Louis xiv death

Louis XIV rose to power when he was only five years old.

Louis xiv wife

His mother served as regent until he was educated enough to become ruling king. His influential years were marked by revolutionary actions against his mother and political adviser. This contributed to his decision to later move to Versailles permanently. Louis XIV shocked the country of France by becoming his own chief minister. This had several implications.

Unlike monarchs before him, he excluded family members and old nobility. He worked with his finance minister Jean-Baptise Colbert during the early years. He reorganized several financial and administration aspects of the government at the time and expanded urban law enforcement to create a police force in Paris. He also expanded the French navy and the French army.

Louis XIV believed in forceful foreign policies. He fought in several wars for land, two of which were against the Dutch. He was successful only in the first one, but he managed to gain a considerable amount of territory during the second war. In light of these wars, the growing size and might of the French army and other rising political tensions in Europe, many countries stopped being allies with France during this time.

This led to the country becoming isolated. The idea of glorifying the monarchy and himself through the arts was incredibly appealing to King Louis XIV and his finance minister Jean-Baptiste Colbert. Under him, French literature and art flourished.