Speaker 1: Hello, and welcome to Western Siev episode four hundred and
Speaker 1: seventy four. The son King now as the artillery reverberated
Speaker 1: across the Spanish Netherlands in sixteen sixty seven, Louis the
Speaker 1: fourteenth returned to his palace at Versailles, and we'll talk
Speaker 1: about Versailles in just a moment. He was triumphant, but
Speaker 1: the man wanted more. The war against the Netherlands had
Speaker 1: been a bold opening move, but the most profound transformations
Speaker 1: within the walls of Versailles, within France's finances, and within
Speaker 1: the European theater at large were yet to come. Now.
Speaker 1: In order to govern an increasely vast and ambitious kingdom,
Speaker 1: Louis turned not to nobles of ancient pedigree, but who
Speaker 1: he didn't trust, of course, and that was again because
Speaker 1: of the rebellion that he faced early on when he
Speaker 1: was very much a child. But instead he wanted a
Speaker 1: new kind of servant. Today we would call these bureaucrats
Speaker 1: or technocrats. I suppose it'd be more accurate loyal, competent
Speaker 1: men who were unencumbered by feudal interests, and chief amongst these.
Speaker 1: In Louis's second half of his reign was Jean Baptiste Colbert,
Speaker 1: a man who would come to embody the financial and
Speaker 1: administrative heartbeat of Louis's reign. Born in Reims in sixteen
Speaker 1: nineteen to a family of cloth merchants, Colbert rose through
Speaker 1: not lineage, but through sheer bureaucratic genius. He entered royal
Speaker 1: service in the household of Cardinal Nazarene, who of course
Speaker 1: had led France when Louis was a child, and there
Speaker 1: he gained a reputation for discipline, thrift, and a boundless
Speaker 1: energy and commitment to cause. By the time of Mazarine's
Speaker 1: death in sixteen sixty one, Colbert had proven himself indispensable
Speaker 1: to Louis, who made him Controller General des Finance in
Speaker 1: sixteen sixty five. Over the next two decades, Colbert would
Speaker 1: reshape the French economy in the way that Louis wanted it,
Speaker 1: and Colbert famously told Louis quote since the death of
Speaker 1: Henry the fourth, there has been want of necessity in
Speaker 1: our finances. It is well to determine how we have
Speaker 1: come about so long a time without a tolerably satisfactory
Speaker 1: income end quote Wow, where would that income come from?
Speaker 1: To find it, Colbert embarked on a truly sweeping campaign
Speaker 1: of economic reform. He centralized royal revenues, he curbed the
Speaker 1: corrupt excesses of tax farmers, and he forced local parliaments
Speaker 1: into tighter obedience. One of the things we have to
Speaker 1: remember about France is that, really, even going into the Revolution,
Speaker 1: it is, to a large extent but still a patchwork
Speaker 1: of feudal kingdoms. The laws in Provence could be different
Speaker 1: in the laws of the royal demands around Paris. Likewise,
Speaker 1: that could be different in Burgundy. That was something that
Speaker 1: France was going to have to deal with, but that
Speaker 1: it wouldn't truly deal with until the aftermath of the revolution.
Speaker 1: Still under Colbert's guidance, forests became state managed resources. The
Speaker 1: sixteen sixty nine Forestry Ordinance established sustainable harvest quotas for
Speaker 1: the first time and detailed inventories of royal woodlands. New
Speaker 1: manufactories producing mirrors, tapestries, lace and porcelain sprang up under
Speaker 1: royal charters, many of them directly funded or subsidized by
Speaker 1: the Crown. These weren't merely economic ventures. They were declarations
Speaker 1: of national prestige and designed to keep French money within
Speaker 1: France and rival foreign luxury. Now, of course, the Court
Speaker 1: of Versailles, as we'll discuss in the moment, once just
Speaker 1: a symbol of grandeur, quickly became also a tool of governance.
Speaker 1: Nobles were kept close by, and that was by design.
Speaker 1: Embers of potential rebellion were simply smothered in court etiquette, pageantry,
Speaker 1: and crushing, crushing debt. In the place of these noble families,
Speaker 1: long since decayed, Louis and Corbe built a vast bureaucracy
Speaker 1: of intendance and inspectors, loyal and all replaceable. This was
Speaker 1: more than just royal micromanagement. It was the transformation of
Speaker 1: France into a centralized state, modern inform but of course
Speaker 1: absolutist in spirit, As Louis famously declared, I am the
Speaker 1: state now. Louis the fourteenth did a lot more than
Speaker 1: just tax and regulate. He curated culture as well. He
Speaker 1: founded the Paris Observatory in sixteen sixty seven, the Academie
Speaker 1: Desciences Sciences, and the Royal Opera. He maintained personal friendships
Speaker 1: with artists like Mouliere Luis Roissan, cultivating an image of
Speaker 1: a king not just as a ruler, but as a
Speaker 1: patron above all other patrons. And then, of course, as
Speaker 1: I've alluded to multiple times, there was the Great Palace
Speaker 1: at Versailles. Versailles wasn't just a palace. It was a statement,
Speaker 1: a manifesto, built in marble and glass and gold, designed
Speaker 1: not merely to house a king, but to some extent,
Speaker 1: to be the king. To walk through the gilded halls
Speaker 1: was to enter the very mind of Louis the fourteenth,
Speaker 1: the son king whose vision transformed a modest hunting lodge
Speaker 1: into one of the most famous and influential buildings in
Speaker 1: the history of the world. Now the site of Versailles
Speaker 1: began modestly enough. In sixteen twenty three, Louis the thirteenth
Speaker 1: built a hunting lodge in the Marsha woodlands west of Paris.
Speaker 1: It was a place to escape to, not to create spectacle,
Speaker 1: but his son, Louis the fourteenth saw in the wilderness
Speaker 1: something different. After the trauma of the Frond, the rebellion
Speaker 1: I mentioned before, and a youth spent fleeing rebellious nobles,
Speaker 1: Louis wanted to create a court he could control completely
Speaker 1: geographically removed from Paris, architecturally overwhelming and psychologically irresistible construction
Speaker 1: began in earnest in sixteen sixty one, the very year,
Speaker 1: in fact, if you're keeping score, that Louis assumed personal rule.
Speaker 1: He employed some of the greatest talents of the age,
Speaker 1: Andre leynt Levau and of course his great master of gardens,
Speaker 1: Charles Lebrun. Over the next two decades, Versailles would swell
Speaker 1: into a sprawling symbol of royal authority. Everything at Versailles
Speaker 1: revolves literally around the King. Louis the fourteenth was often
Speaker 1: compared to Apollo, the sun god, and of course he
Speaker 1: liked that the celestial metaphor desfined the design. The palace
Speaker 1: simply radiates out if you look at it on a
Speaker 1: map from the King's bedroom at the very center. Like
Speaker 1: the sun itself. It is a universe and miniature in
Speaker 1: so many ways, and Louis is always at the center.
Speaker 1: The gardens extend in geometrical patterns, enforcing order over nature
Speaker 1: and allegory for the monarch himself. Nothing wild grows in
Speaker 1: Versailles without royal permission. Every tree is pruned, every fountain
Speaker 1: precisely aligned. Power at Versailles was never hidden. It was
Speaker 1: carefully choreographed and open for display inside the palace positively
Speaker 1: bursts with paintings, sculptures, and tapestries depicting Louis's military triumphs,
Speaker 1: divine blessings, and classical virtues. It's propaganda by architecture, a
Speaker 1: world that flatters and subdues. At the heart of the
Speaker 1: palace is the famous Gallerie de Glacis, the Hall of Mirrors,
Speaker 1: completed in sixteen eighty four. Stretching two hundred and forty
Speaker 1: feet long, it is lined with seventeen mirrored arches, reflecting
Speaker 1: the seventeen windows opposite, which overlooked the royal gardens. This
Speaker 1: was the spot where courtiers gathered, ambassadors were awed, and
Speaker 1: power became visible. It was here, actually, two centuries later,
Speaker 1: that the German Empire would be proclaimed in eighteen seventy one,
Speaker 1: and later on, after the Great War, the Treaty of
Speaker 1: Versailles was signed in nineteen nineteen. A couple other notable
Speaker 1: things to point out as the King's bedchamber, the symbolic
Speaker 1: center of the palace, where Louis rose and retired in
Speaker 1: public ritual, reminding every one present that the state and
Speaker 1: the king were inseparable. There was the Royal Chapel, which
Speaker 1: was begun in sixteen eighty nine, combining Gothic verticality with
Speaker 1: classical grace. This was where every single morning Louis performed
Speaker 1: his role as Rex Christianimus, the most Christian King. And
Speaker 1: of course there were the guards, with their groves, fountains
Speaker 1: and sculptures arraigned along strict axial lines. These were used
Speaker 1: for performance as well strolls and state occasions. Versaill was
Speaker 1: not just a home, It was a machine of monarchy.
Speaker 1: By relocating the nobility to Versailles, Louis neutralized their independence.
Speaker 1: Ambitious courtiers now spent their days buying for favors who
Speaker 1: could be present at the LeVert the king's waking ceremony,
Speaker 1: or sit in the right row of his opera. In
Speaker 1: this glittering cage, political rivalry quickly turned into theater. The
Speaker 1: palace became a center not just of power, but of style,
Speaker 1: defining everything that it meant to be French dress, etiquette,
Speaker 1: even language. French became the language of diplomacy. Versailles became
Speaker 1: the model of taste all the way from Moscow to Madrid.
Speaker 1: Versailles shaped how power was seen. It pione near the
Speaker 1: idea that monarchy was performative. It was visible, endless, and
Speaker 1: with so much grandeur. The palace inspired rulers across Europe.
Speaker 1: Peter the Great built the Peterhoff, Frederick the Great had Saskanai,
Speaker 1: The Habsburgs remodeled the Sacher Run, all borrowed and mirrored
Speaker 1: on Versailles. But Versailles also foreshadowed the tensions that will
Speaker 1: ultimately pull apart the Assien regime. Its extravagance became for
Speaker 1: the common people a symbol of royal detachments. Its rituals
Speaker 1: came to seem hollow by the eve of the Revolution. Versailles,
Speaker 1: once the instrument of control, was seen as a gilded prison,
Speaker 1: totally out of touch with the suffering nation. In the end,
Speaker 1: the Palace of Versailles is both mirror and mask. It
Speaker 1: reflects the supreme ambition of one man and conceals the
Speaker 1: fragility that lay beneath. It remains one of the greatest
Speaker 1: architectural achievements in Western history. Not because it's beautiful, though
Speaker 1: of course it is, but because it made architecture speak
Speaker 1: the language of politics. To visit Versailles is to understand
Speaker 1: how stone, glass and garden were marshaled to embody an
Speaker 1: idea that all things in France turned towards their Apollo,
Speaker 1: their son, king, their Louis. Now, of course, there was
Speaker 1: a lot more to louis reign than just simply Versailles.
Speaker 1: Let's consider a couple of the wars, but also some
Speaker 1: of the religious ramifications. When Louis revoked the Edict of
Speaker 1: Nonsense sixteen eighty five and strengthened the grip on his realm,
Speaker 1: Protestant Europe was insulted, and so in sixteen eighty six
Speaker 1: the League of Augsburg was formed by the Holy Roman
Speaker 1: Empire Spain, which was definitely not but this is the
Speaker 1: era of strange bedfellows. What can I say Sweden, Bavaria,
Speaker 1: Saxony and others, which is essentially a defensive alliance against
Speaker 1: the shadow of French aggression. William of Orange's ascension to
Speaker 1: the English throne in sixteen eighty eight increased and expanded
Speaker 1: the coalition of the Grand Alliance, a federation that now
Speaker 1: included England, the Dutch Republic, Brandenburg, Russia and more. Now,
Speaker 1: the immediate cause of the war that was to come,
Speaker 1: which is referred to as the War of the Grand Alliance,
Speaker 1: was strategic sensing. Habsburg weakness after their triumph over the Turks,
Speaker 1: Louis seized the Palatinate in sixteen eighty eight, hoping to
Speaker 1: fill the power vacuum, but instead of forcing Europe to bow,
Speaker 1: he triggered an unprecedented coalition. Now battles flared up all
Speaker 1: across Europe at sea. The Dutch victory at La Hugue
Speaker 1: in sixteen ninety two ultimately would end French hopes of
Speaker 1: invading England. On land, the warfocused on the Spanish Netherlands,
Speaker 1: the Rhineland, Catalonium, and the small territory of Piedmont in
Speaker 1: northern Italy southern France. Despite some early successes, the French
Speaker 1: war machine, without their strongest general who actually died in
Speaker 1: sixteen ninety one, started to spot her out of control.
Speaker 1: A devastating famine gripped France. At the same time, public
Speaker 1: finances buckled and savoid, and that little kingdom defected actually
Speaker 1: in sixteen ninety six, which forced Louis to consider peace.
Speaker 1: The Peace of Riswick in sixteen ninety seven forced Louis
Speaker 1: to relinquish territories on the Rhine and Laurent and accept
Speaker 1: William's legitimacy in England. Ultimately It curtailed many of his ambitions,
Speaker 1: but he was able to maintain at least some of
Speaker 1: the gains that he had made in the territory of Alsays.
Speaker 1: As a consequence of the War of the Grand Coalition,
Speaker 1: Europe did remain very balanced. France was checked, it was
Speaker 1: militarily contained, and it had been humbled to an extent.
Speaker 1: Louis emerged with wounded pride. His frontier was now half
Speaker 1: intact and a determination and understanding that if Europe was
Speaker 1: left unchecked, that it could easily uncouple his grand design.
Speaker 1: The bigger war, though, was the War of the Spanish Succession,
Speaker 1: fought from seventeen oh one to seventeen fourteen. When Spain's
Speaker 1: Charles the Second died in seventeen hundred without a child,
Speaker 1: he bequeathed his empire to Philip, Duke of Anjous, Louis's grandson.
Speaker 1: Accepting this inheritance risked swallowing Europe with Bourbon hegemony everywhere.
Speaker 1: The Grand Alliance reformed, this time supporting the Hamsburg Archduke Charles,
Speaker 1: England later Great Britain, the Dutch, Austria and others all
Speaker 1: joined forces, this time against France and Spain. There were
Speaker 1: a couple of key battles that were fought throughout the period.
Speaker 1: The first was Blenheim in seventeen oh four. There, the
Speaker 1: Dukes of Savoy and several others were able to rout
Speaker 1: the French, which basically ended any hope that Louis had
Speaker 1: to be able to extend his own hegemony into the
Speaker 1: Danube River, recognizing once and for all that his territorial
Speaker 1: ambitions were going to be enclosed by the Rhine River. Again,
Speaker 1: at Remaze in seventeen o six there was another devastating
Speaker 1: blow struck as France was crushed in the low countries.
Speaker 1: Now more victories by the Allied forces were to come
Speaker 1: at Nard and Lilais and I'm doing my best, these
Speaker 1: pronunciations both fought in seventeen oh eight. Again, these were
Speaker 1: massive defeats along the northern frontier for the French and
Speaker 1: actually exposed northern France to the prospect of invasion for
Speaker 1: the first time in anyone's memory. Then, finally, in seventeen ten,
Speaker 1: there was finally a French victory at Renau, isolating British troops,
Speaker 1: and this ultimately confined the war to the Iberian theater
Speaker 1: once and for all. The war wound down seventeen fourteen,
Speaker 1: but Philip the Fifth was able to capture Barcelona, which
Speaker 1: ended the end of pro Habsburg resistance in Catalonia. But
Speaker 1: really it was a more of a question of exhaustion.
Speaker 1: By seventeen thirteen to seventeen fourteen, both sides had really
Speaker 1: fought to a draw, and both sides recognized they couldn't
Speaker 1: go forward, and so they signed the famous Treaty of
Speaker 1: Utrecht in seventeen thirteen and then was reinforced by a
Speaker 1: Treaty of Rastact Baden in seventeen fourteen. This recognized Philip
Speaker 1: the Fifth as King of Spain, but there was a
Speaker 1: proviso that France and Spain were barred from unifying. This
Speaker 1: is actually when Great Britain gains control of that tiny
Speaker 1: tip of the end of the Iberian Peninsula, Gibraltar. They
Speaker 1: also got Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and a slave trading monopoly
Speaker 1: with Spanish America. Austria received the Spanish Netherlands territories. France
Speaker 1: retained al Saints and of course got a boorbom Spain,
Speaker 1: but doubtless it had lost a significant amount of influence
Speaker 1: the war, more than anything else. And I'm going to
Speaker 1: build on this in our next few episodes cemented Great
Speaker 1: Britain's rise as the pre eminent European and colonial power.
Speaker 1: France emerged heavily bruised from the conflict. Its economy had
Speaker 1: been drained, its population over taxed, and its army quite
Speaker 1: frankly humbled in a variety of ways. In the end,
Speaker 1: Louis's final years were marked by personal loss, his age,
Speaker 1: his heirs, and ultimately the realization that his absolutist dream
Speaker 1: came at too great of a cost. Though the French Revolution,
Speaker 1: which he would never live to see, would be the
Speaker 1: ultimate consequence of the reign of Louis the fourteenth because
Speaker 1: even as the kingdom expanded, internal cohesion fell apart. Louis,
Speaker 1: ever insistent on Catholic uniformity, unleashed the infamous Dragonauts, and
Speaker 1: most consequently, as I mentioned, the revocation of the edictive
Speaker 1: Nons in sixteen eighty five. Without the Edict of Nons,
Speaker 1: the Huguenot or Protestant population of France was stripped of
Speaker 1: all of its rights. Skilled artisans, merchants and thinkers, people
Speaker 1: that France could use all fled in mass. Though the
Speaker 1: Palace had bassed in Golden ceremony. Now entire towns were
Speaker 1: emptied of all of their spirit of commerce and innovation.
Speaker 1: Colbert had once warned that his reforms require quotes the
Speaker 1: sacrifice of the king's amusements and even revenue. Some of
Speaker 1: that had come to pass, but it was honestly the
Speaker 1: exile of industrial and industrious Protestants French citizens that proved
Speaker 1: just as costly. Colbert's mercantilist policies did bolster revenue. Royal
Speaker 1: domains and indirect taxes surged in the early sixteen seventies.
Speaker 1: This forestalled inflation and gave France some breathing room. Now
Speaker 1: I want to talk about mercantilism for a moment. Mercantilism
Speaker 1: is the predominant economic theory of the colonial period. It
Speaker 1: is the economic theory that would dominate frankly European policy
Speaker 1: from the sixteen to the eighteenth centuries. At its core,
Speaker 1: mercantilism is the idea that a nation's wealth and power
Speaker 1: are best served by increasing exports and accumulating precious metals,
Speaker 1: especially gold and silver. Under mercantilist thinking, the global economy
Speaker 1: was a zero sum game. Every time your country got something,
Speaker 1: it was someone else's loss. We're actually kind of moving
Speaker 1: back into this. Interestingly enough, in modern day economic thinking,
Speaker 1: so countries sought to maximize their own economic output will
Speaker 1: minimizing imports through tariffs. Remember those trade monopolies and state
Speaker 1: sponsored manufacturing colonies played a crucial role in this, providing
Speaker 1: raw materials and serving as captive markets for finished goods.
Speaker 1: In France, of course, it was Colbert who became the
Speaker 1: great architect of kintilist policy. Colbert invested in state run industries,
Speaker 1: imposed high tariffs on royal goods, built roads and canals,
Speaker 1: and sought to make France economically self sufficient. Think France first, right,
Speaker 1: He wrote, quote the art of taxation consists in so
Speaker 1: plucking the goose as to obtain the largest possible amount
Speaker 1: of feathers with the smallest possible amount of hissing unquote. Sadly,
Speaker 1: that goose would be hissing before too long. Now, in short,
Speaker 1: mercantilism is more than an economic concept. It's really the
Speaker 1: marriage of economics and empire. Trade, not really as an
Speaker 1: economic idea of free exchange, but trade as a weapon
Speaker 1: of state power. Now, there's a couple of other things
Speaker 1: that happened in Louis's reign that are worth pointing out here.
Speaker 1: Louis codified civil procedure, the Code Louis in sixteen sixty seven,
Speaker 1: criminal regulation, forest law, and colonial slave codes. These laid
Speaker 1: the administrative foundations that would endure well beyond his and
Speaker 1: louis lifetime, of course, you know, and it's actually worth
Speaker 1: pointing out at this point that there is still one
Speaker 1: state in the United States that follows code law and
Speaker 1: not common law, and that is Louisiana, thanks to its
Speaker 1: French influence. Unfortunately, despite all these reforms and efforts, France
Speaker 1: at the end of Louis's reign continued to lag behind
Speaker 1: England and the Dutch Republic in per capita growth. Despite
Speaker 1: booming state creation, the economy was extremely poorous. These endless
Speaker 1: wars drained the treasuries, they took away France's manpower, and
Speaker 1: they chained peasants to mounting tax burdens. As Louis aged,
Speaker 1: the brilliant shine of Versailles dimmed under the weight of
Speaker 1: war and economic exhaustion. In seventeen fifteen, after seventy two
Speaker 1: years on the throne, the king whispered, according to a legend,
Speaker 1: I depart, but the state shall always remain. Now, look
Speaker 1: whether he was pursuing divine goals or pragmatic ones. The
Speaker 1: reality is Louis the fourteenth had transformed France. It was
Speaker 1: now the dominant culture of Europe. It was administratively centralized,
Speaker 1: and it was globally assertive. But its economy remained underdeveloped
Speaker 1: and was not able to lift the huge ambitions that
Speaker 1: Louis had hoisted on top of it. Loui's legacy is contradictory.
Speaker 1: He left Europe with a modern, centralized monarchy. He left
Speaker 1: France with an enormous debt. He vanished in splendor at Versailles,
Speaker 1: but his wars and his religious intolerance altered France's and
Speaker 1: the continent's future. The craftsmen who fled the Huguenots would
Speaker 1: ultimately fuel England's Industrial Revolution. Colonial wealth grew at home,
Speaker 1: but the poor groaned under taxation. Sure, the king had
Speaker 1: burned brightly, but the embers he left behind would shape
Speaker 1: revolution in ways They were quite literal