Liam,

You take it as apocryphal, that Henri IV said "Paris vaut bien une Messe"?

How do you justify the Edict of Nantes if he is the best Bourbon monarch?

Liam,

I would rank Henri IV over his grandson, whose reign was a patchy affair, the last three decades ultimately being worse for France (and Europe). The calamity of Louis XV's pretty much losing his entire family in infancy was a most unfortunate postlude to it.

I disagree on that. Sure, Henri IV was a great King, one who took France out of those disastrous Religion Wars which, not only tore the country apart, but nearly offered it on a silver platter to the foreign powers (since the Holy League was supported by the Spanish and Habsburgs, while the Protestants received help and money from England and Holland). But Louis XIV made France Europe's first power, whether politically or culturally. Even though the end of his reign undoubtedly saw a relative decline of France's power, Louis XIV's reign was still successful: for one, he kept all his conquests and made sure his grandson would rule Spain.
Louis XVI could also have been a great King, his reign certainly stated very well (not only did he help to free the US from England, he weakened England's influence in Europe through that); but for his weakness during the Revolution, he could have been an even better King than Henri IV and Louis XIV.

In practical terms, the Edict of Nantes helped France subdue its strife from the Wars of Religion, strife which did nothing in favor of religion of any kind. The largest (in area) Catholic power within Europe - the Dual Commonwealth of Poland-Lithuania - might well be counted even more tolerant (and in more ways) in that era. The revocation of the edict didn't exactly help France (it certainly helped the rise of Prussia).

You're absolutely right on that one. The revocation was one major mistake, since many French Protestants left their country to serve another, thus weakening France against her enemies. Louis XIV should never have done it. The only positive influence I see about it is the decisive spreading of French culture caused by the emigration of the Huguenots.

Sometime in the next 6 days, perhaps the title of this thread should be changed to Happy Bastille Day?

I shan't be celebrating Bastille Day!
It should, rather, be called Natioanal Guilliotinrne Day, for it ushered in, not liberty but death to all who opposed La Revoluion, and, dread of saying something 'wrong' lest the revolutionary authorities take exception to a word that slipped off your tongue, a word which would have found you on the next trumble with others to meet your end. Whilst waiting your turn you listen the hags of Paris gathered 'round cackling and doing their knitting whilst gleefully counting every head as it tumbled, again, and again thousands of times These were days of infamy, not of rejoicing! They actually stooped to regicide.
Perhaps a day of reflection would be Louis IX dispensing justice under an oak three. Nothing there for the Paris mob1 - Nothing but goodness. and Inspiration. He may well have been France's most noble king.

"The revocation was one major mistake,"

Among several of the last 30 years of Louis XIV's reign. The wars of those decades may have helped put his grandson on the Spanish throne - a dubious benefit for both Spain and France in the long run - but otherwise ensured an array of other powers would rise to concentrate against France, resulting in Great Britain being a European power of first rank for the first sustained time since the Angevin Empire, and also prodding Prussia into a European power of first rank. Yes, France retained cultural eminence for another century, but the mass of people couldn't eat cultural eminence.

Louis XIV dying in 1684 might have been better for France in the long run.