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<v Speaker 1>Hello, and welcome to Western Siev episode four hundred and

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<v Speaker 1>seventy four. The son King now as the artillery reverberated

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<v Speaker 1>across the Spanish Netherlands in sixteen sixty seven, Louis the

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<v Speaker 1>fourteenth returned to his palace at Versailles, and we'll talk

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<v Speaker 1>about Versailles in just a moment. He was triumphant, but

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<v Speaker 1>the man wanted more. The war against the Netherlands had

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<v Speaker 1>been a bold opening move, but the most profound transformations

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<v Speaker 1>within the walls of Versailles, within France's finances, and within

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<v Speaker 1>the European theater at large were yet to come. Now.

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<v Speaker 1>In order to govern an increasely vast and ambitious kingdom,

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<v Speaker 1>Louis turned not to nobles of ancient pedigree, but who

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<v Speaker 1>he didn't trust, of course, and that was again because

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<v Speaker 1>of the rebellion that he faced early on when he

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<v Speaker 1>was very much a child. But instead he wanted a

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<v Speaker 1>new kind of servant. Today we would call these bureaucrats

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<v Speaker 1>or technocrats. I suppose it'd be more accurate loyal, competent

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<v Speaker 1>men who were unencumbered by feudal interests, and chief amongst these.

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<v Speaker 1>In Louis's second half of his reign was Jean Baptiste Colbert,

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<v Speaker 1>a man who would come to embody the financial and

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<v Speaker 1>administrative heartbeat of Louis's reign. Born in Reims in sixteen

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<v Speaker 1>nineteen to a family of cloth merchants, Colbert rose through

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<v Speaker 1>not lineage, but through sheer bureaucratic genius. He entered royal

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<v Speaker 1>service in the household of Cardinal Nazarene, who of course

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<v Speaker 1>had led France when Louis was a child, and there

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<v Speaker 1>he gained a reputation for discipline, thrift, and a boundless

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<v Speaker 1>energy and commitment to cause. By the time of Mazarine's

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<v Speaker 1>death in sixteen sixty one, Colbert had proven himself indispensable

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<v Speaker 1>to Louis, who made him Controller General des Finance in

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<v Speaker 1>sixteen sixty five. Over the next two decades, Colbert would

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<v Speaker 1>reshape the French economy in the way that Louis wanted it,

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<v Speaker 1>and Colbert famously told Louis quote since the death of

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<v Speaker 1>Henry the fourth, there has been want of necessity in

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<v Speaker 1>our finances. It is well to determine how we have

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<v Speaker 1>come about so long a time without a tolerably satisfactory

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<v Speaker 1>income end quote Wow, where would that income come from?

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<v Speaker 1>To find it, Colbert embarked on a truly sweeping campaign

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<v Speaker 1>of economic reform. He centralized royal revenues, he curbed the

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<v Speaker 1>corrupt excesses of tax farmers, and he forced local parliaments

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<v Speaker 1>into tighter obedience. One of the things we have to

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<v Speaker 1>remember about France is that, really, even going into the Revolution,

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<v Speaker 1>it is, to a large extent but still a patchwork

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<v Speaker 1>of feudal kingdoms. The laws in Provence could be different

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<v Speaker 1>in the laws of the royal demands around Paris. Likewise,

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<v Speaker 1>that could be different in Burgundy. That was something that

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<v Speaker 1>France was going to have to deal with, but that

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<v Speaker 1>it wouldn't truly deal with until the aftermath of the revolution.

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<v Speaker 1>Still under Colbert's guidance, forests became state managed resources. The

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<v Speaker 1>sixteen sixty nine Forestry Ordinance established sustainable harvest quotas for

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<v Speaker 1>the first time and detailed inventories of royal woodlands. New

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<v Speaker 1>manufactories producing mirrors, tapestries, lace and porcelain sprang up under

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<v Speaker 1>royal charters, many of them directly funded or subsidized by

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<v Speaker 1>the Crown. These weren't merely economic ventures. They were declarations

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<v Speaker 1>of national prestige and designed to keep French money within

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<v Speaker 1>France and rival foreign luxury. Now, of course, the Court

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<v Speaker 1>of Versailles, as we'll discuss in the moment, once just

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<v Speaker 1>a symbol of grandeur, quickly became also a tool of governance.

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<v Speaker 1>Nobles were kept close by, and that was by design.

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<v Speaker 1>Embers of potential rebellion were simply smothered in court etiquette, pageantry,

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<v Speaker 1>and crushing, crushing debt. In the place of these noble families,

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<v Speaker 1>long since decayed, Louis and Corbe built a vast bureaucracy

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<v Speaker 1>of intendance and inspectors, loyal and all replaceable. This was

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<v Speaker 1>more than just royal micromanagement. It was the transformation of

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<v Speaker 1>France into a centralized state, modern inform but of course

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<v Speaker 1>absolutist in spirit, As Louis famously declared, I am the

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<v Speaker 1>state now. Louis the fourteenth did a lot more than

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<v Speaker 1>just tax and regulate. He curated culture as well. He

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<v Speaker 1>founded the Paris Observatory in sixteen sixty seven, the Academie

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<v Speaker 1>Desciences Sciences, and the Royal Opera. He maintained personal friendships

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<v Speaker 1>with artists like Mouliere Luis Roissan, cultivating an image of

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<v Speaker 1>a king not just as a ruler, but as a

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<v Speaker 1>patron above all other patrons. And then, of course, as

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<v Speaker 1>I've alluded to multiple times, there was the Great Palace

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<v Speaker 1>at Versailles. Versailles wasn't just a palace. It was a statement,

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<v Speaker 1>a manifesto, built in marble and glass and gold, designed

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<v Speaker 1>not merely to house a king, but to some extent,

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<v Speaker 1>to be the king. To walk through the gilded halls

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<v Speaker 1>was to enter the very mind of Louis the fourteenth,

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<v Speaker 1>the son king whose vision transformed a modest hunting lodge

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<v Speaker 1>into one of the most famous and influential buildings in

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<v Speaker 1>the history of the world. Now the site of Versailles

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<v Speaker 1>began modestly enough. In sixteen twenty three, Louis the thirteenth

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<v Speaker 1>built a hunting lodge in the Marsha woodlands west of Paris.

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<v Speaker 1>It was a place to escape to, not to create spectacle,

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<v Speaker 1>but his son, Louis the fourteenth saw in the wilderness

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<v Speaker 1>something different. After the trauma of the Frond, the rebellion

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<v Speaker 1>I mentioned before, and a youth spent fleeing rebellious nobles,

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<v Speaker 1>Louis wanted to create a court he could control completely

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<v Speaker 1>geographically removed from Paris, architecturally overwhelming and psychologically irresistible construction

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<v Speaker 1>began in earnest in sixteen sixty one, the very year,

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<v Speaker 1>in fact, if you're keeping score, that Louis assumed personal rule.

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<v Speaker 1>He employed some of the greatest talents of the age,

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<v Speaker 1>Andre leynt Levau and of course his great master of gardens,

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<v Speaker 1>Charles Lebrun. Over the next two decades, Versailles would swell

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<v Speaker 1>into a sprawling symbol of royal authority. Everything at Versailles

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<v Speaker 1>revolves literally around the King. Louis the fourteenth was often

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<v Speaker 1>compared to Apollo, the sun god, and of course he

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<v Speaker 1>liked that the celestial metaphor desfined the design. The palace

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<v Speaker 1>simply radiates out if you look at it on a

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<v Speaker 1>map from the King's bedroom at the very center. Like

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<v Speaker 1>the sun itself. It is a universe and miniature in

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<v Speaker 1>so many ways, and Louis is always at the center.

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<v Speaker 1>The gardens extend in geometrical patterns, enforcing order over nature

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<v Speaker 1>and allegory for the monarch himself. Nothing wild grows in

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<v Speaker 1>Versailles without royal permission. Every tree is pruned, every fountain

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<v Speaker 1>precisely aligned. Power at Versailles was never hidden. It was

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<v Speaker 1>carefully choreographed and open for display inside the palace positively

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<v Speaker 1>bursts with paintings, sculptures, and tapestries depicting Louis's military triumphs,

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<v Speaker 1>divine blessings, and classical virtues. It's propaganda by architecture, a

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<v Speaker 1>world that flatters and subdues. At the heart of the

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<v Speaker 1>palace is the famous Gallerie de Glacis, the Hall of Mirrors,

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<v Speaker 1>completed in sixteen eighty four. Stretching two hundred and forty

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<v Speaker 1>feet long, it is lined with seventeen mirrored arches, reflecting

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<v Speaker 1>the seventeen windows opposite, which overlooked the royal gardens. This

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<v Speaker 1>was the spot where courtiers gathered, ambassadors were awed, and

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<v Speaker 1>power became visible. It was here, actually, two centuries later,

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<v Speaker 1>that the German Empire would be proclaimed in eighteen seventy one,

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<v Speaker 1>and later on, after the Great War, the Treaty of

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<v Speaker 1>Versailles was signed in nineteen nineteen. A couple other notable

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<v Speaker 1>things to point out as the King's bedchamber, the symbolic

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<v Speaker 1>center of the palace, where Louis rose and retired in

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<v Speaker 1>public ritual, reminding every one present that the state and

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<v Speaker 1>the king were inseparable. There was the Royal Chapel, which

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<v Speaker 1>was begun in sixteen eighty nine, combining Gothic verticality with

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<v Speaker 1>classical grace. This was where every single morning Louis performed

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<v Speaker 1>his role as Rex Christianimus, the most Christian King. And

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<v Speaker 1>of course there were the guards, with their groves, fountains

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<v Speaker 1>and sculptures arraigned along strict axial lines. These were used

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<v Speaker 1>for performance as well strolls and state occasions. Versaill was

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<v Speaker 1>not just a home, It was a machine of monarchy.

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<v Speaker 1>By relocating the nobility to Versailles, Louis neutralized their independence.

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<v Speaker 1>Ambitious courtiers now spent their days buying for favors who

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<v Speaker 1>could be present at the LeVert the king's waking ceremony,

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<v Speaker 1>or sit in the right row of his opera. In

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<v Speaker 1>this glittering cage, political rivalry quickly turned into theater. The

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<v Speaker 1>palace became a center not just of power, but of style,

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<v Speaker 1>defining everything that it meant to be French dress, etiquette,

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<v Speaker 1>even language. French became the language of diplomacy. Versailles became

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<v Speaker 1>the model of taste all the way from Moscow to Madrid.

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<v Speaker 1>Versailles shaped how power was seen. It pione near the

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<v Speaker 1>idea that monarchy was performative. It was visible, endless, and

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<v Speaker 1>with so much grandeur. The palace inspired rulers across Europe.

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<v Speaker 1>Peter the Great built the Peterhoff, Frederick the Great had Saskanai,

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<v Speaker 1>The Habsburgs remodeled the Sacher Run, all borrowed and mirrored

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<v Speaker 1>on Versailles. But Versailles also foreshadowed the tensions that will

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<v Speaker 1>ultimately pull apart the Assien regime. Its extravagance became for

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<v Speaker 1>the common people a symbol of royal detachments. Its rituals

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<v Speaker 1>came to seem hollow by the eve of the Revolution. Versailles,

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<v Speaker 1>once the instrument of control, was seen as a gilded prison,

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<v Speaker 1>totally out of touch with the suffering nation. In the end,

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<v Speaker 1>the Palace of Versailles is both mirror and mask. It

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<v Speaker 1>reflects the supreme ambition of one man and conceals the

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<v Speaker 1>fragility that lay beneath. It remains one of the greatest

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<v Speaker 1>architectural achievements in Western history. Not because it's beautiful, though

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<v Speaker 1>of course it is, but because it made architecture speak

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<v Speaker 1>the language of politics. To visit Versailles is to understand

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<v Speaker 1>how stone, glass and garden were marshaled to embody an

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<v Speaker 1>idea that all things in France turned towards their Apollo,

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<v Speaker 1>their son, king, their Louis. Now, of course, there was

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<v Speaker 1>a lot more to louis reign than just simply Versailles.

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<v Speaker 1>Let's consider a couple of the wars, but also some

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<v Speaker 1>of the religious ramifications. When Louis revoked the Edict of

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<v Speaker 1>Nonsense sixteen eighty five and strengthened the grip on his realm,

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<v Speaker 1>Protestant Europe was insulted, and so in sixteen eighty six

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<v Speaker 1>the League of Augsburg was formed by the Holy Roman

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<v Speaker 1>Empire Spain, which was definitely not but this is the

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<v Speaker 1>era of strange bedfellows. What can I say Sweden, Bavaria,

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<v Speaker 1>Saxony and others, which is essentially a defensive alliance against

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<v Speaker 1>the shadow of French aggression. William of Orange's ascension to

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<v Speaker 1>the English throne in sixteen eighty eight increased and expanded

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<v Speaker 1>the coalition of the Grand Alliance, a federation that now

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<v Speaker 1>included England, the Dutch Republic, Brandenburg, Russia and more. Now,

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<v Speaker 1>the immediate cause of the war that was to come,

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<v Speaker 1>which is referred to as the War of the Grand Alliance,

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<v Speaker 1>was strategic sensing. Habsburg weakness after their triumph over the Turks,

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<v Speaker 1>Louis seized the Palatinate in sixteen eighty eight, hoping to

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<v Speaker 1>fill the power vacuum, but instead of forcing Europe to bow,

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<v Speaker 1>he triggered an unprecedented coalition. Now battles flared up all

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<v Speaker 1>across Europe at sea. The Dutch victory at La Hugue

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<v Speaker 1>in sixteen ninety two ultimately would end French hopes of

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<v Speaker 1>invading England. On land, the warfocused on the Spanish Netherlands,

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<v Speaker 1>the Rhineland, Catalonium, and the small territory of Piedmont in

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<v Speaker 1>northern Italy southern France. Despite some early successes, the French

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<v Speaker 1>war machine, without their strongest general who actually died in

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<v Speaker 1>sixteen ninety one, started to spot her out of control.

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<v Speaker 1>A devastating famine gripped France. At the same time, public

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<v Speaker 1>finances buckled and savoid, and that little kingdom defected actually

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<v Speaker 1>in sixteen ninety six, which forced Louis to consider peace.

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<v Speaker 1>The Peace of Riswick in sixteen ninety seven forced Louis

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<v Speaker 1>to relinquish territories on the Rhine and Laurent and accept

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<v Speaker 1>William's legitimacy in England. Ultimately It curtailed many of his ambitions,

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<v Speaker 1>but he was able to maintain at least some of

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<v Speaker 1>the gains that he had made in the territory of Alsays.

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<v Speaker 1>As a consequence of the War of the Grand Coalition,

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<v Speaker 1>Europe did remain very balanced. France was checked, it was

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<v Speaker 1>militarily contained, and it had been humbled to an extent.

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<v Speaker 1>Louis emerged with wounded pride. His frontier was now half

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<v Speaker 1>intact and a determination and understanding that if Europe was

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<v Speaker 1>left unchecked, that it could easily uncouple his grand design.

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<v Speaker 1>The bigger war, though, was the War of the Spanish Succession,

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<v Speaker 1>fought from seventeen oh one to seventeen fourteen. When Spain's

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<v Speaker 1>Charles the Second died in seventeen hundred without a child,

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<v Speaker 1>he bequeathed his empire to Philip, Duke of Anjous, Louis's grandson.

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<v Speaker 1>Accepting this inheritance risked swallowing Europe with Bourbon hegemony everywhere.

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<v Speaker 1>The Grand Alliance reformed, this time supporting the Hamsburg Archduke Charles,

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<v Speaker 1>England later Great Britain, the Dutch, Austria and others all

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<v Speaker 1>joined forces, this time against France and Spain. There were

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<v Speaker 1>a couple of key battles that were fought throughout the period.

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<v Speaker 1>The first was Blenheim in seventeen oh four. There, the

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<v Speaker 1>Dukes of Savoy and several others were able to rout

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<v Speaker 1>the French, which basically ended any hope that Louis had

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<v Speaker 1>to be able to extend his own hegemony into the

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<v Speaker 1>Danube River, recognizing once and for all that his territorial

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<v Speaker 1>ambitions were going to be enclosed by the Rhine River. Again,

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<v Speaker 1>at Remaze in seventeen o six there was another devastating

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<v Speaker 1>blow struck as France was crushed in the low countries.

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<v Speaker 1>Now more victories by the Allied forces were to come

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<v Speaker 1>at Nard and Lilais and I'm doing my best, these

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<v Speaker 1>pronunciations both fought in seventeen oh eight. Again, these were

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<v Speaker 1>massive defeats along the northern frontier for the French and

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<v Speaker 1>actually exposed northern France to the prospect of invasion for

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<v Speaker 1>the first time in anyone's memory. Then, finally, in seventeen ten,

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<v Speaker 1>there was finally a French victory at Renau, isolating British troops,

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<v Speaker 1>and this ultimately confined the war to the Iberian theater

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<v Speaker 1>once and for all. The war wound down seventeen fourteen,

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<v Speaker 1>but Philip the Fifth was able to capture Barcelona, which

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<v Speaker 1>ended the end of pro Habsburg resistance in Catalonia. But

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<v Speaker 1>really it was a more of a question of exhaustion.

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<v Speaker 1>By seventeen thirteen to seventeen fourteen, both sides had really

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<v Speaker 1>fought to a draw, and both sides recognized they couldn't

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<v Speaker 1>go forward, and so they signed the famous Treaty of

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<v Speaker 1>Utrecht in seventeen thirteen and then was reinforced by a

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<v Speaker 1>Treaty of Rastact Baden in seventeen fourteen. This recognized Philip

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<v Speaker 1>the Fifth as King of Spain, but there was a

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<v Speaker 1>proviso that France and Spain were barred from unifying. This

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<v Speaker 1>is actually when Great Britain gains control of that tiny

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<v Speaker 1>tip of the end of the Iberian Peninsula, Gibraltar. They

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<v Speaker 1>also got Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and a slave trading monopoly

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<v Speaker 1>with Spanish America. Austria received the Spanish Netherlands territories. France

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<v Speaker 1>retained al Saints and of course got a boorbom Spain,

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<v Speaker 1>but doubtless it had lost a significant amount of influence

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<v Speaker 1>the war, more than anything else. And I'm going to

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<v Speaker 1>build on this in our next few episodes cemented Great

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<v Speaker 1>Britain's rise as the pre eminent European and colonial power.

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<v Speaker 1>France emerged heavily bruised from the conflict. Its economy had

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<v Speaker 1>been drained, its population over taxed, and its army quite

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<v Speaker 1>frankly humbled in a variety of ways. In the end,

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<v Speaker 1>Louis's final years were marked by personal loss, his age,

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<v Speaker 1>his heirs, and ultimately the realization that his absolutist dream

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<v Speaker 1>came at too great of a cost. Though the French Revolution,

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<v Speaker 1>which he would never live to see, would be the

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<v Speaker 1>ultimate consequence of the reign of Louis the fourteenth because

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<v Speaker 1>even as the kingdom expanded, internal cohesion fell apart. Louis,

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<v Speaker 1>ever insistent on Catholic uniformity, unleashed the infamous Dragonauts, and

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<v Speaker 1>most consequently, as I mentioned, the revocation of the edictive

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<v Speaker 1>Nons in sixteen eighty five. Without the Edict of Nons,

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<v Speaker 1>the Huguenot or Protestant population of France was stripped of

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<v Speaker 1>all of its rights. Skilled artisans, merchants and thinkers, people

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<v Speaker 1>that France could use all fled in mass. Though the

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<v Speaker 1>Palace had bassed in Golden ceremony. Now entire towns were

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<v Speaker 1>emptied of all of their spirit of commerce and innovation.

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<v Speaker 1>Colbert had once warned that his reforms require quotes the

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<v Speaker 1>sacrifice of the king's amusements and even revenue. Some of

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<v Speaker 1>that had come to pass, but it was honestly the

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<v Speaker 1>exile of industrial and industrious Protestants French citizens that proved

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<v Speaker 1>just as costly. Colbert's mercantilist policies did bolster revenue. Royal

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<v Speaker 1>domains and indirect taxes surged in the early sixteen seventies.

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<v Speaker 1>This forestalled inflation and gave France some breathing room. Now

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<v Speaker 1>I want to talk about mercantilism for a moment. Mercantilism

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<v Speaker 1>is the predominant economic theory of the colonial period. It

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<v Speaker 1>is the economic theory that would dominate frankly European policy

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<v Speaker 1>from the sixteen to the eighteenth centuries. At its core,

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<v Speaker 1>mercantilism is the idea that a nation's wealth and power

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<v Speaker 1>are best served by increasing exports and accumulating precious metals,

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<v Speaker 1>especially gold and silver. Under mercantilist thinking, the global economy

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<v Speaker 1>was a zero sum game. Every time your country got something,

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<v Speaker 1>it was someone else's loss. We're actually kind of moving

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<v Speaker 1>back into this. Interestingly enough, in modern day economic thinking,

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<v Speaker 1>so countries sought to maximize their own economic output will

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<v Speaker 1>minimizing imports through tariffs. Remember those trade monopolies and state

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<v Speaker 1>sponsored manufacturing colonies played a crucial role in this, providing

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<v Speaker 1>raw materials and serving as captive markets for finished goods.

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<v Speaker 1>In France, of course, it was Colbert who became the

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<v Speaker 1>great architect of kintilist policy. Colbert invested in state run industries,

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<v Speaker 1>imposed high tariffs on royal goods, built roads and canals,

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<v Speaker 1>and sought to make France economically self sufficient. Think France first, right,

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<v Speaker 1>He wrote, quote the art of taxation consists in so

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<v Speaker 1>plucking the goose as to obtain the largest possible amount

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<v Speaker 1>of feathers with the smallest possible amount of hissing unquote. Sadly,

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<v Speaker 1>that goose would be hissing before too long. Now, in short,

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<v Speaker 1>mercantilism is more than an economic concept. It's really the

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<v Speaker 1>marriage of economics and empire. Trade, not really as an

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<v Speaker 1>economic idea of free exchange, but trade as a weapon

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<v Speaker 1>of state power. Now, there's a couple of other things

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<v Speaker 1>that happened in Louis's reign that are worth pointing out here.

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<v Speaker 1>Louis codified civil procedure, the Code Louis in sixteen sixty seven,

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<v Speaker 1>criminal regulation, forest law, and colonial slave codes. These laid

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<v Speaker 1>the administrative foundations that would endure well beyond his and

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<v Speaker 1>louis lifetime, of course, you know, and it's actually worth

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<v Speaker 1>pointing out at this point that there is still one

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<v Speaker 1>state in the United States that follows code law and

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<v Speaker 1>not common law, and that is Louisiana, thanks to its

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<v Speaker 1>French influence. Unfortunately, despite all these reforms and efforts, France

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<v Speaker 1>at the end of Louis's reign continued to lag behind

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<v Speaker 1>England and the Dutch Republic in per capita growth. Despite

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<v Speaker 1>booming state creation, the economy was extremely poorous. These endless

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<v Speaker 1>wars drained the treasuries, they took away France's manpower, and

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<v Speaker 1>they chained peasants to mounting tax burdens. As Louis aged,

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<v Speaker 1>the brilliant shine of Versailles dimmed under the weight of

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<v Speaker 1>war and economic exhaustion. In seventeen fifteen, after seventy two

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<v Speaker 1>years on the throne, the king whispered, according to a legend,

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<v Speaker 1>I depart, but the state shall always remain. Now, look

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<v Speaker 1>whether he was pursuing divine goals or pragmatic ones. The

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<v Speaker 1>reality is Louis the fourteenth had transformed France. It was

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<v Speaker 1>now the dominant culture of Europe. It was administratively centralized,

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<v Speaker 1>and it was globally assertive. But its economy remained underdeveloped

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<v Speaker 1>and was not able to lift the huge ambitions that

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<v Speaker 1>Louis had hoisted on top of it. Loui's legacy is contradictory.

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<v Speaker 1>He left Europe with a modern, centralized monarchy. He left

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<v Speaker 1>France with an enormous debt. He vanished in splendor at Versailles,

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<v Speaker 1>but his wars and his religious intolerance altered France's and

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<v Speaker 1>the continent's future. The craftsmen who fled the Huguenots would

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<v Speaker 1>ultimately fuel England's Industrial Revolution. Colonial wealth grew at home,

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<v Speaker 1>but the poor groaned under taxation. Sure, the king had

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<v Speaker 1>burned brightly, but the embers he left behind would shape

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<v Speaker 1>revolution in ways They were quite literal