The doctrine of the Balance of Power waxed as the result of this experience into a living principle in European politics; and it imposed an effective check upon the aggression of any single state.

France was unable to retain the preponderant position which she had earned during the early years of the reign of Louis XIV; and this mistake of the Bourbon monarchy was the cause of its eventual downfall.

The finances of the country were wrecked by its military efforts and failures, the industrial development of the people checked, and their loyalty to the Bourbons undermined.

A gulf was gradually created between the French nation and its official organization and policy.
England, on the other hand, was successfully pursuing the opposite work of national improvement and consolidation.

She was developing a system of government which, while preserving the crown as the symbol of social order, combined aristocratic leadership with some measure of national representation.