Question

In what ways did louis xiv's approach to controlling the french nobility differ from that taken by cardinal richelieu?

Answer 1

Let’s start with the Cardinal first. Richelieu was a talented statesman and politician, and as Chief Minister of the king (Louis XIII at that time) he consolidated royal power at the expense of the nobles, and made France a strong centralized state. The King Louis XIV, basically, followed the Cardinal’s footsteps and went further by housing most of them in the Versailles Palace. In addition, the king used entertaining, impressing, and domesticating them with extravagant luxury to keep a close eye and a heavy heel on the aristocracy.