Louis XIV Crossing the Rhine, by Adam Frans van der Meulen (1672)
The seventeenth century was marked by crises, endless wars caused death and famines. Louis XIV led France to fight five great and costly wars: War of Devolution (1667-68), the Dutch War (1672-78), War of the Reunions (1679-1684), the Nine Years’ War (1688-1697 ), and War of the Spanish Succession (1702-1714). In all of them he continued the policy of containing and reducing the power of the Habsburgs, extending the French borders to defensible positions and gaining economic advantages.The sacrifices of the war ruined the French State and undermined the absolutist regime of Louis, already worn out by the social and economic crisis, but the proud selfishness of the monarch remained unchanged.
Great criticisms of absolutism arose and one of the most prominent is a letter sent to the king in 1694 wrote by Fénelon. It contained criticism of the politics of luxury that had impoverished France, but it also harshly criticized the policy of wars undertaken for the sake of glory and revenge.
“You have not even abided by the terms of that peace that you yourself had so haughtily granted. In time o f total peace you waged war and made prodigious conquests. You established a commission to be both judge and jury.This was adding insult to injury and mockery to usurpation and violence.” (Fénelon 200)