Lijun Peng Dr. L. Swart European History Oct. 29, 2008 Question: Louis XIV declared the goal was: “One King, one law, one faith.” Analyze the methods the king used to achieve this objective and discuss the extent to which he was successful. Absolutism is a political system that concentrated power in the hands of one person, who has unlimited authority. In the sixteenth centuries, absolutism was in the hands of monarchs such as Louis XIV of France. The reason he is in some way very successful is due to his independence among his cabinets, his control of civilian economics and military force, and his influence on the French culture which is spread throughout the Europe. Louis XIV created the first French ministry of war and shaped it into an effective bureaucracy. The king and his ministers brought the noble-dominated officer corps under royal control, making seniority the determinant of rank and charging wealthy nobles handsome sums for the privilege of commanding their own regiments or companies. The ministry of war ordered the construction of military academies, barracks, drilling grounds, and fortified key border towns. While this time, nobles benefited from the economic development the monarchy could encourage, such as by building better roads and networks of canals that were largely underwritten by the state. Greater efficiency in the collection of taxes on the wealth also benefited nobles, since taxes provided money for the salaries of various royal officers and for the trips of nobles to Versailles to offer homage to the king, and financed the construction of official buildings. Between the upper class and the king, it seems a win-win situation. Monarchs encouraged industry and trade. Both of these economics factors (including the tax) strengthen a country, making it richer and more powerful. This in turn reinforces and expands the power of the ruler. In order to further establish his unlimited power, Louis XIV started to build Versailles. Because...