7. The Court Was at Its Peak During the Reign of The Sun King
At the peak of Louis XIV’s reign, over 10% of the population of Paris was destitute and lived in slums. Due to several harsh winters and Louis XIV’s continuous waging of war, the cost of bread was exorbitantly high and amounted to over 60% of a household’s wages in a year. Despite these conditions, 5% of France’s entire income was dedicated to maintaining Louis XIV’s lavish palace of Versailles in the center of Paris.
The several years of bad crops, coupled with the loss of farm labor due to near-constant war, led many rural dwellers to flee to the city in search of safety and more stable income. Of course, little work was available due to the overall poor condition of the French economy for all but the handful of wealthiest nobles at the time.
The population density of the Court would boggle the modern mind. At one point, small buildings were holding dozens of men, women, and children. There was one person for every three square meters of the city, which would likely have been far, far more dense in the crowded slums. It wasn’t until after the French Revolution of the 19th century that the tenements were demolished and redesigned to be much larger, safer and more sanitary.