Affected by the turbulent events in his youth, Louis the XIV was greatly influenced to make France an absolute monarchy under his rule. He became a master of propaganda and political image creation. Louis never missed an opportunity to impress his strong sense of the grandeur of his crown to the French people. As his authority in France grew, he made sure that the French nobles would not be left out. Although, he maintained control over foreign affairs and limited the influence of noble institutions on the monarchy, he never tried to abolish those institutions or limit their authority at the local level. Using these principles of propaganda and cooperation, Louis enforced his policies and crushed his opposition.
One of his main goals was to control the French nobility. Louis knew from history that the nobles of France had and c
Louis sought religious unity as well, his revocation of the Edict of Nantes launched a campaign against the French Huguenots. He pursued the Huguenots out of public life banning them from such professions as printing and medicine. Louis also used subsidies and selective taxation to encourage Huguenots to convert to Catholicism. During this time he was viewed as a new Philip II determined on a Catholic reconquest of all of Europe. As a result a quarter million French people emigrated to England, Germany, Holland, and the New World.
ontinued to cause problems in the form of social uprisings and other conflicts. Since Louis sought absolute power, he could not be preoccupied by civil conflicts, so he set out to control the nobles by constructing the palace court at Versailles. A spectacular estate with magnificent fountains and acres of orange g
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