DBWI: WIF Louis XIV builds Verailles

Necessary background

As everybody knows by now, the story that Louis XIV built enormous palace of Versailles and moved his court there is a hoax created during so-called "Great Tourist Rouse", few decades at the end of XIX - beginning of the XX century when quite a few European countries had been speedily "re-inventing" their history to take advantage of Europe's growing popularity as a center of the tourism from the rich countries of the Americas (Brasil, Mexico, Chile and the US) and Asia (Tibet, Siam, China, Mongolia, Persia).

A lot of the fake "historical" edifices had been created at that time like Alcazar of Segovia (greatly "improved to look medieval), Tower of London (the whole medieval castle built around the only surviving tower), Kremlin in Moscow (historically, a total nonsense because by the time of its alleged construction, these fortifications would be obsolete: the walls were too tall and thin for the age of artillery and lacking placements for the cannons, not to mention that it was built in Italian style which was quite different from the Russian fortifications of that period).

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In his novel Tartarin sur les Alpes (Tartarin on the Alps) Alphonse Daudet explicitly wrote that the whole Switzerland "does not exist" except as a set of the fake tourist attractions and in Italy they had been labeling each and every pile of stones as "ancient ruins".

Anyway, the French suddenly discovered that they started losing the tourists (reputation of the fashions capital of the world still was working but only up to a certain degree) and related income. The issue was hotly discussed in the National Assembly at it was decided that France also should create the "historic edifices" of its own (we can't let these Brits, Russians and Spaniards to keep stealing our revenues!). The funds were allocated and the job of overseeing the project had been trusted to a person who, while holding a prestigious position and being an author of a treatise on the treasuries of the French Crown (which made him a specialist of a kind on the things ancient), had absolutely nothing to do with his time, namely His Royal Majesty Louis XXII, King of France and Navarre.

Having a quick practical mind (which he was carefully hiding) Louis immediately recognized an opportunity. As the 1st step, he moved his official residence from the old, dilapidated Louvre to a smaller but much more comfortable Elysee Palace
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The Louvre had been "generously donated" (well, with some compensation) to the state to became an art gallery.

The next step was to start erecting near a nice little palace of Petit Trianon (with its beautiful gardens)
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a humongous monstrosity called "Versallies" after a falling apart hunting lodge.

The project was modestly called "reconstruction" and the extensive PR campaign started even before it was complete all the way to writing and publishing the fake memoirs, like those of the Duke of Saint Simon, making corrections in the ...er... "new editions" of the history books, etc.

The purpose was to recreate a historical Louis XIV (a reasonably modest and peace-loving person) into a self-aggrandizing monster concerned only with his personal glory, who had an absolutely terrible taste in pretty much everything from clothes to paintings and was driving his country into a ruin by the endless wars.

The real Louis had been fought only two relatively short wars: War of Devolution (1667/68), which gave France Franche-Comté and Southern part of the Spanish Netherlands, and War of the Spanish Succession (1700/02), which gave France the rest of the Spanish Netherlands (history of this war is a separate subject that can be discussed later) and installed Bourbon dynasty in Spain. Of course, there were some "minor" colonial adventures: conquest of Alger and Tunisia, foundation of the French "empire" in India (again, a separate subject) and colonial acquisitions in Africa but by the standards of the time he was an extremely peaceful monarch, proud of his nickname "The Peacemaker" and not at all similar to his bellicose grand......grandson, Louis XVI, the "Great", who expanded borders of France all the way to the Rhine, completed conquest of the subcontinent of India, destroyed the HRE and made France a constitutional monarchy.

Of course, the narrative of the Versailles being built to subdue the French aristocracy does not stand up to any criticism. For example, why would these aristocrats live in the terrible conditions of the palace instead of building their own residences in a nearby town, only few minutes of walk from it?

Why would they tolerate an idea of "resettlement" at all with their history of the endless rebellions and plots? Look at more tame aristocracy of Russia: Peter I could force them to do quite a few things which they may not like (for example, forcing to drink a low quality vodka on his "assambleys") but almost as soon as he started forcing them to move from Moscow to St-Petersburg (now, an obscure port city on the Baltic coast, adjacent to Petergoff), he suddenly got a terminal case of a cold after which in less than a year everybody moved back to Moscow. Surely, French aristocracy could come with something more plausible.

Pressed by time, Louis XXII made a rather sloppy job: Versailles was majestic but not quite inhabitable due to the inadequate heating, complete absence of the ...er... "facilities" and, let's face it, rather idiotic plan not well suited for the French climate. But nobody really expected to live there so it was OK as long as the tourists could enjoy the geometric patterns of the gardens, the fountains, and the endless enfilade of the rooms (each of them had either a low-quality painting of Louis XIV or his bust, thus providing job for the countless aspiring French artists and students of the numerous art studios: one needed a lot of stuff to fill all that space and after the first few rooms the tourists were losing attention, anyway).

After this project was complete and proved to be a smashing financial success (ditto for the Louvre), Louis XII "rebuilt" Chateau d'Amboise. Typically, this alleged residence of Francis I was lacking the kitchens but who cares?

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What if Louis XIV really built it?

So, what if Louis XIV (as depicted by the "edited history") really built this monstrous palace? What would be the impact on the history of France and Europe in general?

How could he afford it, with France being totally exhausted by the wars of his father, the Fronde and the wars he allegedly was fighting during his reign?
 
Of course they could build it. They just wouldn't pay for it. Well, not all of it. They would need to get craftsmen from other countries to do a lot of the design work. Italians didn't really build much new stuff, but they were always a popular choice. I expect that they would also want Venetian for glass, as they can't be expected to ship dozens of wagonloads of plate glass and enough glassware for a royal court. Then again, the Venetian would probably send the stuff by boat. Given how the French swiped silk and ceramics technology, I don't know if the Venetian would risk sending men and materials to be produced on site, where they could be poached, spied upon, or kept as 'guests'. Then again, this comes down to the 'not paying for everything' aspect. If they manage to poach a lot of craftsmen, get a royal monopoly going and such, they can try profiting from that, and they won't continuing paying high prices for goods transported from afar. Might even put up protectionist measures so there would be a royal monopoly. Anyways, back then did they have rooms set aside for chamberpots? While a lot of these other examples could hypothetically have garderobes (helped by how they were often next to rivers) I can't see how they would manage it with this new palace. Then again, how many people would live their? The King, royal family, some courtiers, and the hundreds of servants needed to keep it clean? I suppose it wouldn't be that cramped, so long as the King didn't invite hundreds of noblemen, who would no doubt want their own private rooms. Or to build a house of their own. Would their be building restrictions on land the king wouldn't own? Given this Versailles would be built at the site of a hunting lodge, I am guessing it is in the middle of some royal hunting preserve. Or would it be on the very edge? And actually, were nobles allowed to build houses in each other's land?
 
Of course they could build it. They just wouldn't pay for it. Well, not all of it.

A very good point. Only a completely tyrannical regime could mobilize the necessary resources without spending the money and even then the result would not be guaranteed. Few decades later Peter I tried to do something of the kind by extensive mobilization of a "free" labor force but even his project of the new capital on the Baltic coast ended up in a failure: by the time of his (conspicuously timely) death St-Petersburg was just an assembly of the wooden houses (plus a stone fortress which served as a state prison, gives some idea of his priorities) abandoned within a year of his death. Later partial revival was mostly due to the construction of Petergoff, the imperial summer residencies on a Baltic coast (summers in Moscow are terrible). Louis XIV (even as painted by the "edited history") simply did not that type of a power.

They would need to get craftsmen from other countries to do a lot of the design work. Italians didn't really build much new stuff, but they were always a popular choice. I expect that they would also want Venetian for glass, as they can't be expected to ship dozens of wagonloads of plate glass and enough glassware for a royal court. Then again, the Venetian would probably send the stuff by boat. Given how the French swiped silk and ceramics technology, I don't know if the Venetian would risk sending men and materials to be produced on site, where they could be poached, spied upon, or kept as 'guests'. Then again, this comes down to the 'not paying for everything' aspect.

One of the things that both real and "alt" Louis did accomplish was production of the French glass (don't know if they managed to get some Venetian specialists or did a reverse engineering). Of course, the mirrors and windows in Versailles are the artificially aged XIX century fakes but the tourists do not care.

As for the design, the goal was to make it looking impressive for the tourists (and convenient for the tours) so the Italian style of the enfilades had been chosen. It is quite clear that in a real life one would chose something more appropriate for the colder French climate (and with more fireplaces to make it livable in the winter).

Of course, there would still be an issue of paying for the royal folly while also paying for the (alleged) endless wars. With the French banking system being just in a process of creation, the needed loans would ruin any banker so why would they volunteer?

If they manage to poach a lot of craftsmen, get a royal monopoly going and such, they can try profiting from that, and they won't continuing paying high prices for goods transported from afar.

Allegedly, this was the case: Versailles had to be a FRENCH edifice. But it is one thing to build it in the late XIX century when France was well advanced in all types of the arts (and already managed to make Statue of Liberty and construct the Eiffel Tower) and another in mid-XVII when it simply did not have enough of the qualified craftsmen and artists (even with an allowance for a lousy quality of the paintings, there are hundreds of them and the same goes for all these marble statues).


Might even put up protectionist measures so there would be a royal monopoly. Anyways, back then did they have rooms set aside for chamberpots?

The answer is "NO". A high-ranking person (the king and few top honchos who, presumably, had apartments bigger than a broom closet) had special chairs with a hole in an appropriate place (and chamber pot strategically placed under it) so the person would combine the natural activities with the duties of the office (reading and signing papers, receiving visitors, etc.). The lesser people would do it either in their quarters (not sure if there was a special place into which the servants would empty the chamber pots) or in the nearest bushes. It seems that some of them had been skilled enough to do even a "serious business" into the fireplaces (presumably when there was no fire). IIRC, there could be screens with the chamber pots behind them to make life easier for the ladies during the long court ceremonies.

While a lot of these other examples could hypothetically have garderobes (helped by how they were often next to rivers) I can't see how they would manage it with this new palace.

Indeed. Which clearly indicates that the whole thing is a reasonably modern fake (with the modern toilets for the tourists - I had a chance to investigate and they are definitely NOT the mid-XVII century).

Then again, how many people would live their? The King, royal family, some courtiers, and the hundreds of servants needed to keep it clean?

Hundreds of courtiers (and each of them would have at least one servant). But if we trust the fake history, cleanness was not a concern (except for having the clean floors, burnished silver, etc.). According to one of the "history" books on the subject (written by "G. Lenotre" but a real name was Louis Léon Théodore Gosselin, you can see the pattern) Louis was sleeping in the bug-infested bed. Surely, a person in his position could order to take some measures to prevent being bitten.

I suppose it wouldn't be that cramped, so long as the King didn't invite hundreds of noblemen, who would no doubt want their own private rooms.

Sounds logical, unlike the legend. What's the pleasure in not having any privacy in your own home? Not to mention expenses on feeding all these parasites, entertaining them, trying to maintain at least a minimal level of cleanness, etc. And a questionable pleasure of seeing all these hundreds of people you don't really care about.... Did you read the (fake) Memoirs of Duke de Saint Simon? I'd die of a heavy form of a boredom after seeing him two days in a row: not just a bore but also envious of anyone who was of a practical use to the state (like Duke de Vendom).

Or to build a house of their own. Would their be building restrictions on land the king wouldn't own?

One more "does not make sense" items on the list. Of course, it would be cheaper to order these parasites to build their own residences nearby but there are none to be seen. Which clearly indicates that "Project Versailles" was a hoax.

Given this Versailles would be built at the site of a hunting lodge, I am guessing it is in the middle of some royal hunting preserve. Or would it be on the very edge? And actually, were nobles allowed to build houses in each other's land?

Can't tell for sure because "Project Versailles" resulted in a creation of the extensive geometrically ideal (if you are looking at them from a certain point, always shown to the tourists) gardens. Probably there could be some remaining forests somewhere nearby. And, no, the nobles were not allowed to build houses on each other land but who would forbid them to buy parcels of land, especially if the king was sympathetic to the idea?
 
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