France was riddled with warfare under the reign of King Louis XIV. As a despotic absolutist, he used Mercantilism to afford these endless wars. It worked, for a time, and he sequestered power around the throne with an iron grip. But towards the end of his reign, he realized the futility of such military endeavors. His parting advice to his grandson was to avoid warfare and pursue peace, calling it “the ruin of all peoples.”1
The War of Devolution (1667-68) was a French war over the Spanish Netherlands. He claimed a right to this territory through his wife because she was the immediate daughter of King Philip IV of Spain. However, upon their marriage, she agreed to forfeit any right to the Spanish throne. In exchange, she and Louis would receive a substantial dowry. But they never received the dowry, and after King Philip died in 1665, Louis claimed a right to the Spanish throne since the dowry was never paid. Although his troops invaded Spain, a triple alliance was formed against him between the English, Swedish, and Dutch. Moreover, Emperor Leopold of the Holy Roman Empire demanded concessions and formed an agreement with Louis on which provinces in the Spanish Netherlands he could control. Thus Louis ended the war in 1668, forming a peace treaty at Aix-la-Chapelle.
The Nine Years’ War (1688-1697) was another one of Louis’ attempts to expand his territorial possessions. Once again, most of Europe allied against him. After he used scorched-earth tactics during the Siege of Palatinate, five powers united in the “Grand Alliance” to defeat French expansion: the Holy Roman Empire, England, Savoy, Spain, and the Dutch Republic. The war persisted for nine years, but it bankrupted France. Towards its peak, France spent three times their national revenues on expenses to fund the war. Just to convey how costly it was, Louis was even forced to melt his silverware for funding. In the end, he was left with practically nothing. Most of his conquered territories were given up. And all he inherited was a weary military and a bankrupted nation. That is the price of war.
- King Louis XIV, Death of Louis XIV, 1715, (Paris, France: Chatea de Versailles), web. https://en.chateauversailles.fr/discover/history/key-dates/death-louis-xiv-1715#:~:text=He%20recommended%20him%20to%20lighten,remain%20%E2%80%9Ca%20peaceful%20prince%E2%80%9D., par. 2 ↩︎
Asher Sisneros 