Louis XIV and Peter the Great Both Louis XIV and Peter the Great were famous rulers of the late 17th- early 18th Centuries. Both took the throne at a young age and both had many strengths and weaknesses. Louis XIV had many strengths during his reign as ruler of France. Appointing Jean Baptiste Colbert as his minister of finance made some of his greatest strengths and accomplishments. One strength was that of mercantilism, which is an economic theory under which a country increases its wealth by exporting more goods than it imports. By accomplishing this, Louis XIV made himself and France very wealthy. More wealth was made when a balance of trade brought mor