Louis XIV (1638-1715), was known as the 'Sun King'. By the time Louis took
             up the reign of the government in 1660, France had turned into the most
             powerful nation of Europe. At this time many of France's neighboring
             countries had been weakened both by revolts within their own countries and
             expensive wars with other lands. In Louis's mind, the natural boundaries of
             France were the Alps, the Pyrenees, and the river Rhine. His intentions
             were to push the frontiers of France out to these limits as well as win
             glory for himself. As a result Louis plunged France into 30 years of
             foreign wars trying to achieve his ambition.
             This paper discusses Louis' XIV's foreign policy and analyzes whether his
             foreign policy was successful or not.
             Louis XIV's notorious dictum was "I am the State". Even the late
             Charles De Gaulle often echoed this. Louis XIV (1638-1715) - king of France
             (1643-1715) - was known as the 'Sun King'. Louis, the third monarch of the
             Bourbon family, ruled for 72 years, the longest reign in European history.
             His rule typified the period of absolute monarchy in the second half of the
             17th century, during which time kings ruled without the restraint of
             representative institutions. This epoch is widely known as the age of Louis
             XIV because other European monarchs imitated and competed with developments
             Coming to power at a young age, Louis did not have the conventional
             humanist education of most princes, who learned Latin, ancient history,
             rhetoric, and the arts. Instead his instruction focused on the practical
             necessities of kingship, such as the history of France and its monarchy and
             After Louis XIV came to the throne just before his fifth birthday, the
             Italian-born first minister Cardinal Mazarin guided the policies and
             effectively instructed Louis in affairs of state both internal as well as
             foreign affairs.. When Mazarin died in 1661, Louis proclaimed that he would
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