Louis wanted a truly splendid setting for his monarchy. The Louvre did not really suit him. He disliked Paris because of his memories of the Fronde.
Originally a hunting lodge outside Paris, Versailles reflected Louis' grandeur. Louis hired the best architects, painters, and gardeners to turn it into a magnificent royal residence. The palace of Versailles required thirty-two years to complete. The cost is believed to have been about $100 million. The exact cost cannot be determined; Louis is believed to have had the records destroyed. About thirty-five thousand men were required to build Versailles.
Versailles could accommodate ten thousand persons. It had hundreds of rooms, marble columns, polished inlaid floors, brilliant rugs and tapestries, and painted ceilings. The surrounding countryside was molded into formal gardens and parks with classical Greek statues and fountains. Avenues spread out on all sides like the rays of the sun.
Officials and nobles were maintained at Versailles on Louis' generosity. Nobles who had once spent their time fighting the king were now content to live in his favor. They had nothing to do except serve and amuse Louis. Louis made the nobles dependent on him and kept them under his careful watch.
Life at Versailles was governed by rigid etiquette revolving around the king. Everything was accompanied by ceremony. One hundred fifty persons would attend Louis' awakening in the morning and help him dress. The nobles would politely listen when Louis brought artists and writers to court.
Europe followed the French example. French dress and manners were imitated in other European courts. French became the language of polite society and the official language of many royal courts. Following the example of Louis XIV, many rulers encouraged writers and artists. Some tried to imitate the splendor of the French court. Louis' interest in the fine arts and architecture made the French call his reign the Grand Century and Louis the Grand Monarch.
The Thirty Years' War had not ended the rivalry between the Bourbons and the Hapsburgs. Although territorial gains had been made, France was still surrounded by the Hapsburgs. Louis was determined to correct the situation. Another motivation for war was the desire to extend France to her "natural boundaries" the Rhine River, the Alps, and the Pyrennes Mountains. Other nations did not want the balance of power upset and opposed Louis on four different occasions, in four different wars.
The first war was the War of Devotion, or the War of the Spanish Netherlands (1667-1668). On the pretext of protecting the territorial rights of Maria Theresa, Louis' wife, French armies invaded the Spanish Netherlands. The Dutch feared for their security and formed an alliance against France. This alliance angered Louis. He bought off England and Sweden, the allies of the Dutch. France gained twelve areas from Spain, including Lille.
The second war, the Dutch War, began when Louis again tried to conquer the Spanish Netherlands in 1672. This time the Dutch allied with Austria and Spain and stopped Louis in 1678. France gained the Franche-Comte from Spain.
The War of the League of Augsburg was the third war. Louis seized areas along the Rhine River. Several territories including the Holy Roman Empire, Spain, Sweden, and several German states formed the League of Augsburg to oppose France. Later the League became the Grand Alliance when England joined it. This alliance marked a new stage in the struggle. Before this time Louis could count on English neutrality. However, William III had become king of England after the Glorious Revolution; and William was also the Stadholder of Holland and an enemy of France. The war lasted from 1689 to 1697. France was finally forced to sue for peace because of the heavy cost in men and money. Nevertheless, France did gain Strasbourg.
The fourth war, the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1713), was the most costly and the last important stage of the Bourbon and Hapsburg struggle. The conflict concerned the succession of the throne of Spain. Although Spain had declined, it still controlled a large part of Europe and the American colonies. The last Spanish Hapsburg, Charles II, died in 1700. He left his possessions to Louis' grandson, Philip. The other nations refused to acknowledge him. They did not want Bourbons in Paris and Madrid. They feared Louis would unite the crowns and form an empire stretching from the Netherlands to Sicily.
England, The Dutch Netherlands, Austria, and Prussia allied against France. The war began in 1702 and was fought in Europe and America where it was called Queen Anne's War after the queen of England. The allies had John Churchill, a master of strategy, as their general. They won several victories, including Blenheim on the Danube river in 1704 and Oudenarde in the Spanish Netherlands in 1708.
Peace was finally reached by the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713. France kept some colonies but lost Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, and Hudson Bay to England; Spain ceded Gibraltar to England; Austria received Naples, Milan, and Sardinia; and the Spanish Netherlands became the Austrian Netherlands. The treaty recognized two new royal families: the Savoy in Italy and the Hohenzollern in Germany. Philip did become king of Spain as Philip V but on the stipulation that the crowns of Spain and France would never unite. However, Spain was reduced to subservience to France.
