Methods of building and consolidating state power

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A system in which one monarch is the sole source of law and the final authority in the state, above nobles, parliaments and the Church.

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The belief that a king's power comes directly from God, so he answers to God alone and disobedience is almost sinful.

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The changes in warfare (c.1500–1700): gunpowder artillery, much larger armies and professional standing troops — which only the state could afford.

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Cannon could smash the stone castles nobles sheltered behind, ending their military independence and leaving force in the crown's hands.

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Royal officials sent to govern French provinces for the king — loyal appointees who kept records, enforced royal orders and reported to the centre.

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The sale of government offices for cash. It raised money and staffed the state quickly, but let posts pass to heirs, weakening royal control.

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The taille was a direct tax on land and income (nobles often exempt); the gabelle was an indirect tax hidden in the price of salt.

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The policy of building national wealth by exporting more than you import; Louis XIV's minister Colbert used it to grow French industry and trade.

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The crown sold the right to collect a tax to a private company, which kept whatever extra it squeezed out — quick cash for the king but resented by taxpayers.

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Great nobles had to live at court competing for the king's patronage, ceremony and favour — keeping them dependent and unable to rebel in their provinces.

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The idea that the French king, not the Pope, controlled the French Church — letting Louis XIV appoint bishops and use the Church to support the throne.

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Louis XIV stripped French Protestants (Huguenots) of their rights to enforce religious unity — an official faith used to legitimise and unify the state, though it hurt the economy.