The Main Policies Proposed by Louis XIV

During the seventeenth century, France saw many changes in its government as the French monarchy focused on extravagance and power. Likewise, writers, architects, and musicians contributed significant knowledge and expertise during this time. Among the few rulers associated with this period in history, Louis XIV is often most identified. Known as Louis the Great, his rule began once he reached the age of maturation following the death of Cardinal Mazarin, who led France to victory during the Thirty Years' War. Like any other rule, Louis XIV formed policies, both domestic and foreign, which helped shape his time as ruler.

Louis XIV's domestic policy focused on transforming France. He ruled by the notion of absolutism in which he viewed himself as a direct representative of God who had given him the divine right to exercise absolute power over all else. Once he gained control of the government, Louis XIV worked hard to centralize authority over France and its colonies overseas. He continued to exempt the nobility from paying taxes but maintained his power through the nobility's financial dependence on the crown. As a result, the creation of a court nobility took place whose members were required to live at the palace and take part in trivial protocols. The bourgeoisie comprised his centralized government while specialized ministries consisted of professionals who received direction from him. Lastly, industry and commerce saw expansions on mercantilist trade ideas, and there was a formation of a navy. 

His foreign policy focused on his desire to gain complete control of foreign affairs. In the early part of his rule, his foreign policy led to the acquirement of important territory, which in turn made France more secure. Also, he successfully defended the House of Bourbon's position on the battlefield. However, as time went, his desire to gain absolute control over France grew drastically. His marriage to Marie Therese, a Spanish princess, served as justification which led to the War of the Devolution. Other wars followed including the Dutch War, the War of the League of Augsburg, and the War of the Spanish Succession. These wars earned Louis XIV a bad reputation as they were long, extremely costly, and resulted in a significant loss of territory for France. Lastly, when Louis XIV left the throne, society was in poor condition as all of Europe was united in their joint hatred of France.

Like Louis XIV's foreign policy, his domestic policy also faced failures included ever-increasing financial issues as war costs were high, maintaining his court was expensive, and building Versailles and other palaces were costly. Additionally, he took the idea of divine rights too far when he attempted to impose religious standards onto his people. He chose to annul the Edict of Nantes, which gave French Protestants known as Huguenot's civil liberties. Instead, he created the Edict of Fountainbleu which not only banned all Protestant churches from France but also took away all civil rights of French Protestants. With financial and political issues drastically increasing, Louis XIV showed little emotion to the reactions of societal members. Louis the Great cared little about what happened after his death. As financial and religious struggles rose, the government was unable to fix these problems leading to the French Revolution during the time of Louis XV, Louis the Great's successor. Although Louis XIV's reign brought success to France in the form of commerce and industry expansions and the acquirement of crucial territory, much of his actions during the time led to trouble for France. His desire for ultimate power led to multiple wars for France, which in turn created substantial economic difficulties. Regardless, Louis XVI was a man of his word, as he said he did not care about what happened once he was gone and that stood true as the French Revolution came after his rule