Editing Louis XIV (section)

==Early wars in the Low Countries==
{{Main|War of Devolution|Franco-Dutch War}}

===Spain===
[[File:Louis XIV by Robert Nanteuil 1670.jpeg|thumb|left|upright|Louis{{Nbsp}}XIV in 1670, engraved portrait by [[Robert Nanteuil]]]]
[[File:Gentlemen here is the King of Spain.jpg|thumb|The future Philip{{Nbsp}}V being introduced as King of Spain by his grandfather, Louis XIV]]

The death of Louis's maternal uncle King [[Philip&nbsp;IV of Spain]] in 1665 precipitated the [[War of Devolution]]. In 1660, Louis had married Philip{{Nbsp}}IV's eldest daughter, [[Maria Theresa of Spain|Maria Theresa]], as one of the provisions of the 1659 [[Treaty of the Pyrenees]].{{Sfn|Wolf|1968|p=117}} The marriage treaty specified that Maria Theresa was to renounce all claims to Spanish territory for herself and all her descendants.{{Sfn|Wolf|1968|p=117}} Mazarin and [[Hugues de Lionne|Lionne]], however, made the renunciation conditional on the full payment of a Spanish dowry of 500,000 [[écu]]s.{{Sfn|Dunlop|2000|p=54}} The dowry was never paid and would later play a part persuading his maternal first cousin [[Charles&nbsp;II of Spain]] to leave his empire to Philip, Duke of Anjou (later [[Philip&nbsp;V of Spain]]), the grandson of Louis{{Nbsp}}XIV and Maria Theresa.

The [[War of Devolution]] did not focus on the payment of the dowry; rather, the lack of payment was what Louis{{Nbsp}}XIV used as a pretext for nullifying Maria Theresa's renunciation of her claims, allowing the land to "devolve" to him. In [[Duchy of Brabant|Brabant]] (the location of the land in dispute), children of first marriages traditionally were not disadvantaged by their parents' remarriages and still inherited property. Louis's wife was Philip{{Nbsp}}IV's daughter by his first marriage, while the new king of Spain, Charles{{Nbsp}}II, was his son by a subsequent marriage. Thus, Brabant allegedly "devolved" to Maria Theresa, justifying France to attack the [[Spanish Netherlands]].

===Relations with the Dutch===
[[File:Louis XIV crosses the Rhine at Lobith - Lodewijk XIV trekt bij het Tolhuis bij Lobith de Rijn over, 12 juni 1672 (Adam Frans van der Meulen).jpg|thumb|right|250px|The [[Battle of Tolhuis]], Louis{{Nbsp}}XIV crosses the [[Lower Rhine]] at Lobith on 12 June 1672; [[Rijksmuseum|Rijksmuseum Amsterdam]]]]
During the [[Eighty Years' War]] with [[Habsburg Spain|Spain]], France supported the [[Dutch Republic]] as part of a general policy of opposing Habsburg power. [[Johan de Witt]], Dutch [[Grand Pensionary]] from 1653 to 1672, viewed this as crucial for Dutch security and a counterweight against his domestic [[Prince of Orange|Orangist]] opponents. Louis provided support in the 1665-1667 [[Second Anglo-Dutch War]] but used the opportunity to launch the [[War of Devolution]] in 1667. This captured [[Franche-Comté]] and much of the [[Spanish Netherlands]]; French expansion in this area was a direct threat to Dutch economic interests.{{Sfn|Israel|1990|pp=197–199}}

The Dutch opened talks with [[Charles&nbsp;II of England]] on a common diplomatic front against France, leading to the [[Triple Alliance (1668)|Triple Alliance]], between England, the Dutch and [[Swedish Empire|Sweden]]. The threat of an escalation and a secret treaty to divide Spanish possessions with [[Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor|Emperor Leopold]], the other major claimant to the throne of Spain, led Louis to relinquish many of his gains in the 1668 [[Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1668)|Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle]].{{Sfn|Hutton|1986|pp=299–300}}

Louis placed little reliance on his agreement with [[Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor|Leopold]] and as it was now clear French and Dutch aims were in direct conflict, he decided to first defeat the [[Dutch Republic|Republic]], then seize the Spanish Netherlands. This required breaking up the Triple Alliance; he paid Sweden to remain neutral and signed the 1670 [[Secret Treaty of Dover]] with Charles, an Anglo-French alliance against the Dutch Republic. In May 1672, France invaded the [[Dutch Republic|Republic]], supported by [[Prince-Bishopric of Münster|Münster]] and the [[Electorate of Cologne]].{{Sfn|Lynn|1999|pp=109-110}}
[[File:Louis XIV, King of France, after Lefebvre - Les collections du château de Versailles.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Louis{{Nbsp}}XIV, 1670, by [[Claude Lefèbvre]]]]
Rapid French advance led to a coup that toppled De Witt and brought [[William III of England|William&nbsp;III]] to power. [[Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor|Leopold]] viewed French expansion into the Rhineland as an increasing threat, especially after they seized the strategic [[Duchy of Lorraine]] in 1670. The prospect of Dutch defeat led Leopold to an alliance with [[Brandenburg-Prussia]] on 23 June, followed by another with the Republic on 25th.{{Sfn|McKay|1997|p=206}} Although Brandenburg was forced out of the war by the June 1673 [[Treaty of Vossem (1673)|Treaty of Vossem]], in August an anti-French alliance was formed by the Dutch, [[Spanish Empire|Spain]], Emperor Leopold and the [[Charles IV, Duke of Lorraine|Duke of Lorraine]].{{Sfn|Young|2004|p=133}}

The French alliance was deeply unpopular in England, and only more so after the [[Third Anglo-Dutch War|disappointing battles]] against [[Michiel de Ruyter]]'s fleet. Charles{{Nbsp}}II of England made peace with the Dutch in the February 1674 [[Treaty of Westminster (1674)|Treaty of Westminster]]. However, French armies held significant advantages over their opponents; an undivided command, talented generals like [[Henri de la Tour d'Auvergne, Vicomte de Turenne|Turenne]], [[Louis, Grand Condé|Condé]] and [[François-Henri de Montmorency, duc de Luxembourg|Luxembourg]] and vastly superior logistics. Reforms introduced by [[François-Michel le Tellier, Marquis de Louvois|Louvois]], the [[Secretary of War]], helped maintain large field armies that could be mobilised much more quickly, allowing them to mount offensives in early spring before their opponents were ready.{{Sfn|Black|2011|pp=97-99}}

The French were nevertheless forced to retreat from most of the Dutch Republic, which deeply shocked Louis; he retreated to [[Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye|St Germain]] for a time, where no one, except a few intimates, was allowed to disturb him.{{Sfn|Panhuysen|2009|pp=396–398}} French military advantages allowed them however to hold their ground in Alsace and the Spanish Netherlands while retaking Franche-Comté. By 1678, mutual exhaustion led to the [[Treaty of Nijmegen]], which was generally settled in France's favour and allowed Louis to intervene in the [[Scanian War]]. Despite the military defeat, his ally Sweden regained much of what it had lost under the 1679 treaties of [[Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye (1679)|Saint-Germain-en-Laye]], [[Treaty of Fontainebleau (1679)|Fontainebleau]] and [[Peace of Lund|Lund]] imposed on [[Denmark–Norway]] and Brandenburg.{{Sfn|Frost|2000|p=213}} Yet Louis's two primary goals, the destruction of the Dutch Republic and the conquest of the Spanish Netherlands, had failed.{{Sfn|Panhuysen|2009|pp=451}}

Louis was at the height of his power, but at the cost of uniting his opponents; this increased as he continued his expansion. In 1679, he dismissed his foreign minister [[Simon Arnauld, marquis de Pomponne]], because he was seen as having compromised too much with the allies. Louis maintained the strength of his army, but in his next series of territorial claims avoided using military force alone. Rather, he combined it with legal pretexts in his efforts to augment the boundaries of his kingdom. Contemporary treaties were intentionally phrased ambiguously. Louis established the [[Chambers of Reunion]] to determine the full extent of his rights and obligations under those treaties.

{{Coin image box 1 double
|header        = Silver coin of Louis XIV, dated 1674
|image         = File:Louis XIV Coin.jpg
|caption_left  = Obverse. The Latin inscription is <small>''LVDOVICVS XIIII D[EI] GRA[TIA]''</small> ("Louis XIV, by the grace of God").
|caption_right = Reverse. The Latin inscription is <small>''FRAN[CIÆ] ET NAVARRÆ REX 1674''</small> ("King of France and of Navarre, 1674").
|width         = 250
|position      = right
|margin        = 0
}}

Cities and territories, such as [[Luxembourg]] and [[Casale Monferrato|Casale]], were prized for their strategic positions on the frontier and access to important waterways. Louis also sought [[Strasbourg]]<!-- Please do not uncomment unless consensus has been reached! ({{Langx|de|Strassburg|links=no}})-->, an important strategic crossing on the left bank of the Rhine and theretofore a Free Imperial City of the [[Holy Roman Empire]], annexing it and other territories in 1681. Although a part of Alsace, Strasbourg was not part of Habsburg-ruled Alsace and was thus not ceded to France in the Peace of Westphalia.

Following these annexations, Spain declared war, precipitating the [[War of the Reunions]]. However, the Spanish were rapidly defeated because the Emperor (distracted by the [[Great Turkish War]]) abandoned them, and the Dutch only supported them minimally. By the [[Truce of Ratisbon]], in 1684, Spain was forced to acquiesce in the French occupation of most of the conquered territories, for 20 years.<ref>{{Harvnb|Lynn|1999|pp=161–171}}.</ref>

Louis's policy of the ''Réunions'' may have raised France to its greatest size and power during his reign, but it alienated much of Europe. This poor public opinion was compounded by French actions off the Barbary Coast and at Genoa. First, Louis had [[Algiers]] and [[Tripoli, Libya|Tripoli]], two Barbary pirate strongholds, bombarded to obtain a favourable treaty and the liberation of Christian slaves. Next, in 1684, a [[bombardment of Genoa|punitive mission]] was launched against [[Genoa]] in retaliation for its support for Spain in previous wars. Although the Genoese submitted, and the [[Doge of Genoa|Doge]] led an official mission of apology to Versailles, France gained a reputation for brutality and arrogance. European apprehension at growing French might and the realisation of the extent of the [[dragonnades]]' effect (discussed below) led many states to abandon their alliances with France.{{Sfn|Merriman|2019|p=319}} Accordingly, by the late 1680s, France became increasingly isolated in Europe.

===Non-European relations and the colonies===
{{Further|French colonial empire|Orientalism in early modern France}}
[[File:Ambassade Perse auprès de Louis XIV.jpg|thumb|The [[Persian embassy to Louis&nbsp;XIV]] sent by [[Soltan Hoseyn]] in 1715. ''Ambassade de Perse auprès de Louis{{Nbsp}}XIV'', studio of [[Antoine Coypel]].]]

[[French colonial empire|French colonies]] multiplied in Africa, the Americas, and Asia during Louis's reign, and French explorers made important discoveries in North America. In 1673, [[Louis Jolliet]] and [[Jacques Marquette]] discovered the [[Mississippi River]]. In 1682, [[René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle]], followed the [[Mississippi River|Mississippi]] to the [[Gulf of Mexico]] and claimed the vast Mississippi basin in Louis's name, calling it ''[[Louisiana (New France)|Louisiane]]''. French trading posts were also established in India, at [[Chandannagar|Chandernagore]] and [[Puducherry (city)|Pondicherry]], and in the Indian Ocean at [[Réunion|Île Bourbon]]. Throughout these regions, Louis and Colbert embarked on an extensive program of architecture and urbanism meant to reflect the styles of Versailles and Paris and the 'gloire' of the realm.{{Sfn|Bailey|2018|p=14}}

[[File:SiameseEmbassyToLouisXIV1686NicolasLarmessin.jpg|thumb|left|[[Siamese embassy to France (1686)|Siamese embassy of King Narai to Louis XIV]]{{Nbsp}}in 1686, led by [[Kosa Pan]]. Engraving by Nicolas Larmessin.]]

Meanwhile, diplomatic relations were initiated with distant countries. In 1669, [[Suleiman Aga]] led an [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] embassy to revive the old [[Franco-Ottoman alliance]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Faroqhi |first=Suraiya |title=The Ottoman Empire and the World Around It |publisher=Bloomsbury Academic |date=2006 |isbn=978-1-8451-1122-9 |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=oMHwBktE9MMC&pg=PA73 73]}}</ref> Then, in 1682, after the reception of the Moroccan embassy of [[Mohammed Tenim]] in France, [[Ismail Ibn Sharif|Moulay Ismail, Sultan of Morocco]], allowed French consular and commercial establishments in his country.{{Sfn|Bluche|1986|p=439}} In 1699, Louis once again received a Moroccan ambassador, [[Abdallah bin Aisha]], and in 1715, he received a [[Persian embassy to Louis XIV|Persian embassy]] led by [[Mohammad Reza Beg]].

From farther afield, [[Siamese embassy to France (1686)|Siam dispatched an embassy]] in 1684, reciprocated by the French magnificently the next year under [[Alexandre, Chevalier de Chaumont]]. This, in turn, was succeeded by another Siamese embassy under [[Kosa Pan]], superbly received at Versailles in 1686. Louis then sent another embassy in 1687, under [[Simon de la Loubère]], and French influence grew at the Siamese court, which granted [[Mergui]] as a naval base to France. However, the death of [[Narai|Narai, King of Ayutthaya]], the execution of his pro-French minister [[Constantine Phaulkon]], and the [[siege of Bangkok]] in 1688 ended this era of French influence.{{Sfn|Keay|1994|pp=201–204}}

France also attempted to participate actively in [[Jesuit missions in China|Jesuit missions]] to China. To break the Portuguese dominance there, Louis sent Jesuit missionaries to the court of the [[Kangxi Emperor]] in 1685: [[Jean de Fontaney]], [[Joachim Bouvet]], [[Jean-François Gerbillon]], [[Louis Le Comte]], and [[Claude de Visdelou]].{{Sfn|Pagani|2001|p=182}} Louis also received a Chinese Jesuit, [[Michael Shen Fu-Tsung]], at Versailles in 1684.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sullivan |first=Michael |title=The Meeting of Eastern and Western Art |publisher=University of California Press |date=1989 |isbn=978-0-5202-1236-7 |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=8pLhEWdaMvEC&pg=PA98 98]}}</ref> Furthermore, Louis's librarian and translator [[Arcadio Huang]] was Chinese.{{Sfn|Barnes|2005|p=85}}{{Sfn|Mungello|2005|page=[https://archive.org/details/greatencounterof0000mung_m1v1/page/125 125]}}