Suffering from the wars of the Fronde as a child, Louis XIV never ceased to subjugate the nobility. The regency of his mother Anne of Austria ending with the death of Cardinal Mazarin who governed in the shadows, Louis XIV therefore seized full powers until his death, the ministers now having only one opinion advisory (Colbert). His marriage to Marie-Thérèse in 1659 signed peace with Spain. He moved the court to Versailles in 1684, which he transformed into an incredible palace by emptying the state coffers. The splendor of his Court splashes the neighboring Courts. Order and classicism are the order of the day, everything is regulated right down to the plates. Submitting his people to his religion, he revoked the Edict of Nantes in 1685. He increased the deficit of his kingdom by waging war against his neighbors (Spain, Holland, etc.). The Vauban belt (network of fortifications built by the architect Vauban) prevents invasions. Louis XIV symbolizes absolutism:nothing is too lavish for this King whose emblem is the Sun. Under his reign, France was at the height of its power.
September 5, 1638 - September 1, 1715
Status
King of France