Louis XIV was a French monarch who ruled from 1638 until his death in 1718. His reign lasted 72 years, the longest of any European monarch. He ruled during the Age of Absolutism, a time period in which a leader had complete control, called absolute rule. Louis XIV, also known as the Sun God, led his country with an iron fist, though if it had been up to him, he probably would have chosen gold. He was an exorbitant spender, creating the great Palace of Versailles. Louis XIV is now seen as the quintessence of an absolute ruler. Firstly, Louis XIV faced many problems during his rule, but the most prominent were that he tried to enforce religious uniformity, and he spent far too much money. Louis XIV was a devoted Catholic, and he did not agree …show more content…
His first policy was to highly tax the middle class (__,__). He appointed intendants, which were royal officials who collected taxes. This checked the power of the nobles and the church, and gave Louis more power. He also placed tariffs on foreign goods. By taxing the middle class and placing tariffs, the government accumulated more money, and France was starting to become self-sufficient (__,__). His second policy was using mercantilist ideals to fortify the economy. The mercantile system was created in France during this time period by Louis’s financial advisors. It was a system that tried to store as much wealth as possible, then exporting many goods at a high rate while importing few goods at a low rate. This was seen as the ideal trading system (__,__). The king cleared farm lands, encouraged mining and basic industry, and increased production of luxury trade goods. This also contributed to France’s economic growth. The tariffs placed earlier also helped protect French manufacturers from outside competitors that would otherwise be able to sell the same goods for less money (__,__). Louis XIV created two major domestic policies to deal with his two biggest problems during his