Louis of France, Duke of Burgundy

Louis de France, Duke of Bourgogne (August 16, 1682 - February 18, 1712) was the eldest son of Louis, "le Grand Dauphin". As a result of his father's death in 1711, he became Dauphin and is hence also inaccurately known as "le Petit Dauphin".

Birth

Louis was born in the Château de Versailles as eldest son of Louis, "le Grand Dauphin", and his wife Maria Anna of Bavaria. Upon birth, he received the title "duc de Bourgogne". As the son of the Dauphin, he was second in the line of succession to his grandfather, King Louis XIV of France.

Life and political role

The Duke of Bourgogne initially was reputed to be a difficult child who respected no one but under the influence of his famous tutor François Fénelon, Archbishop of Cambrai, he grew into a very pious and religious man. Fénelon's thoughts and beliefs would continue to influence the young prince throughout his life.

In 1702, at the age of 20, the Duke of Bourgogne was admitted by Louis XIV to the "Conseil d'en haut" (High Council), which was in charge of state secrets regarding religion, diplomacy and war. This greatly delighted him because his father had only been admitted at the age of 30.

During the War of the Spanish Succession, he was appointed to the command of the army in Flanders in 1708 with the experienced soldier Louis Joseph de Bourbon, duc de Vendôme theoretically serving under him. The uncertainty as to which of the two should truly command the army led to delays and the need to refer decisions to Louis XIV. Continued indecision led to French inactivity as messages travelled between the front and the capital; the Allies were then able to take the initiative. The culmination of this was the Battle of Oudenarde where the Duke of Bourgogne's mistaken choices and reluctance to support Vendôme led to a decisive defeat for the French. In the aftermath of the defeat, his hesitation to relieve the Siege of Lille doomed the city and allowed the Allies to make their first incursions onto French soil.

The Duke of Bourgogne was influenced by the "dévots" and was surrounded by a circle of people known as the "Faction of Bourgogne". This was most notably made up of his old tutor Fénelon, his old governor Paul de Beauvilliers, duc de Saint-Aignan and his brother-in-law Charles Honoré d'Albert, duc de Chevreuse, as well as the famous author of historical memoirs, Louis de Rouvroy, duc de Saint-Simon.

These high-ranking aristocrats sought a return to a monarchy less absolute and less centralised, with vast powers granted to the individual provinces. They perceived that government should work through councils and intermediary organs between the king and the people. These intermediary councils were to be made up not by commoners from the bourgeoisie (as the ministers appointed by Louis XIV) but by aristocrats who perceived itself as the representative of the people and would assist the king in governance and the exercise of power. Had the Duke of Bourgogne succeeded to the throne, he would probably have applied this concept of monarchy.

After his father's death in 1711, the Duke of Bourgogne succeeded him as Dauphin and became heir to the throne. However, his wife Marie-Adélaïde of Savoy contracted measles and died on 12 February 1712. The Duke of Bourgogne, who dearly loved his wife, had stayed by her side throughout the fatal illness and, as a result, had also contracted the disease. He did not last the week. Both their children also became infected, and their elder surviving son, Louis, Duke of Bretagne, the latest in a series of Dauphins, succumbed to it within the month. However, the younger son, the Duke of Anjou, then only two years of age, survived the ordeal and would succeed as "Louis XV" upon the death of his great-grandfather, Louis XIV, in 1715.

The premature death of the Duke of Bourgogne precipitated a possible succession crisis as he left as the heir to his seventy-four-year-old grandfather his frail infant son whose chances of survival were thought minimal. It also ruined the hopes of the "Faction of Bourgogne", whose members would soon die of natural deaths. Nonetheless, some of their ideas were put into practice when the Regent, Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, created a form of government known as polysynody, where each ministry was replaced by a council composed of aristocrats. However, the absenteeism, ineptitude and conflicts of the aristocrats caused this system of governance to fail, and it was soon abandoned in 1718 in favour of a return to the preceding style of rule.

Marriage and children

As part of the Treaty of Turin, which ended Franco-Savoyard conflicts during the Nine Years' War, Bourgogne was married, on December 7, 1697, to Marie-Adélaïde of Savoy (1685-1712). She was the eldest daughter of Victor Amadeus II, Duke of Savoy and his first wife Anne Marie d'Orléans. Marie-Adélaïde's maternal grandparents were Philippe I, Duke of Orléans and Henrietta Anne Stuart.

The couple had many children, of which:

*a stillborn child (1702)
*a stillborn child (1703)
*Louis, Duke of Bretagne (1704-1705)
*Louis, Duke of Bretagne (1707-1712)
*stillborn child (1708)
*Louis, Duke of Anjou (1710-1774), later King Louis XV
*an unborn child (1712)

Ancestry

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1= 1. Louis, Dauphin of France and Duke of Burgundy
2= 2. Louis, Dauphin of France
3= 3. Princess Maria Anna of Bavaria
4= 4. Louis XIV of France
5= 5. Infanta Maria Theresa of Spain
6= 6. Ferdinand Maria, Elector of Bavaria
7= 7. Princess Henriette Adelaide of Savoy
8= 8. Louis XIII of France
9= 9. Infanta Anne of Spain
10= 10. Philip IV of Spain
11= 11. Princess Elisabeth of France
12= 12. Maximilian I, Elector of Bavaria
13= 13. Archduchess Maria Anna of Austria
14= 14. Victor Amadeus I, Duke of Savoy
15= 15. Princess Christine Marie of France
16= 16. Henry IV of France
17= 17. Marie de' Medici
18= 18. Philip III of Spain
19= 19. Archduchess Margaret of Austria
20= 20. Philip III of Spain (= 18)
21= 21. Archduchess Margaret of Austria (= 19)
22= 22. Henry IV of France (= 16)
23= 23. Marie de' Medici (= 17)
24= 24. William V, Duke of Bavaria
25= 25. Princess Renata of Lorraine
26= 26. Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor
27= 27. Princess Maria Anna of Bavaria
28= 28. Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy
29= 29. Infanta Catherine Michelle of Spain
30= 30. Henry IV of France (= 16)
31= 31. Marie de' Medici (= 17)