Government and Economics of France in the 16-18th Century

Any monetary system that allows a state an unrestrained ability to pull money out of its people allows that state to be unrestrained in its ambitions. That encourages excuses for war. Mercantilism was an economic program that controlled the economy exclusively to benefit select groups of people. It was designed to increase gold and silver in France by encouraging exports and discouraging imports. The government said they were against the guild system, but their actions exclusively helped the guild system.

The Edict of Nantes was a religious toleration act. The revocation of the Edict was an effort by King Louis XIV to placate the Pope. The effort was an attempt to end the remaining religious divisions in France, ultimately, by eliminating the Huguenots through terror and torture.

The wars of France in the latter half of the seventeenth century were mainly motivated by a desire to expand the French territory. In the Franco-Dutch War strengthening the borders was a rationale. In the Franco-Dutch War strengthening the borders was a rationale. This, however, did not sit well with other countries. France was already a powerful country. Expanding their territory was not a good thing. The Nine Years' War was caused by France saying that they had claim to some German territory and trying to take it. France crippled the Palatinate, an entire region of Germany. This left the citizens to wander the territory or vacate to other regions. This brutal act caused other countries to gang up on France. France was blood-hungry at this time, so the other countries wanted to stop France before they got to them.

When Charles II of Spain died childless, the succession of his territories (more than just Spain) was disputed. Louis XIV of France and the Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I both claimed the territories leading to the War of Spanish Succession. If a single country gained ownership of Spain and it's territories they would become a global superpower. Everyone wanted Spain, but they were not going to risk it going into someone else's hands. A treaty was proposed splitting up the Spanish territories and creating a power balance. Everyone agreed to this treaty except for France. This was especially bad because France was a mercantilist country. So they forcibly tried to sell everything, but would buy in return. It would be a terrible scenario for a mercantilist country to gain Spain.