Contributions to the Revolution
Louis XIV, the king of France, dictated irrefutable rule on France and fought a series of wars trying to dominate Europe. Louis's unwavering aim was to glorify France, to grid its defenses on the northern and eastern frontiers, and to prevent any resurgence of the power of the Hapsburg dynasty, which had formerly threatened France on two sides by its control over Spain and Germany. In 1661, Louis had spent $100 million dollars to build the Versailles Palace. Finally in 1715, Louis died leaving his country in debt from the money he spent supporting the arts.
Foreign Wars
In 1667, declaring his wife's right of endowment, Louis invaded the Spanish Netherlands. Later in 1672, he gathered an army against Holland which gave him the Franche-Comte region and most forts in Flanders. While his armies were battling Dutch Protestants, Louis had been denying religious liberty to the Protestants (Huguenots) of France and tightening control over his Roman Catholic clergy. In 1685, determined to force conversion of the Huguenots, he revoked their charter of liberties, the Edict of Nantes, forcing more than 200,000 into exile and igniting the Camisards' revolt. Louis' last military venture, the War of the Spanish Succession, stemmed from his acceptance of the Spanish throne in behalf of his grandson, Philip. Louis's armies, opposed by an alliance if the European powers, lost most of the major battles, but won control of Spain
