Louis XIV and the Dutch War

Abstract

Louis XIV fulfilled the image of the ideal young king to his own perfect satisfaction. A firm believer in the efficacy of dedication and reason, he took special pride in conquering youthful passion and impetuosity. Louis had shown his mother that he could be a firm master of the royal family (as, for example, when he disgraced the duke and duchess of Navailles in 1664), and this proof was more than sufficient for the queen, Maria Teresa, for his brother, the duc d’Orléans, and for the king’s mistress, Mlle de La Vallière. Louis had demonstrated by arresting Fouquet that he would brook no over-mighty minister in his conseil d’en haut, nor was this lesson lost on the secretary for war, Le Tellier, the controller-general of finances, J. B. Colbert, and the secretary for foreign affairs, Lionne. The king had, with their aid, restored order at home and contented himself with some periodic sabre-rattling abroad. The emphasis on domestic matters, however, was merely the basis for more glorious excursions into the realms of foreign policy and war, aimed chiefly at the Spanish branch of the House of Habsburg. The first of these, the War of Devolution in 1667, was intended to conquer the bulk of the Spanish Netherlands and was blocked by the triple alliance.

Specially commissioned for this volume.