hat govern social behavior. This quest for orderliness and rationality carried over from science and philosophy was at the heart of Louis' approach to solving the problems of government. His goal was to perfect the machinery of absolutism so that that it would automatically provide for the welfare of his country, while perpetuating his own power. He created a huge bureaucracy, and placed himself at its hub. In his pursuit of control and regulation, Louis set out to control the direction of the creative arts as well. He did this by the creation of seven academies. The academies created standards for art and learning. Under the Sun King's guidance, France experienced one of the greatest periods of cultural glory in its history.Foreign PolicyThe goals of Louis VIV foreign policy were to make France the arbitrator of all of Europe and to expand France's boundaries to its natural boundaries - the Rhine, the Alps, and the Pyrenees. Between 1667 and 1713 Louis engaged in a series of wars to achieve this goal. Countries tipped the balance of power by uniting against France. Three times armies from the Netherlands, England, Sweden, Austria, Spain, and Germany joined forces to stop the French army at the Dutch front. The thirteen-year-long War of Spanish Succession was fought when France's neighbors once again formed an alliance to prevent the French and the Spanish thrones from uniting when Louis's grandson, Philip was made heir to the throne for Spain. Overall, Louis failed to achieve most of his military goals. Instead, he wasted thousands of French lives and emptied France's treasury. ...
