Louis XIII
Louis XIII was very young when he was crowned. For several years he depended upon his mother to serve as regent. Whats regent? To govern in his place.
Once Louis XIII was old enough to rule, a Catholic churchman named Cardinal Richelieu became his chief minister and most trusted adviser. Louis XIII was a relatively weak ruler, but Cardinal Richelieu was determined to strengthen the monarchy. Doing so required that its opponents be crushed.
Both Louis and Richelieu wanted to reduce the recently won power of the Huguenots. Whats a Huguenot?(Hyoo-guh-naht) French Calvinist Protestant. To teach the Huguenots a lesson, in 1672 Richelieu used a situation at La Rochelle, a Huguenot port city. The people of La Rochelle had sided with English forces that had taken a nearby island. Richelieu’s troops laid siege to the walled city, cutting off its supplies. After 14 months, the starving citizens surrendered. Richelieu ordered the city walls to be torn down and all the city’s churches to become catholic. His victory was a signal to all Huguenots that resistance to the monarchy carried risks. They also didn't trust nobles and executed many for secrets of revolt and treason.