How Did King Louis Xiv Affect Society

King Louis XIV was the king of France from 1638 to 1715, he reigned longer than any other European monarch. King Louis XIV was one of the most powerful absolute monarchs in the history of Europe. He was thought of as the quintessence of what an absolute monarch should be. Throughout this paper, I will discuss the many important aspects of King Louis’s reign and some of the influential things he did and their effects on society at the time.
One way he achieved his absolute power was through divine right of kings. Divine right of kings is defined as “the doctrine that the right of rule derives directly from God, not from the consent of the people.” King Louis XIV used the fact that people couldn’t deny any of his privileges because if they did

He is very well known for his palace, Versailles. Versailles began as a hunting chateau during King Louis XIII reign. King Louis XIV is best known for the lavish add-ons to the palace. His love for the fine things is shown through Duc de Saint-Simon’s, a resident of Versailles for many years, account of life at the palace, “He loved splendour, magnificence, and profusion in all things, and encouraged similar tastes in his Court; to spend money freely on equipages and buildings, on feasting and at cards, was a sure way to gain his favour, perhaps to obtain the honour of a word from him.” This first-hand account is taken from Saint-Simon who was obviously close to the King. He knew his nature of lavish spending. King Louis XIV wanted to leave a legacy for himself that encapsulated his wealth, this was shown by his extravagant spending. Although, this type of spending did often get him into trouble with is advisors. For example, Saint-Simon’s accounts also stated when describing the King’s court, “"His mind was occupied with small things rather than with great, and he delighted in all sorts of petty details, such as the dress and drill of his soldiers; and it was just the same with regard to his building operations, his household, and even his cookery. He always thought he could teach something of their own craft even to the most skilful professional men; and they, for their part, used to listen gratefully to

Some of these practices include the fact that once his then chief minister, Cardinal Jules Mazarin, died, he did not select a new chief minister. This was very unheard of when it comes to monarchs in Europe. This move that placed all control of the government into his hands alone solidified his sovereignty. King Louis also did many other things that changed France under his rule. Another example of influential and unprecedented things he did during his rule is in 1685, he removed the Edict of Nantes. The Edict of Nantes was a decree put into place by Henry IV that granted the people of France religious freedom. In a biography about King Louis XIV titled “Louis XIV” stated “" The king was a devout Catholic, and his persecution of the Huguenots came to a head with his 1685 revocation of the Edict of Nantes, which had formerly granted the Huguenots rights as a religious majority.”” This example shows that King Louis was historically very religious, as were many absolute monarchs. When he revoked this mandate, it caused many of the Protestants strife. The dissatisfaction of the Protestants must have caused some disagreement throughout France and even caused many Huguenot’s to emigrate to other countries. But, King Louis XIV wanted to unite France under one religion, so he enforced to make France strictly Catholic. This also exemplifies his sovereign power through how he imposed religious laws on the