Alsace was French since the treaty of Westphalia; only the large town of Strasbourg still formed part of the empire of Germany.

Louis XIV there formed a French party skilfully, and seizes himself by surprised of strong close to the city.

The inhabitants did not resist; they recognized the king for their sovereign lord and accepted a French garrison (September 1681).

Louis XIV entered solemnly to Strasbourg on October 13, and Vauban made of it the principal defense of our border of the East.

The French navy, which had just overcome the Dutchmen and the Spaniards, was the first of the world.

Louis XIV made use of it glorieusement against the barbaresque ones.

The bombardment of Algiers, Tunis and Tripoli was used as lesson to the pirates.

Génois, which built ships for Spain, were punished in their turn as if they had been the vassal rebellious ones; Duquesne, forced to carry out the orders of the king, destroyed a part of the city, and the doge of Genoa had to come to Versailles to beseech the forgiveness of Louis XIV (1684).

The Revocation of the Edict of Nantes was followed terrible violences.

Children from five to sixteen years were torn off from force to their parents, "so that they were not high in the heresy".

The desperate Protestants emigrated in mass; 12 000 soldiers, 600 officers, 9 000 sailors were lost for France; a much greater number of tradesmen and skilful workmen carried abroad the secrecies of our industry and the hatred of Louis XIV.

The unhappy ones which could not cross the border were, according to the cases, stripped their goods, imprisoned, whipped, marked of an iron red, or sent to the galères.

The Protestants of Aunis, Saintonge and Normandy tried to flee by sea; a rather great number succeeded in gaining England through thousand dangers, but of the soldiers the coasts supervised, of the ships crossed with the broad one, and much the unhappy ones were brought back irons to the hands and were condemned.

Several ministers underwent the last torment, and so that the assistants could not hear their exhortations, of the drums beat with the foot of the scaffold.