By now all but a few vestiges of feudalism were gone from France. In 1624, Louis XIII appointed a Catholic cardinal, the duc de Richelieu, his chief minister. Amassing enormous power, Richelieu virtually ruled the country until his death in 1642. His sole objective was investing the monarchy with total power -- he committed a series of truly horrible acts trying to attain this goal and paved the way for the eventual absolutism of Louis XIV.
Although he ascended the throne when he was only 9, with the help of his Sicilian-born chief minister, Cardinal Mazarin, Louis XIV was the most powerful monarch Europe had seen since the Roman emperors. Through a brilliant military campaign against Spain and a judicious marriage to one of its royal daughters, he expanded France to include the southern provinces of Artois and Roussillon. A series of diplomatic and military victories along the Flemish border expanded the country north and east. The estimated population of France at this time was 20 million, as opposed to 8 million in England and 6 million in Spain. French colonies in Canada, the West Indies, and America (Louisiana) were stronger than ever. The mercantilism that Louis's finance minister, Colbert, implemented was one of the era's most important fiscal policies, increasing France's power and wealth. The arts flourished, as did a sense of aristocratic style that's remembered with bittersweet nostalgia today. Louis's palace of Versailles is the perfect monument to the most flamboyant and excessive era in French history.
Louis's ambitions so threatened the rest of Europe that its kingdoms, led by William of Orange, united to hold him in check. France conducted a series of expensive wars that, coupled with high taxes and bad harvests, stirred up much discontent. England was a threat to France within Europe and in the global rush for colonies. The Atlantic ports, especially Bordeaux, grew and prospered with France's success in the West Indian slave and sugar trades. Despite the country's power, the number of French colonies diminished, due to the naval power of the English. The rise of Prussia as a militaristic neighbor was also problematic.
