During this period, the English differed from the French because the English focused their military domestically, …show more content…
Both the French and English leaders had strong opinions regarding the acceptance of religion. Despite having had a large number of Protestant Huguenots living in France, Louis XIV opposed them due to his strong Catholic beliefs. Through the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes, Louis essentially took away the religious liberties of his Protestant subjects. Similarly, Charles 1 tried to suppress the views of the people which he controlled, most notably attempting to force the Church of Scotland to develop high Anglican practices. By using the work of the Archbishop of Canterbury, William Laud, Charles tried to force his own religious views on the Presbyterians in Scotland through actions such as giving the Scottish populace an Anglican prayer-book to use. Similarly, both the English and French used the mercantile system, and sought to enrich their economies by restraining imports and encouraging exports. In France, French Finance minister Jean Baptiste Colbert made it possible for France to become a strong economic power through the use of mercantilism. Colbert wanted to come up with a way to increase France’s gold supply and wealth, and was able to do so by heavily restricting imports and encouraging exports. Comparably, the English also felt the strong effects of mercantilism. The English were able to use the Navigation act to their advantage, forbidding foreign vessels from trading with other countries besides England. Soon, all trade between England and its colonies had to be carried out with the English or its colonial vessels, thus boosting England’s economy. Though they differed in many aspects, both the English and French were able to benefit from the new economic power that mercantilism gave