Explain how Louis XIV reinforced his power in France

     The rule of Louis XIV started in 1661, after a huge movement of protest against the man that currently ruled France, Mazarin. His power, at the time, was very contested. The current man ruling the country not being a noble or a man that was French, his power was very much challenged. So when he came to the position of king, he had to make some changes. This takes place in France, between 1661, beginning of his actual reign, and 1715, date of his death. But how did he strengthen his power over the territory of France ? First of all, we will see how he reinstored catholism in France and how this reinforced his power, then how he controlled the nobles and finally, what the people that were against him reproached him.

    To begin with, Louis XIV made it impossible for protestants to be able to exert their religion in France. He published in 1685 an text called "edit de Fontainebleau", which primarily meant that protestants werent allowed to live in France anymore. But why would he do that ? The main reason is because the Church designed the king's power as a sign of God. This was a way to assert power of the kingdom. If everyone was catholic and believed the king's power was god's will, no one would dare contest it. Another reason may be that if all the power was in the church, Louis XIV would just have to take the church on his side to make his whole population on his side. This is how he gained power over the working class. But what about the nobles ?

    Louis XIV was a king known for his huge parties and balls, where every French noble would dream of going at the time. But how was this a form on control over the nobles ? Well, imagine all the nobles are always at parties, seeing the good side of France, spending money on trying to please the king. The money goes into wanting to impress the king, and not building armies to rebel against him. All this was methodically thought. Most nobles were then trying to get into the king's court, and nobody eve thought of rebelling against him.

   But even with all that, his power was still contested. The French population, especially those who were taught how to read and write, started revolting against the king, even if it wasnt enough to cause a rebellion. They accused him of doing too many wars, letting the kingdom die of hunger and taking too much money from the people. This was of course very rare, no one dared to contest the power of the king at that time because they either thought the king was god's subordinate or they thought he was so grand for organizing huge parties.

   In conclusion, the king Louis XIV instored his power through the french kingdom in many different ways. He controlled the working class by making himself look like god's choice and the nobles by making France seem rich to them and not a place whose power you should contest. But despite all his effort, people still contested his power.