One King, One Law, One Faith

King Louis XIV was the king of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. During this time, he established himself as no ordinary politician, but the figure of French abolitionism. He strove for a "Un roi, une loi, une foi" mentality, meaning "One king, One law, One faith". Did he accomplish this goal? Yes, Louis XIV was able to accomplish his goal of "one king, one law, one faith”. This was made possible by increasing the nobles' subservience to the king by reducing their power and centralizing the government, establishing the 'Code Louis' and removing the religious freedom of the protestant Huguenots through the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, putting Catholicism on a pedestal.

He wanted his people to fear him to prevent uprisings or conflicts. In order to deliver the notion that he was truly the "one" king in the land, he named himself the "Sun" king. This was because the people can see the sun every day, bestowing its beauty and happy glitter across the world. Being called "the Sun king" implied that he was always there and watching the nation. When he was a newborn, he was nicknamed "God-Given Son" (Louis Deudonne) to imply that he was great news for France. He also used the slogan, "L’etat, c’est moi", meaning: "I am the State". These slogans and labels were placed to give a notion of his supreme power in order to instil fear in the hearts of his people, so he could achieve total obedience.

He was able to establish one law by establishing the Code of Louis XIV, standardizing law across France which had been based on regional customs. He also reduced the powers of the nobles, rendering them at the mercy of their kings. With this diminishment of power, there was no other choice for nobles except to be 100% apparently loyal to King Louis XIV. He desired nobles to compete with each other for his pleasure. He sold titles to various nobles in order to gain funds for his wars, for which the nobles were exempted from certain taxes years later as a reward. Lastly, he rendered the Estates General (the decision-making body for taxes) powerless and they didn't resume until the very late 1700s.

King Louis XIV focused on maintaining one faith in order that France should prosper and avoid conflicts. He achieved this by revoking the Edict of Nantes (which was made by Louis XIV's ancestors), and thereby putting Catholicism ahead as the principal religion of France while restricting the Huguenots' abilities to practice their religion. He did this as he was a devout Catholic and believed that he derived his rule solely from God's desire. In his mind, he did not want the "wrong" faith being practiced under his leadership.

Louis XIV, although you may disagree with his actions, was one of the best politicians to have ever lived in recorded history. He established French absolutism successfully, through means of slogans/labels, standardizing the government and putting Catholicism above any other religion (religious intolerance). This being stated, he was able to achieve the One King, One Law, One Faith: Louis XIV, King's Rule and Catholicism.