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- The massacre occurred when many Huguenotnobles were in Paris. They were attending the marriage of Catherine’s daughterto a Huguenot prince, Henry of Navarre. Mostof these nobles died, but Henry survived.
- As France regained political power, a new French intellectual movement developed. French thinkers had witnessed the religious wars with horror. What they sawturned them toward skepticism, the idea that nothing can ever be known for certain. These thinkers expressed an attitude of doubt toward churches that claimed tohave the only correct set of doctrines. To doubt old ideas, skeptics thought, was thefirst step toward finding truth.
- The efforts of Henry IV and Richelieu to strengthen theFrench monarchy paved the way for the most powerful rulerin French history—Louis XIV. In Louis’s view, he and thestate were one and the same.Louis Weakens the Nobles’ Authority When CardinalMazarin died in 1661, the 22-year-old Louis took control ofthe government himself. He weakened the power of thenobles by excluding them from his councils
- Louis Controls the Nobility Every morning, the chief valet woke Louis at 8:30.Outside the curtains of Louis’s canopy bed stood at least 100 of the most privilegednobles at court. They were waiting to help the great king dress.
- Louis XIV’s palace at Versailles was proof of his absolute power.Only a ruler with total control over his country’s economy couldafford such a lavish palace. It cost an estimated $2.5 billion in 2003dollars.It took so much water to run allthe fountains at once that it wasdone only for special events. Onother days, when the kingwalked in the garden, servantswould turn on fountains justbefore he reached them.The fountains were turned offafter he walked away.
- Attempts to Expand France’s Boundaries In 1667, just six years after Mazarin’sdeath, Louis invaded the Spanish Netherlands in an effort to expand France’sboundaries. Through this campaign, he gained 12 towns. Encouraged by his success, he personally led an army into the Dutch Netherlands in 1672.War of the Spanish Succession Tired of hardship, the French people longed forpeace. What they got was another war. In 1700, the childless king of Spain,Charles II, died after promising his throne to Louis XIV’s 16-year-old grandson,Philip of Anjou.
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