WI: Louis XIV of France dies in 1698

Well, his son would probably inherit at this point, and fortunatly all the good courtiers of the era are still alive, because Louis de France wasn't exactly too bright for his own sake.

More military-minded than Louis XIV (that if warring regularly knew it was to be used cautiously), he'll probably make some diplomatic mistakes, but the earlier death of his father before he remarries would prevent *Louis XV to be too much opposed to his father legacy.

Contrary to Louis XIV, and if the crisis is not adverted, he would support more early and more convingingly his son's claims to Spain, maybe not really trying to go trough the negociations process.

Eventually, he does have the capacity of being a great king (more than the IOTL Louis XV) but would suffer to be sacred in a relativly uneasy time. It can go either quite well, briging a new fresh wind to Versailles (that really suffered from reactionnarism of the late reign of Louis XIV), but he wouldn't have much mistakes to be allowed in the early reign.
 
Contrary to Louis XIV, and if the crisis is not adverted, he would support more early and more convingingly his son's claims to Spain, maybe not really trying to go trough the negociations process.

Eventually, he does have the capacity of being a great king (more than the IOTL Louis XV) but would suffer to be sacred in a relativly uneasy time. It can go either quite well, briging a new fresh wind to Versailles (that really suffered from reactionnarism of the late reign of Louis XIV), but he wouldn't have much mistakes to be allowed in the early reign.

I think personally, the Maritime Powers and the Habsburgs would be less likely to agree to Mgr le Grand Dauphin's claims to the Spanish throne, than OTL. The reason I say so, is because in everything remotely resembling a partition treaty, the Dauphin de France was given a kingdom of a secundogeniture - to be passed to Mgr le Duc d'Anjou when the Dauphin succeeded in France.

Also, if he does renounce his claims as OTL in favor of Anjou, Anjou has a better claim (being the last king's son, rather than grandson) to inherit should the events of 1711-1712 still transpire (i.e deaths of Dauphin, Duc et Duchesse de Bourgogne, and the little Duc de Bretagne).
 
Well, his son would probably inherit at this point, and fortunatly all the good courtiers of the era are still alive, because Louis de France wasn't exactly too bright for his own sake.

You know, the more I read about the Grand Dauphin, the less sure I am he was the idiot that's popularly depicted. He doesn't seem to have to gone out of the way to shine--but that's actually a pretty smart political survival instinct when your father is Louis XIV. It's worth noting that whenever he actually got something to do, he went out, did it, and did it well.

As a King, he'll probably do all right. And he's a great deal more likely to start scaling back some aspects of the Versailles culture rather than treating them as a holy writ, the way his poor grandson did...
 
You know, the more I read about the Grand Dauphin, the less sure I am he was the idiot that's popularly depicted. He doesn't seem to have to gone out of the way to shine--but that's actually a pretty smart political survival instinct when your father is Louis XIV. It's worth noting that whenever he actually got something to do, he went out, did it, and did it well.

As a King, he'll probably do all right. And he's a great deal more likely to start scaling back some aspects of the Versailles culture rather than treating them as a holy writ, the way his poor grandson did...

Really we know nothing about le Grand Dauphin's political views, only that he did well in the short time he was allowed on the battlefield (better then his father, so we know why he only fought in one campaign) and that in his later years he was very close to his half-sisters the Princesses de Conti & Conde, and all three formed the Cabal de Meudon which opposed his son and daughter-in-law's influence. Personally I think he would be a good King, maybe not a great one but France didn't need another Louis the Great at this point. As to the Spanish inheritance, remember that Philip V's ascension to the throne was initially accepted by the rest of Europe, it was only when his grandfather sent troops to garrison the Spanish Netherlands, announced that Philip would retain his succession rights and proclaimed James Francis Edward King of England that things started heating up. If Louis "XV" doesn't send troops or allow Philip to retain his French rights, then things will probably go very different.
 
You know, the more I read about the Grand Dauphin, the less sure I am he was the idiot that's popularly depicted.
There's a huge difference between "not an idiot" and actually skilled. Louis XIV's son doesn't seem to have particulartly bright on political

He doesn't seem to have to gone out of the way to shine--but that's actually a pretty smart political survival instinct when your father is Louis XIV.
I don't see what he would have risked, having some political personality. Even Orléans had more precised political views.
As for "political instinct", his positions seems to have been limited to opposing his father when Louis XIV didn't agreed on less immediatly political matters (such as forbidding him to spouse his mitress), rather than simply opposing to not believing that they were sensible; and enforcing his son's rights would it be at the cost of an european war (Louis XIV being far more hesistating, and actually going trough negociations).

It's worth noting that whenever he actually got something to do, he went out, did it, and did it well.
He didn't had something to do to really speak of.
His political bilan is close to zero, being surrounded by factionalists (not something that would push his father trust him), didn't was either skilled politically or intellectually (his main political merit was to be the natural heir of Louis XIV, and just existing isn't too much of an achievement).
Hell, his main political statement was to push for War of Spanish Succession. That's a bit short, and critically short-sighted (not that the alternative was that much attractible, of course).

Eventually, what he did well, and more or less in last recourse, Louis XIV basically telling him "Well, let's see is war is what you're good at" (And considering the almost maladive jealousy of Louis XIV about dynastic rivals on this subject, he must have been a bit desesperate), and yes. Le Grand Dauphin was indeed good at war.

Not that it's particularly useful, when your predecessor declared war to Europe in one row, to have a military-minded king.

As a King, he'll probably do all right.
At best, he would turn into a correct king, and if Louis XIV dies before a feud really devellop between them, he would benefit from a skilled council and courtiers, without being accompanied by too much factionalists and shaming people.
At worst, he would turn as a mix of Louis XV (without real diplomatic skills to speak of, and with bad consequences) and Louis XVI (well-minded, but without any real political skills and eventually weak-minded).

The most possible outcome probablyes lies in between.


And he's a great deal more likely to start scaling back some aspects of the Versailles culture rather than treating them as a holy writ, the way his poor grandson did...
The problem of his grand son was he didn't treated them in the same spirit than Louis XIV. Where Versailles was a political deployment, asking to keep nobility on a leash, Louis XV simply carried away that in favour of a deletere ambient where nobility was able to produce powerful factions (something they didn't really tried to do with Louis XIV, if they wanted their monies).

Eventually preferring to enforce his intimacy, and organize hunt, sex and other "private" festivities rather than as much dispendious, but politically useful more open festivities; and transforming Versailles as a private palace rather than an institutional center (it's telling that Louis XV not only didn't build comparable ensemble, but destroyed several)...
No, I disagree : if something can't be took on Louis XV, it's to have too much respect for his predecessor projects.
 
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