All these statements describe King Louis XIV of France.
- <em>He called himself the Sun King because he considered himself as important as the sun itself.</em> Louis XIV is known to have had a very high opinion of himself. This is why he chose the sun as his symbol. Le Roi Soleil (the Sun King) was a way to present himself as a ruler who knew and saw everything (like the sun) and could not fail. He also felt a strong connection to the Greek Sun God, Apollo.
- <em>During his seventy-two year reign he claimed the divine rights of kings.</em> 72 years is the longest time any monarch has ruled over a European kingdom in history. Louis XIV believed he was the representative of God on earth, and therefore decided that the absolute powers of kingship were a sacred, god-given right.
- <em>He moved his court from Paris to Versailles, where he and his courtiers lived in splendor and excess.</em> Louis XIV frequently changed residences, but in 1682 he settled with his court in the Palace of Versailles, making it a symbol of French riches and prestige.
- <em>He did little or nothing to help the working people with everyday struggles. </em>Many of his subjects thought that Louis XIV put his personal interests before the country's. During the War of Spanish Succession for example (1701-14), he kept France at war to make sure his grandson, Philip V, would gain control over the Spanish Empire, while the cost of war caused famine among the people.
The United States has the largest Christian population in the world, followed by Brazil, Mexico, Russia, and the Philippines.
Democracies and republics
because they believed that women needed to be protected from political life
