d'Orléans]] (sister of the Regent);
 +*'''31 March''' : [[Infante|Infanta]] [[Mariana Victoria of Spain]] born in Madrid; later betrothed to Louis XV;
 +*'''11 April''' : Death of the [[Marie Anne de Bourbon (1678–1718)|Dowager Duchess of Vendôme]];
 +*'''7 May''' : Death of [[Mary of Modena]] at the [[Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye]]; she was Queen consort of the exiled [[James II of England]];
 +*'''2 August''' : [[Quadruple Alliance]] with Austria, France, the [[Dutch Republic]] and Great Britain - aimed at revising (principally at Spain's expense) the treaties which ended the [[War of the Spanish Succession]];
 +*'''24 September''' : end of the ''[[Polysynody]]'' and the reestablishment of ministers;
 +*'''4 December''' : Banque générale becomes the ''[[Banque de France|Banque Royale]]'';
 +*'''December''' the finding of the ''[[Cellamare Conspiracy|Conspiration de Cellamare]]'' headed by the Duke of Maine and his wife [[Anne Louise Bénédicte de Bourbon]]; the conspiracy was aimed at placing [[Philip V of Spain]] as head of the regency in 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 the [[Château de Sceaux]];
 +
 +===1719===
 +
 +*'''9 January''' : Declaration of War with Spain;
 +*'''15 April''' : Death of [[Madame de Maintenon]] at [[Saint-Cyr-l'École]];
 +*'''May''' foundation of the [[East India Company]] by John Law;
 +*'''21 July''' : Death of [[Marie Louise Élisabeth d'Orléans]]; favourite daughter of the Regent;
 +
 +===1720===
 +
 +*'''5 January''' : John Law made [[Controller-General of Finances]];
 +*'''11 February''' : Marriage of [[Charlotte Aglaé d'Orléans]] to the [[Francesco III d'Este|Hereditary Prince of Modena]] at the [[Tuileries Palace]];
 +*'''March''' : [[Great Plague of Marseille]];
 +*'''21 March''' : Death of [[Marie Anne de Bourbon (1689–1720)|Marie Anne de Bourbon]], wife of the Duke of Bourbon;
 +*'''26 March''': Execution of the leaders of the [[Pontcallec Conspiracy]] against the Regency.
 +
 +===1721===
 +
 +*Publication of the [[Persian Letters]] by [[Montesquieu]]; negotiations between the Regent and Peter I of Russia begin regarding the proposed marriage of the [[Louis d'Orléans, Duke of Orléans|Regents only legitimate son]] to a daughter of the Emperor, namely either the [[Grand Duchess Anna Petrovna of Russia|Grand Duchess Anna Petrovna]] or the future [[Elizabeth of Russia]]; plans fail and Louis d'Orléans marrys in 1724;
 +*'''6 January''' : Arrest of [[Louis Dominique Bourguignon]];
 +*'''27 March''' : Alliance of Spain and France;
 +*'''May''' : Visit of Mehmet Effendi; Turkish Ambassador;
 +*'''18 July''' : Death of [[Antoine Watteau]];
 +*'''17 September''' : Death of [[Royal Highness|HRH]] the [[Marguerite Louise d'Orléans|Grand Duchess of Tuscany]]; cousin of the Regent;
 +*'''29 December''' : Birth of the future [[Madame de Pompadour]];
 +*[[Marie Anne de Bourbon]] is put in charge of the Infanta's education in France;
 +
 +===1722===
 +
 +*[[Louise-Françoise de Bourbon|Madame la Duchesse Douairière]] starts the construction of the [[Palais Bourbon]] in Paris to a design by the Italian architect ''Lorenzo Giardini'', approved by [[Jules Hardouin Mansart]];
 +*''' 20 January''' : Marriage of [[Louise Élisabeth d'Orléans]] to the future [[Louis I of Spain]];
 +*'''10 March''' : Arrival of ''HRH'' Infanta [[Mariana Victoria of Spain]] in Paris; daughter of Philip V of Spain and [[Elisabeth of Parma]];
 +*'''15 June''' : Louis XV and the court return to Versailles; the Regent takes the old apartments of his dead cousin, the late [[Louis, Dauphin of France (1661–1711)|Louis, Dauphin of France]] (1661–1711);
 +*'''22 August''' : Guillaume Dubois made the Prime Minister of the Regent;
 +*'''25 October''' : Coronation of Louis XV at the [[Cathedral of Notre-Dame, Reims]];
 +*'''8 December''' : Death of [[Elizabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate]] ''(Madame)'', mother of the Regent;
 +
 +===1723===
 +
 +*Louis XV orders plans for the future ''[[Salon d'Hercule]]'' to begin;
 +*'''2 February''' : Secret marriage of the [[Louis-Alexandre de Bourbon, comte de Toulouse|Count of Toulouse]] and [[Marie 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''' : Majority of Louis XV;
 +*'''23 February''' : Death of [[Anne Henriette of Bavaria]], Dowager Princess of Condé;
 +*'''10 August''' : Death of Dubois; Role later took on by [[Louis Henri, Duke of Bourbon]];
 +*'''2 December''' : Death of the Regent at the [[Palace of Versailles]];
 +
 +===The Polysynody===
 +
 +There were seven parts of the Polysynody all of which had their own ministers for the Regency:
 +
 +#''Council of Conscience'' (Conseil de Conscience)
 +## Members included the: [[Louis-Antoine de Noailles|Cardinal de Noailles]], Armand Bazin de Bezons (Archbishop of Bordeaux), [[Henri François d'Aguesseau]], René Pucelle, [[André-Hercule de Fleury|Cardinal Fleury]].
 +#''Council of Foreign Affairs'' (Conseil des Affaires étrangères, headed by [[Nicolas Chalon du Blé]])
 +#''Council of War'' (Conseil de la Guerre)
 +## Members included: [[Claude Louis Hector de Villars|Duke of Villars]], Dominique-Claude Barberie de Saint-Contest, [[Louis Armand II de Bourbon, prince de Conti|Prince of Conti]], [[Louis-Auguste de Bourbon, duc du Maine|Duke of Maine]], Louis Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne, [[Antoine V de Gramont|Duke of Gramont]], [[Claude le Blanc]].
 +#''Council of the Marine (Conseil de la Marine, headed by the [[Louis-Alexandre de Bourbon, comte de Toulouse|Count of Toulouse]])
 +#''Council of Finances'' (Conseil des Finances, headed by the [[Anne-Jules, 2nd duc de Noailles|Duke of Noailles]])
 +#''Council of the Affairs the Kingdom (Conseil des Affaires du Dedans du Royaume, headed by the [[Louis Antoine de Pardaillan de Gondrin|Duke of Antin]] - half brother of the Duke of Maine and Count of Toulouse)
 +## Members included: marquis de Harlay, de Goissard, [[Marc-René de Voyer de Paulmy d'Argenson (1652-1721)|Marquis of Argenson]],
 +#''Council of Commerce'' (Conseil du Commerce)
 +
 +==General==
 +===People===
 +'''''The Men'''''
 +
 +*'''[[Philippe II, Duke of Orléans|Philippe d'Orléans]]''' (2 August 1674 - 2 December 1723) Born at his fathers Palace at 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 named [[Elizabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate|Elizabeth Charlotte]]. In 1692 he married his first cousin, [[Françoise-Marie de Bourbon]] - the youngest illegitimate daughter of Philippe's uncle [[Louis XIV of France|Louis XIV]] and [[Françoise-Athénaïs, marquise de Montespan|Madame de Montespan]]. He died at Versailles in the arms of his mistress;
 +*'''[[Louis Henri, Duke of Bourbon|Louis Henri de Bourbon, Duke of Bourbon]]''' (18 August 1692 – 27 January 1740) son of [[Louis III, Prince of Condé]] and [[Louise-Françoise de Bourbon]], he was thus the nephew of Philippe d'Orléans and was the Prime Minister of France 1723-26; he was a great rival of the Regent and the House of Orléans in general;
 +*'''[[Louis-Auguste de Bourbon, duc du Maine|Louis Auguste de Bourbon, ''Duke of Maine'']]''' (31 March 1670 - 14 May 1736) favourite Louis XIV and [[Françoise d'Aubigné, marquise de Maintenon|Madame de Maintenon]], he was despised by the Princes of the Blood due to his constant honours and great wealth he accumulated from his father - as well as his illegitimacy; he died at Sceaux aged 66;
 +*'''John Law''' (pronounced ''Jean Lass'') ([[April|21 April]] 1671 – 21 March 1729) was a [[Scotland|Scottish]] [[Economist]] who believed that [[Money]] was only a means of exchange that did not constitute [[wealth]] in itself and that national wealth depended on [[trade]]. He was responsible for the [[Mississippi Scheme|Mississippi Bubble]] and a chaotic economic collapse in France; he died in [[Venice]];
 +
 +'''''The Women'''''
 +
 +*'''[[Infante|Infanta]] [[Mariana Victoria of Spain]]''' (31 March 1718 – 15 January 1781) was the eldest daughter of [[Philip V of Spain]] and his second wife [[Elisabeth 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 Regents daughters marrying to of Philip V's sons. The [[Infante|Infanta]] was sent back to Spain and later married the future [[Joseph I of Portugal]]; the present [[Brazilian Imperial Family]] descend from Philippe d'Orléans, Louis XV as well as Mariana Victoria;
 +*'''[[Françoise-Marie de Bourbon]]''' (4 May 1677 - 1 February 1749) was an [[Illegitimacy|illegitimate]] child of [[Louis XIV of France|Louis XIV]] and his maîtresse-en-titre, [[Françoise-Athénaïs, marquise de Montespan|Madame de Montespan]]. She married the Philippe d'Orléans and was mother of 8 of his children including the next Duke of Orléans; she died at the [[Château de Saint-Cloud]] aged 71;
 +*'''[[Anne Louise Bénédicte de Bourbon]]''' (8 November 1676 –23 January 1753) was the wife of thee Duke of Maine and thus daughter-in-law of Louis XIV; she was one of the Regents most ardent enemies and was the aunt of the [[Duke of Bourbon]]; she was also the grand daughter of the ''[[Louis II de Bourbon, Prince de Condé|Le Grand Condé]]''; she held court at Sceaux and was exiled to [[Dijon]] after the [[Cellamare Conspiracy]] was found out; she died in Paris having outlived most of her generation;
 +
 +===Places===
 +
 +*''[[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 the [[House 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|Palais du Tuileries]]'' : the childhood home of Louis XV during the Regency; Louis XV was installed in the ''Grand Appartements'' of Louis XIV located on the second floor.
 +
 +===Politics===
 +
 +The Régence marks the temporary eclipse of [[Versailles]] as centre of policymaking, since the Regent's court was at the [[Palais Royal]] in Paris. It marks the rise of Parisian [[Salon (gathering)|salon]]s as cultural centers, as literary meeting places and nuclei of discreet liberal resistance to some official policies. In the Paris salons aristocrats mingled more easily with the ''higher [[Bourgeoisie]]'' in a new atmosphere of relaxed decorum, comfort and intimacy.
 +
 +===Art history===
 +:''[[18th century French art]]''
 +In the arts, the style of the Régence is marked by early [[Rococo]], characterised by the paintings of [[Antoine 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 designs were giving way to lighter elements with more curves and natural patterns. These elements are obvious in the architectural designs of [[Nicolas 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 [[Antoine Watteau]] and [[François 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===
 +
 +The ''Régence'' is also the customary French word for the pre-independence regimes in the western North African countries, the so-called [[Barbary Coast]]. It was applied to:
 +*First the Barbary Coast (Maghrebinian countries in North Africa) was de facto independent (dominated by military governors, soon de facto princes, styled [[dey]], [[bey]] or [[beylerbey]], and by the [[raïs]], Muslim [[corsair]]s), but nominally an [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] province.
 +*Later the beylik of Tunis (present Tunisia) and the Sherifian sultanate of Morocco (except for the Spanish-dominated part) came under a specific, [[protectorate]]-type of colonial regime that France established over each.
 +
 +French colonial expansion was not limited to the [[New World]], however. In [[Senegal]] in [[West Africa]], the French began to establish trading posts along the coast in 1624. In 1664, the [[French East India Company]] was established to compete for trade in the [[far East|east]]. Colonies were established in India in [[Chandernagore]] (1673) and [[Pondicherry]] in the Southeast (1674), and later at [[Yanam]] (1723), [[Mahé, India|Mahe]] (1725), and [[Karikal]] (1739) (see [[French India]]). Colonies were also founded in the Indian Ocean, on the Île de Bourbon ([[Réunion]], 1664), Île de France ([[Mauritius]], 1718), and the [[Seychelles]] (1756).
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The Régence is the period in French history between 1715 and 1723, when King Louis XV was a minor and the land was governed by a Regent, Philippe d'Orléans, the nephew of Louis XIV of France.

The era was the time when Philippe was able to prise power away from the Duke of Maine (illegitimate son of Louis XIV and Madame de Montespan) who was the favourite son of the late king and had had much influence. During the Regency there was the Polysynody which was the system of government in use in France between 1715 and 1718 and in which each minister (secretary of state) was replaced by a council. The Regent also introduced the système de Law which transformed the finances of the bankrupted kingdom and its aristocracy. Cardinal Dubois and Cardinal Fleury were key people during the time.

Contemporary European rulers were Philip V of Spain; John V of Portugal; George I of Great Britain; Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor and Victor Amadeus II, Duke of Savoy; Savoy was the maternal grand father of Louis XV.

Contents

[edit]

Origins

  • 29 July 1714 the Duke of Maine and his brother the Count of Toulouse are made Princes of the Blood much to the annoyance of many;

Will of Louis XIV

  • 1 September 1715 : Death of Louis XIV at Versailles; reading of Louis XIV's will.
  • By order of Louis XIV, till the time that the young Duke of Anjou reaches his majority (1723) the kingdom would be governed by the Duke of Maine, bâtard légitimé de France. The nephew of the late King, Philippe II, Duke of Orléans would hold the honourific title of "President of the Regency council" (« président du conseil de régence »)
[edit]

Prising of Power

  • 2 September 1715 : Cancellation of Louis XIV's will; alliance of the Duke of Orléans and the Parlement de Paris. Before the death of Louis XIV Philippe d'Orléans had been a member of the Parlement de Paris due to being a Prince du Sang;
    • Philippe d'Orléans had the will of Louis XIV cancelled with the approval of the Parlement de Paris. Philippe was named Regent for the young king Louis XV as Régent du royaume (Regent of the Kingdom);
    • Droit de remontrance - this was the right of the Parlement de Paris to revoke a law made by a King who had died; this allowed the parlement and the Regent to withdraw the late kings will without question;
  • 1 October 1715 : Polysynody was held in Paris; it was composed of the highest nobility of the country;
[edit]

La Régence

Under the style and title of His Royal Highness Monseigneur Le Régent Philippe d'Orléans was officially recognised Regent of France for Louis XV. Philippe was, after the king, the most important man in the country followed by his son Louis d'Orléans (1703–1752). Louis d'Orléans was allowed into the Council of the Regency on 30 January 1718.

Chronology

[edit]

1715

  • 2 September : Cancellation of Louis XIV's will;
  • 9 September : Body of Louis XIV taken to Saint-Denis; Louis XV sets off for Vincennes with the Regent, Madame de Ventadour, Villeroi, Toulouse and Maine; Philip V of Spain hears of his grand fathers death;
  • 12 September : Philippe d'Orléans recognised Regent by order of the Parlement;
  • 15 September : Droit de remontrance issued by the Parlement supported the Regents claim;
  • 30 December : Removal of Louis XV from the Château de Vincennes to the Tuileries Palace;
  • Louis XV put under the care of François de Neufville, Duke of Villeroi; Guillaume Delisle and the Cardinal de Fleury are put in charge of Louis' education;
[edit]

1716

  • 14 March : Creation of the Chambre Ardente; an extraordinary court of justice in France, mainly held for the trials of heretics;
  • 2 May : Philippe d'Orléans allows John Law to found the Banque générale;
  • 27 June : Birth of Louise Diane d'Orléans at the Palais-Royal; she was the last child of the Regent;
  • 9/10 October : Alliance with Great Britain;
  • Future Charles III of Spain born in Madrid (d.1788);
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1717

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1718

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1719

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1720

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1721

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1722

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1723

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The Polysynody

There were seven parts of the Polysynody all of which had their own ministers for the Regency:

  1. Council of Conscience (Conseil de Conscience)
    1. Members included the: Cardinal de Noailles, Armand Bazin de Bezons (Archbishop of Bordeaux), Henri François d'Aguesseau, René Pucelle, Cardinal Fleury.
  2. Council of Foreign Affairs (Conseil des Affaires étrangères, headed by Nicolas Chalon du Blé)
  3. Council of War (Conseil de la Guerre)
    1. 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.
  4. Council of the Marine (Conseil de la Marine, headed by the Count of Toulouse)
  5. Council of Finances (Conseil des Finances, headed by the Duke of Noailles)
  6. Council of the Affairs the Kingdom (Conseil des Affaires du Dedans du Royaume, headed by the Duke of Antin - half brother of the Duke of Maine and Count of Toulouse)
    1. Members included: marquis de Harlay, de Goissard, Marquis of Argenson,
  7. Council of Commerce (Conseil du Commerce)
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General

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People

The Men

The Women

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Places

  • 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 the House of Orléans; it was from there that the Regent handled state affairs; his last daughter, Louise Diane, was also born at the palace;
  • Palais du Tuileries : the childhood home of Louis XV during the Regency; Louis XV was installed in the Grand Appartements of Louis XIV located on the second floor.
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Politics

The Régence marks the temporary eclipse of Versailles as centre of policymaking, since the Regent's court was at the Palais Royal in Paris. It marks the rise of Parisian salons as cultural centers, as literary meeting places and nuclei of discreet liberal resistance to some official policies. In the Paris salons aristocrats mingled more easily with the higher Bourgeoisie in a new atmosphere of relaxed decorum, comfort and intimacy.

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Art history

18th century French art

In the arts, the style of the Régence is marked by early Rococo, characterised by the paintings of Antoine 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 designs were giving way to lighter elements with more curves and natural patterns. These elements are obvious in the architectural designs of Nicolas 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 Antoine Watteau and François 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.

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Colonialism

The Régence is also the customary French word for the pre-independence regimes in the western North African countries, the so-called Barbary Coast. It was applied to:

  • First the Barbary Coast (Maghrebinian countries in North Africa) was de facto independent (dominated by military governors, soon de facto princes, styled dey, bey or beylerbey, and by the raïs, Muslim corsairs), but nominally an Ottoman province.
  • Later the beylik of Tunis (present Tunisia) and the Sherifian sultanate of Morocco (except for the Spanish-dominated part) came under a specific, protectorate-type of colonial regime that France established over each.

French colonial expansion was not limited to the New World, however. In Senegal in West Africa, the French began to establish trading posts along the coast in 1624. In 1664, the French East India Company was established to compete for trade in the east. Colonies were established in India in Chandernagore (1673) and Pondicherry in the Southeast (1674), and later at Yanam (1723), Mahe (1725), and Karikal (1739) (see French India). Colonies were also founded in the Indian Ocean, on the Île de Bourbon (Réunion, 1664), Île de France (Mauritius, 1718), and the Seychelles (1756).

Unless indicated otherwise, the text in this article is either based on Wikipedia article "Régence" or another language Wikipedia page thereof used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License; or on research by Jahsonic and friends. See Art and Popular Culture's copyright notice.

Retrieved from "http://artandpopularculture.com/R%C3%A9gence"
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