The Fronde experience taughtLe Tellierand to Louis that the army should be withdrawn from the control of the nobles and made totally dependent on the king.Le Tellierbegan to reorganize it in the mid-1650s and, when Louis assumed personal control of the government after Mazarin died in 1661,Le Tellierhe was admitted to the king’s internal three-member council (Conseil d’en Haut). His main military reforms were instituted for the next 16 years.
With the help of his son François-Michel Le Tellier, Marquis de Louvois, he dramatically increased the size of the army, creating a permanent force of 100,000 men in peacetime that quadrupled in wartime. Officers loyal to the king were promoted to the newly created commandos general, and the discipline of the troops was greatly improved. Also,Le Tellierhe perfected a centralized military transportation system that allowed the king to deprive disobedient officers of supplies. The new organization of the army survived, with minor changes, the outbreak of the French Revolution in 1789.
Although he was appointed to the chancery in 1677,Le TellierHe continued to help his son run the war ministry. In his new position, he reformed his law studies and improved recruitment for the magistracy. His hatred of Protestantism led him to encourage the persecution of the Huguenots, and shortly before his death he helped draft the revocation of the Edict of Nantes (1598), which had assured the Huguenots a certain religious freedom.
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