Louis' economic principles were quite simple. He lives in a country which basically has no gold mines to speak of and he needs more gold. And so his theory was, and it's an accurate one under the circumstances, that the only way he could increase the gold in the realm was by getting it from elsewhere. Well, obviously you could hope to fight and win battles and so on, but you could also peacefully export goods and therefore it was a trade surplus. One of the things that French were very good at, for instance, was making tapestries in the Gabla or in Beauvé. These were hugely sought after and one of the things Goldbehr and Louis will manage
In 1661 the 23 year-old French king Louis the XIV had been on the throne for 18 years when his chief minister, Cardinal Mazarin, died. Louis is reported to have said to his ministers, “It is now time that I govern my affairs myself. You will assist me with your counsels when I ask for them [but] I order you to seal no orders except by my command… I order you not to sign anything, not even a passport, without my command, and to render account to me personally each day”
So began the personal rule of Louis XIV, which lasted a further 54 years until his death in 1715. From his newly-built palace at Versailles, Louis was able to project an image of himself as the centre of gravity around which all of France revolved: it’s no accident that he became known as the Sun King. He centralized power to the extent he was able to say ‘L’etat c’est moi’: I am the state. Under his rule France became the leading diplomatic, military and cultural power in Europe.
With
Catriona Seth
Marshal Foch Professor of French Literature at the University of Oxford
Guy Rowlands
Professor of Early Modern History at the University of St Andrews
and
Penny Roberts
Professor of Early Modern History at the University of Warwick
Producer: Luke Mulhall