France Under Louis XIV

In the 17th century, France began its transformation from a Renaissance era monarchy to an early modern absolutist state under the tutelage of King Louis XIII and his chief minister, Cardinal Richelieu. Richelieu introduced the system of Intendants, royal governors who instead drawn from the mercantile classes, not from the nobility. They collected royal taxes and oversaw administration and military recruitment in the regions to which they were assigned; they did not have to answer to local lords. Richelieu also overhauled the tax system by taking away the powers of local tax assemblies and increasing the revenue of the taille, the direct tax on land.

Louis XIV came to the throne in 1661 and expanded on these foundations. Louis' approach to power was in part shaped by the events of his childhood, when growing resentment against the monarchy (mostly among the nobility) boiled over into a series of revolts known as the Fronde. While the rebellion was ultimately suppressed, it left a deep impression on Louis and his relationship with the nobility.

Louis Defines His Rule

Louis became famous for saying “L’etat c’est moi” (“I am the state.”) Another quote that clearly showed the way he thought of his power was "it is legal because I wish it.”

In 1701, Louis commissioned this portrait of himself for his grandson, Philip V of Spain. It became one of the most recognizable symbols of absolutist royal power. Louis cultivated his image as the "Sun King" (the Sun, of course, being at the center of the universe), and declared himself "without equal." To further project this image, he assembled teams of playwrights, artists, and architects to serve as his personal propagandists, creating plays, paintings, statues, and buildings to glorify his reign.

An aerial view of Versailles and its gardens

The Palace of Versailles

Perhaps one of the most enduring and famous aspects of Louis' legacy is the Palace of Versailles. What started as a hunting lodge transformed into the largest and most spectacular seat of royal power in Europe. Covering roughly 3 square miles, 10,000 people could live at the palace and its royal apartments; and it was all furnished at the state's expense. Versailles reflected Louis' place at the center of his own solar system and served as a spectacular example of baroque architecture.

The Hall of Mirrors at Versailles

Louis' State

Louis XIV moved all aspects of government to his palace at Versailles, where he could monitor it. Instead of using members of the hereditary aristocracy in government, he appointed commoners or newly ennobled aristocrats as his ministers and secretaries in order to control policymaking. “I had no intention of sharing my authority with them,” Louis claimed. Instead, Louis relied on his appointed intendants to carry out his policies in each district. For example, Louis made Jean-Baptiste Colbert his general of finances to make sure he could pay for his vast kingdom. Revenue from the taille, the direct tax on land, increased to finance wars and building projects, and tariffs on foreign trade helped support French commerce. During Louis’ 72 year reign the Estates General, the legislative body of France, never met once. It was the king’s right to call the Estates General into session if he felt he needed advice or guidance.

Louis' war minister, the Marquis de Louvois (1641-1691), expanded and reorganized the French army (as many as 400,000 soldiers during times of war). This army allowed Louis to pursue an aggressive foreign policy of expansion, acquiring new territory. The threat of France was so great that even traditional enemies like England and the Netherlands on one hand and the Habsburgs on the other joined forces against Louis, and after a lengthy war, the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713 forced Louis to abandon further territorial ambitions. Furthermore, the costs of the wars were so high that his government desperately sought new sources of revenue, selling noble titles and bureaucratic offices, instituting still new taxes, and further trampling the peasants. When he died in 1715, the state was technically bankrupt.

Emigration of Huguenots from France

Louis' Religious Policies

Louis brought his reasoning on the state ("I am the state") to religious matters as well. He famously proclaimed "one king, one God, one state," returning to the principle that the religion of the ruler was the religion of the state. In 1685, he revoked the Edict of Nantes that had protected certain rights of Protestants by issuing the Edict of Fontainebleau. Protestants (aka Huguenots) were to be forcibly converted if necessary, and intermarriage between Catholics and Protestants were banned. Roughly 200,000 Huguenots fled France, potentially hurting the French economy, as many were skilled craftsmen and businessmen (and many were welcomed by Protestant rulers who were enemies of France).

Nobles of the Robe like Charles-Alexandre de Calonne often had portraits made to show off their new rank.

Louis & the Nobility

Part of Louis' decision to move his seat of government to Versailles was strategic: it was a place where he could keep the nobility occupied and keep an eye on them (recall the Fronde). Louis expected high-ranking nobles to spend part of the year at Versailles, where they were lodged in the apartments and spent their days taking part in elaborate rituals surrounding the person of the king. For example, they were expected to greet the king each morning and even help him dress. Louis drove home the message that the nobles needed him for their status and privileges (granted by Louis), and he further undermined their power not only by keeping them busy and out of official politics, but also by keeping them in a lavish palace that required as much as 50% of their income to decorate and maintain. The split between nobles of the sword (those born with noble status) and nobles of the robe (those who gained aristocratic status due to their administrative posts) also grew during this time, often breeding resentment between the groups.

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