CHRONOLOGY
| 1610 | Confirmation of Edict of Nantes after death of Henri IV. |
| 1638 | Birth of Louis XIV, son of Louis XIII and his wife Anne of Austria. |
| 1643 | Death of Louis XIII, accession of Louis XIV, regency of Anne of Austria-having set aside the will of Louis XIII-with Mazarin as 'first minister'. |
| 1648-53 | Civil war in France, the Fronde, directed against the power of the crown and the influence of Mazarin and his nominees. |
| 1651 | Louis XIV declared of age. |
| 1654 | Louis XIV is crowned and takes part in war against Spain on the north-eastern frontiers of France. |
| 1660 | Marriage of Louis XIV with Maria Teresa of Spain; she renounces her right to the Spanish throne against a promised dowry. |
| 1661 | Death of Mazarin; Louis XIV governs without a first minister; cabinet and council government develops and the civil service is increasingly bureaucratized. |
| 1661 | Work begins to expand the gardens and the palace at Versailles; intensified 1668; completed 1695. |
| 1663-71 | French academies founded or recognized such as the French Royal Academy; Architecture and Botanical Garden. |
| 1664 | Containment of Huguenots begin and French protective tariffs are initiated to promote French manufacturers. |
| 1666 | The Paris Parliament forbidden to discuss or vote on royal edicts before their registration. |
| 1667 | French protective tariffs directed against England and the Dutch Republic and a reduction in the number of printers to allow censorship. |
| 1679-85 | Increasing persecution of the Huguenots. |
| 1680 | Taxes back into effect such as the gabelle (salt tax) and aides (consumer goods). |
| 1683 | Death of Louis' wife Maria Teresa. |
| 1683 | Reduction of taille benefits peasants. |
| 1685 | Revocation of the Edict of Nantes. |
| 1698-99 | Relaxation of the persecution of the Huguenots by Louis XIV. |
| 1702-1713/1714 | War of Spanish Succession in Europe and Queen Anne's War in America. |
| 1712 | Opening of official peace congress at Utrecht and free exchange re-established in France. |
| 1713 | Peace treaties signed between France and her enemies. |
| 1714 | Louis XIV's will establishes a regency council of fourteen members, his nephew as president. |
| 1715 | Death of Louis XIV. |