Absolutism and Louis Xiv

An absolute monarch is a ruler by divine right who has control over every portion of his kingdom. The most famous absolute monarch, Louis XIV, had the longest reign of any of the French kings. Louis achieved this as a result of his reformed laws, foreign policy, a smart economic advisor, and his decision to deny power to the nobility. Although some of these ideas could be viewed as having a negative impacting on France, overall Louis XIV's absolute government was beneficial to the development of his country.

By restructuring France's laws into one standard legal code Louis gained public support, by showing that he was a fair leader. "The Code", as Louis labeled it, was applicable to everyone (except Louis, of course), and universalized laws across France. The power to enforce "The Code" was taken away from lords and nobles, and instead given to "Intendants", upper-middle class men appointed by Louis. These intendants, having recently "fallen" into their positions of power, were not used to their positions, and because of this felt indebted and completely loyal to Louis. The lack of criticism and discussion allowed decrees to be passed more quickly. The end consequence of these actions was that the government operated more efficiently.

Louis also gained support from people by reforming France's foreign policy. By adopting an aggressive foreign strategy (to expand France's borders to "the natural boundaries of ancient Gaul"), Louis was able to unite the people within France against common enemies. Although these expansionist actions led to wars with Holland, Germany, Italy and Spain, it gained France better strategic boundaries. These new borders allowed the French civilians to feel more secure in their homes, and generated more tax revenue from the newly acquired citizens. These factors, in combination with harvesting new natural resources from newly acquired land, provided a greater benefit for France than the alternative, that is to sit at home waiting