Louis XIV (1638–1715)

King of France from 1643, when he succeeded his father Louis XIII; his mother was Anne of Austria. Until 1661 France was ruled by the chief minister, Jules Mazarin, but later Louis took absolute power, summed up in his saying L'Etat c'est moi (‘I am the state’). Throughout his reign he was engaged in unsuccessful expansionist wars – 1667–68, 1672–78, 1688–97, and 1701–13 (the War of the Spanish Succession) – against various European alliances, always including Britain and the Netherlands. He was a patron of the arts.

Foreign policy
Following the death of his father‐in‐law, Philip II of Spain, Louis claimed the Spanish Netherlands and attempted 1667–68 to annex the territory, but was frustrated by an alliance of the Netherlands, Britain, and Sweden. Having detached Britain from the alliance, he invaded the Netherlands in 1672, but the Dutch stood firm (led by William of Orange) and despite the European alliance formed against France, achieved territorial gains at the Peace of Nijmegen in 1678.

Hostilities were renewed in the war of the League of Augsburg 1688–97 between Louis and the Grand Alliance (including Britain), formed by William of Orange. The French were victorious on land, but the French fleet was almost destroyed at the Battle of La Hogue in 1692 and the Treaty of Ryswick forced Louis to give up all his conquests since 1678. The acceptance by Louis of the Spanish throne in 1700 (for his grandson) precipitated the War of the Spanish Succession, with England encouraged to join against the French by Louis' recognition of the Old Pretender as James III. Although the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713 gave Spain to Louis' grandson, the war effectively ended French supremacy in Europe, and left France virtually bankrupt.

In 1660 Louis married the Infanta Maria Theresa of Spain, but he was greatly influenced by his mistresses, including Louise de La Vallière, Madame de Montespan, and Madame de Maintenon.

Properity and power
His reign was one of prosperity and increase for France: under chief minister Jean Baptiste Colbert the finances of the kingdom were reformed, trade was increased, and there was a strong colonial policy. Under his war minister, Louvois, the armies were re‐formed, and under his generals, Turenne and Condé, the French army became the finest fighting machine in Europe.

At home his power was absolute. The courts were entirely under his control, and his principle of embodying the state personally was all but true. Louis had a large number of mistresses, and many illegitimate children, but after Maria Theresa's death he married Madame de Maintenon in 1684. She was greatly influenced by the Jesuits and played a great part in persuading Louis to revoke the Edict of Nantes in 1685.