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Absolutism and Society in Seventeenth-Century France Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 July 2011
By the 1670s a new mood of jubilant collaboration seemed to have taken over the governing bodies of Languedoc. The glories of Louis XIV were evoked more and more frequently in the most glowing of terms: ‘can one ever marvel enough at the wonderful order of his finances, at the advantageous reestablishment of commerce and his maritime forces; can one ever admire sufficiently the defenses of his conquered fortifications, the warring genius of his people, their prompt obedience…’ Obsequious conformity seemed to be the order of the day. In late 1671, when the first vote of the don gratuit in the single deliberation without any bargaining by the Estates was achieved, Colbert was showered with self-congratulatory epistles from the responsible parties: ‘I consider myself at once very glorious and very happy to be at the head of this assembly the first time that it accepted the don gratuit unanimously.’ ‘It was the most delicate pleasure imaginable…to support the view most agreeable and useful to His Majesty.’ ‘The assembly wants to remain in the king's good graces and to do his bidding in a submissive fashion.’ ‘The vote was unanimous once the royal commissioners gave their word that the king would be satisfied.’
From expressions like these it is easy to draw an exaggerated picture of provincial passivity and institutional subservience, especially since there is considerable truth in the contention that the entire governmental system worked more smoothly under Louis XIV.
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