Five Great Farms: The Reign Of King Louis XIV

Louis XIV, the Sun King, ruled as “God’s representative in the political affairs” of France and as a result, he “made France the strongest country in Europe” (Palmer 145). Politically, Louis improved the unity and discipline of the army and sought to expand the borders of France. Taxation was always a problem, however, he depended on his minister, Colbert, to advance France economically through his Commercial Code and Five Great Farms. Religious toleration of the Huguenots in France decreased because Louis revoked the Edict of Nantes, which gave civil rights and the ability to worship in the southern towns to French Calvinists. Socially, France was made of three estates, which included the clergy, nobility, and the rest of France, as well as the Versailles nobles. Intellectually, Bishop Bossuet taught the theory that kings are given the right to rule from God, causing them to rule for the purposes of God. Louis was a huge patronage of writers and artists, who contributed to the designing of Louis’ town, Versaille. Despite the fact that because of Louis, the

Bishop Bossuet provides that “all power is of God” and the king must rule according to God’s will (Packet). If not, the kings risks the punishment of God on himself and the country. This divine right of power states that the king’s actions reflect God and connects the country directly to Him. In this absolute monarchy, Louis had all power and was not bound by anyone or any institutions. However, he did depend on advisers, as he did in Versaille. Bossuet’s teaching of absolute monarchy spread to the churches in France, which encouraged citizens to understand the role that Louis had. As a result, this monarchy “became the prevailing concepts of government on much of the European continent…” (Palmer 175). This helped France to encourage other countries to establish a pro-French feeling and made France an example for other governments to