Answer:
C. to extend royal authority throughout France.
Explanation:
At the death of Mazarin, in 1661, Louis XIV began his personal government that lasted 54 years (until his death in 1715). He did not want to leave the function of governing in the hands of another person, and exercised power directly, personally calling the ministers, intervening in all matters that he considered important and controlling, through the intendants, the entire French territory.
Louis XIV was fully convinced of the divine origin of his power, something that everyone recognized without daring to deny it. Since childhood he had been repeated that he was almost a god, a "visible divinity", a man different from others, because he was King "by the grace of God" and only before him should he be held accountable. No man could judge the king and nothing was alien to him. Luis XIV took as a emblem of his reign a shining sun and hence the nickname with which he is known as "the Sun King".
