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was one of four leaders, (along with Charles V, Napoleon, and Adolf Hitler) who had an opportunity to establish their hegemony over much of Europe in the time period after 1500. Although failed in his attempt to dominate Europe politically, it was during this ti ....

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.... XIII and his mother was Anne of Austria. There is some dispute as to who actually fathered because his father was mentally unstable and did not like Anne of Austria. Whatever the reality, Louis was born on September 5, 1638. By all accounts Louis' childhood was not very happy. He was reared primarily by servants. At one point he almost drowned in a pond because no one was watching him. His father died on May 14, 1643, when Louis was four and one-half years old. The regent who ruled France during the youth of Louis was Cardinal Mazarin from Italy. Mazarin's policies were clever, complex and successful. Mazarin played a major role in bringing abo ....