Bourbon France
Learn about Bourbon France — the absolute monarchy of Louis XIV that made France Europe's dominant power and Versailles the model for every royal court.
The Bourbon dynasty ruled France from 1589 to 1792, transforming it from a war-torn kingdom into Europe's most powerful state and the model of absolute monarchy. Under Louis XIV — the Sun King (r. 1643–1715) — France became the cultural, military, and diplomatic center of Europe, and the Palace of Versailles became the template that every European monarch sought to emulate.
Louis XIV's reign was the apotheosis of absolutism. He centralized power with ruthless efficiency, subordinating the nobility by requiring their presence at Versailles, building a professional standing army, and imposing religious uniformity by revoking the Edict of Nantes (which had protected Protestants). His wars of expansion terrified Europe into forming coalitions against him, but French military power, administrative sophistication, and cultural prestige remained unmatched.
Bourbon France's influence extended far beyond politics. French replaced Latin as the language of diplomacy. French fashion, cuisine, art, and manners set the standard for European elites. The Académie Française standardized the French language. Molière, Racine, and Corneille defined classical theater. But the costs of absolutism — crushing taxation, religious persecution, and an inflexible social system — eventually produced the revolutionary explosion of 1789 that ended the Bourbon monarchy and reshaped the Western world.