Chambers of Reunion—French courts determining French claims to various towns—met at Metz, Breisach, Besançon, and Tournay. Louis XIV's troops annexed several towns to France under the direction of these courts.
Price fluctuations and famine sparked revolts and discontent in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Growing popular demands for government support against high food prices.
Versailles became the French seat of government. Louis XIV spent large amounts in creating a court that reflected his desire to be an absolute monarch. He then created a court society in which attendance at court by the aristocracy became necessary.
REVOCATION OF THE EDICT OF NANTES. The exercise of the reformed religion in France was forbidden; children were to be educated in the Catholic faith. Emigration was prohibited, but more than 50,000 families (called Huguenots) emigrated to Holland, England (Spitalfields), Brandenburg, English North America, and South Africa. The Protestants of Alsace retained their freedom of worship.
Slavery in French plantations encouraged the establishment of the slave-trading Guinea Company. A Code Noir required that plantation owners treat their slaves humanely, but it was often ignored in the colonies.
