The Sun King and the Administrators

In today's blog post, we will learn about four important people: 

Sorry I meant: 

Lets start with Sully. Sully was a French administrator during Henry IV's reign. Sully supported the revival of trade in France and therefore he lowered taxes but made up the lost revenue in trade. He subsidized the Company for Trade with the Indies and started a country wide highway system.

Following Sully was Richelieu. Richelieu wanted the total  subordination of all groups and institutions to the French Monarchy. He divided France into districts which were run by a royal attendant. Furthermore, the attendant was from a different area to over corrupt. Richelieu's domestic policy was centered around raison d'etat which means reason of the state. The basic principle was as long as an action is in the best interest of the state God will forgive you. He used raison d'etat to support himself going against the Hapsburgs who were Catholic which meant he should support them. But instead he supported their enemies. Like Sully, Richelieu also supported trade. However, he was not as effective as Sully. He spend more than he made but realized the importance of money. He stated, “I have always said that fiancés are the sinews of the state” That pretty much means you need strong fiancés for a strong state. 

Next is Colbert. His big policy was mercantilism which meant exporting more than importing. He was like Colbert but more extreme because he wanted no importation at add. He wanted France to be totally self-sufficient and rely on exports to make money. Therefore, he was a big supporter of French industries and created high foreign tariffs. Colbert also wanted to make Canada part of the French empire and shipped 4000 peasants to Quebec. 

Lastly is the Sun-King, himself, King Louis XIV. Some believe his policies were influenced by a traumatic childhood experience. When King Louis XIV was a child, a mob broke into his bedchamber to see if he was there.

 No wonder he was distrustful of nobles. They probably traumatized him

King Louis was an absolutist. He did not trust nobles and therefore worked to take power away from them. One way he did this was by agreeing to not to tax nobility and only commoners. By doing this, he pleased the nobles but also took away their power because they could not choose how the money was spent. Louis realized he had to cooperate with the nobles but he did it in such away that they were like his pets. When they cooperated with his projects, Louis rewarded them with social status and special privileges. The nobility was like a dog receiving treats for doing good and being happy though it does not realize it has power. (look I made a metaphor!)

King Louis also used architecture to impress people. The Palace of Versailles was so impressive, many foreign monarchs were influenced by it. Furthermore, many years later Pokemon would base their game off it.

"King Louis wanted to be the very best. The best there ever was. To impress them was his real test. To train nobles, his cause!"

Though his projects were impressive, they left France being heavily taxed (especially commoners because nobility were not being taxed) and in a lot of debt. This would eventually lead to a very troubled future.