Louis XIV’s government was the epitome of European Diving Right Absolute Monarchism. France under Louis XIV became the model of absolutism (Sherman 406). The divine right of kings is a political and religious doctrine of royal and political legitimacy. It asserts that a monarch is subject to no earthy authority, deriving his right to rule directly from the will of God (Parker 440). According to the diving right of kings only God can judge the king. Therefore if a subject questions the king, he is indirectly questioning God which is sufficient heresy for the person to be damned eternally in hell. Diving Right Absolute Monarchism was the central theme in Louis’ government. Under Louis’ long rule, royal absolutism reached its peak and inspired other monarchs to emulate his style (Sherman 402). Louis was so fixated with himself that he is famously attributed as saying “L’état, c’est moi” (“I am the state”).

In addition to Louis’ royal absolutism, he initiated massive public-works projects that glorified him (Sherman 407). His greatest architectural achievement was his new palace in Versailles. There, as many as 35,000 workers toiled for more than forty years to turn marshes and sand into Europe’s most splendid palace and grounds (Mollenauer 149). Versailles was an architecture achievement exhibiting the power of Louis XIV’s government, but it had a greater purpose. Louis defeated feudalism by compelling the noble elite to inhabit his lavish Palace of Versailles. Louis learned a valuable lesson during the Fronde. He knew the basic factor for the Fronde had been noble anarchy, and Louis was determine to keep the nobility in line. Louis lured the men and women of the nobility away from their local centers of power where they might make trouble and turned them into domesticated court “butterflies” in Versailles (Thompson 173).

To finance his lavish expenditures, Louis appointed Jean-Baptiste Colbert as his financial minister. Colbert was in charge of supervising the details of the French economy. His economics policies eventually gave birth to the mercantile economic policies that would be later used in other parts of Europe such as England. By his death in 1683, Colbert had balanced the budget and promoted relative prosperity despite Louis XIV’s lavish expenditures (Sherman 415).

Louis XIV’s reign would also be plagued with numerous wars. The same old reasons prompted him to lead France into battle: more territory, more glory, and more wealth (Parker 441). The wars wasted valuable resources rather would affect other needs such as: hospitals, roads, and schools. Faced with revolts fueled by despair and opposition to taxation, Louis XIV was forced to accept the Peace of Utrecht (Sherman 416). Additionally, in 1685, Louis revoked the Edict of Nantes outlawing Protestantism. Although Huguenots were forbidden to emigrate, perhaps as many as 200,000 did, taking their wealth and skills with them to Protestant-friendly areas in Europe and America, “enriching them and causing their cities to flourish at the expense of France” ("Louis XIV, King of France”).

Louis XIV had built the French state into a world power during his reign. For many monarchs, France under Louis XIV became the model of absolutism. His luxurious and costly expenditures demonstrated the power of Louis XIV to the world. He successfully appointed clever advisers such as Colbert who did an excellent job in creating France’s economics policies. Louis was intelligent enough to recognize the nobility was his greatest enemy, yet if he managed to tame them, they would be his greatest allies. Louis, however, failed to realize his personal wars were draining France. With the relentless rising of taxes, military, and person expenditures, France’s commoners would eventually despise him. His successors would unwillingly face the consequences of Louis XIV’s actions. It was Louis XIV’s personal vanity that would destroy France.

Works Cited

"Louis XIV, King of France." Europe, 1450 to 1789: Encyclopedia of the Early Modern World. Ed. Jonathan Dewald. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2004. Gale Biography In Context. Web. 29 Dec. 2010.

Mollenauer, L. Wood. "Versailles." Europe, 1450 to 1789: Encyclopedia of the Early Modern World. Ed. Jonathan Dewald. Vol. 6. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2004. 146-150. Gale World History In Context. Web. 29 Dec. 2010.
Parker, David. "Absolutism." Encyclopedia of European Social History. Ed. Peter N. Stearns. Vol. 2: Processes of Change/Population/Cities/Rural Life/State & Society. Detroit: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2001. 439-448. Gale World History In Context. Web. 29 Dec. 2010.

Sherman, Dennis. The West in the World, Volume II: From 1600, 3rd Edition. McGraw-Hill, 122007. 1.3.4.
Thompson, J.M. Lectures on Foreign History, 1494–1789 (Oxford: Blackwell, 1956), pp. 172-174.