How did Louis XIV control the ambitions of the French nobility? How did his methods compare to those of Richelieu?
1 Answer
Louis also managed to pacify and disempower the nobles, who had hustorically have been a source of trouble and unrest fomented civil. He achieved this by luring them to his court and habituating them to the opulent lifestyle there.
Louis XIV installed his royal court at Versailles. He required all the great nobility of France, to come live at Versailles for at least part of the year. This has the effect of reducing one major threat to his power - Nobility. He separated power from status and grandeur: secured the nobles' cooperation. Louis XIV required the nobles to live at the palace. This was like an opulent prison because Louis XIV required them to live there for part of the year. It weakened the nobles by accustoming them to opulance and decadent activity.
One can argue that on the net Louis set a strong central government with the monarch firmly at the center with control of all governmental, social, military and economical matters.
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