Page 403 - Western Civilization A Brief History, Volume I To 1715 9th - Jackson J. Spielvogel

Interior of Versailles: The Hall of Mirrors. Pictured here is the exquisite Hall of Mirrors at Versailles. Located on the second floor, the hall overlooks the park below. Three hundred and fifty-seven mirrors were placed on the wall opposite the windows to create an illusion of even greater width. This photo shows the Hall of Mirrors after the restoration work that was completed in June 2007, a project that took three years, cost 12 million euros (more than $16 million), and included the restoration of the Bohemian crystal chandeliers.
the new edict provided for the destruction of the Huguenots’ churches and the closing of Protestant schools.
FINANCIAL ISSUES The cost of building Versailles and other palaces, maintaining his court, and pursuing his wars made finances a crucial issue for Louis XIV. He was most fortunate in having the services of Jean-Baptiste Colbert (ZHAHNH-bah-TEEST kohl- BAYR) (1619–1683) as controller-general of finances. Colbert was an avid practitioner of mercantilism (see Chapter 14). To decrease the need for imports and increase exports, he founded new luxury industries and granted special privileges, including tax exemp- tions, loans, and subsidies, to individuals who estab- lished new industries. To improve communications
and the transportation of goods internally, he built roads and canals. To decrease imports directly, Col- bert raised tariffs on foreign manufactured goods and created a merchant marine to carry French goods.
THE WARS OF LOUIS XIV Both the increase in royal power that Louis pursued and his desire for military glory led the king to develop a professional army number- ing 100,000 men in peacetime and 400,000 in time of war. Louis made war an almost incessant activity of his reign. To achieve the prestige and military glory befitting the Sun King as well as to ensure the domination of his Bourbon dynasty over European affairs, Louis waged four wars between 1667 and 1713. His ambitions roused much of Europe to form
The Practice of Absolutism: Western Europe 365
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Chateaux de Versailles et de Trianon (Thierry Ollivier)//a RMN-Grand Palais/Art Resource, NY