Louis xiv

Dear Adolphe:
Do you remember when you asked me to write Louis XIV’s story? Well, this is how everything started…
It was Sept. 5, 1638 in one of the most amazing places in France,Saint-Germain-en-Laye. It was not a normal day in France, because today the Queen Anne of Austria was having a baby, called Louis, that would be known as Louis XIV “The Sun King”. Since that day I’ve always been withhim because I worked there, and I took care of him sometimes. I always knew he was born a leader, his ability of manipulation, how he played,and how he did his homework. I hate bragging, but I mustaccept I was such a great teacher. He succeeded his father on May 14, 1643. At the age of four years and eight months, he was, according to the laws of the kingdom, not only the master but the owner ofthe bodies and property of 19 million subjects. Nice. Louis was nine years old when the nobles and the Paris Parliament, driven by hatred of the Prime Minister Cardinal Jules Mazarin, rose againsthim in 1648. This marked the beginning of the long civil war known as the Fronde, in the course of which Louis suffered poverty, misfortune, fear, humiliation, cold, and hunger. I did everything Icould, but these trials shaped the future character, behavior, and mode of thought of the young king. He would never forgive either Paris, the nobles, or the common people.
In 1653 Mazarin wasvictorious over the rebels and then proceeded to construct an extraordinary administrative apparatus with Louis as his pupil. The young king also acquired Mazarin's partiality for the arts, elegance, anddisplay. Although he had been proclaimed of age, the King did not dream of disputing the Cardinal's absolute power. The war begun. The outcome of this war would change European crowns from Habsburgs tothe Bourbons. I was so scared when they told me that a French king had to be a soldier, and so Louis wanted to serve his apprenticeship on the battlefield.
I know I taught him everything, but I...