he policies that these three men enacted, the systems and industries that they established, and the prosperity that developed under their control of France’s finances helped shape a progressive and industrious nation, for a time. Sully was able to crush France’s royal debt and increase it’s treasury, while also dreaming of international peace. Richelieu was able to set the cornerstone for French absolutism and meanwhile trying to destroy the Hapsburg holdings. And under Colbert, French industry flourished from his support, until 1685, when peasants began to emigrate because of taxes, poor harvests, and fluctuation in the price of grain. With the decline in thenumber of the taxable population from that point on, the state’s resources fell. Thus, a total lack of a tax base and heavy expenditure for war during this time made Colbert’s, Sully’s, and Richelieu’s goals useless and unattainable....
