Sully could not make more money by taxing the nobility and clergy, which would have been the easiest way, because Henry had gained his throne by bribery of the Catholics in the country and nobility. Dislike of this measure could have caused the wars to begin again. Instead, Sully made the existing system more efficient by monitoring the amount of taxes collected. He also farmed out taxes in the provinces, which meant the government were guaranteed a certain amount, and the collectors could make as much profit as they could out of the enterprise. Because the nobility was exempt from taxation, Sully declared all patents of nobility granted before 1578 invalid. He also bought back Crown lands, which increased the king�s long-term revenue. The gabelle, a tax on salt was increased so that the burden of taxation did not fall on the peasantry, and the paulette (a tax on officeholders) was created. This was a voluntary tax where, in return for 1/60th of the value of the office, the holder could treat it as his own. This meant he could sell it, or pass it on to his children � after three generations of officeholders, the family became nobles, the noblesse de la robe. The value of the offices was over-assessed so that the crown could make more money.
If Henry�s objective could be said to be the stabilising of the French economy, then he certainly succeeded. He began his reign bankrupt, but by 1610 there was a surplus of 16 million livre. The only part of his work that could be said to be incomplete is that, as in Spain, there was little inclination on the part of investors to invest in industry, as they preferred to buy offices. However, this was not really a major concern, Henry�s work in relation to the French economy was simply to bring it out of bankruptcy which he did admirably.
One of Henry�s major tasks on assuming the throne was to unite France once more, as it had been split on mainly religious grounds during the civil war. In order to satisfy the mainly Catholic country, in 1593 Henry became a Catholic and was granted absolution by the Pope, and bribed the Catholic nobility. To stop the Huguenots whom he had hitherto been the leader of revolting, Henry granted them the Edict of Nantes where they were restricted to the areas in which they had already infiltrated, and were dependent on the king to make sure they were not persecuted. So that the country would unite behind him, Henry declared war on France�s traditional enemy Spain in 1595.
During Henry�s admittedly short reign there were no religious troubles, though the Huguenots felt themselves betrayed by him. France had been in a state of civil war for too long, and at last there was a legitemate king who was in his majority, and had heirs to continue his line. His work in the unity of the country was as complete as he was likely to be able to make it, as the Catholics were still commmitted to removing the Hugueots, and the Huguenots wanted to be able to spread their faith. In all, Henry�s task of preventing the religious wars from recurring was complete.
Another aspect of Henry�s work was to make sure that his line continued as kings of France. The nobility were the strongest threat to him, to his authority and that of his family. The Huguenot Duc de Biron intrigued with the Duc de Boullion to promote the succession of one of Henry�s illegitemate sons, however they failed and Biron was executed and Bouillon exiled, sending a message to would-be conspirators not to intrigue against the king. The nobility were annoyed by Henry�s government as they were left to do as they wished in the provinces, but real power lay in the centre and was given to the lesser nobility, the noblesse de la robe, who were families of office-holders. They did not have strong powerbases, and were conservative and cautious, which was ideal for France, although not for the noblesse d�epee. Henry also encouraged the mythologising of his reign, which led to him being viewed as Henry the Great, the father of the country ruling in a golden age. This ensured that his immediate sons would not be deposed, and their legitemacy to rule France unquestioned.
As Henry�s reign began so soon after the French Wars of Religion, many of the great nobles such as the House of Guise, which had caused so much trouble to preceeding kings, were virtually extinct, and the majority of the country was opposed to war. This meant that the nobility, while discontent , would not rise against him, as the results had been disastrous for both France and them, and they needed to recover. However, Henry�s work could be said to be unfinished in that a strong king was still needed to keep the nobles in check, and there was still discontent, as the nobles had had a great deal of power during the civil war, some of them ruling what were really independent kingdoms during that time.
The problem of France�s old enemy Spain remained, as the country was still weak from the years of anarchy and was vulnerable to attack. France could not afford to have a full scale war against the mightiest European nation, and so it contented itself with trying to take over the Spainish road, leading from Spain to the Netherlands, which was a vital road for troops. In 1600 Henry seized the capital of the dukedom of Savoy and forced the Duke to give him territory on the east bank of the Rhone. This strengthened the border, as it was now on a river, and norrowed the Spanish Road. Henry treated with Tuscany, Mantua and Switzerland in order to pressurise Milan, and put the Spanish on the defensive in Northern Italy.
Henry made friendly overtures to the German Protestants, and helped secure a truce in the Dutch Revolt. In 1609 the Duke of Cleves-Julich died childless and as it was a strategically important Dukedom, Spain claimed it. Henry assembled an army of 50,ooo and said he would nvade if Spain did not withdraw. As he was on his way to join the army, he was fatally stabbed by a Catholic fanatic called Ravillac.
It is uncertain why Henry decided to go to war with Spain, as he was unlikely to win, he could have been showing that France still had the capacity for war, and that it still hated Spain, but it would most likely have been a foolhardy action. His work there was incomplete only in that he did not declare war on Spain by invading their territory, otherwise he did accomplish that which it was most urgent to do, that is, to prevent anyone taking French territory because of their weakened state.
Overall, Henry�s work was as complete as it could habe been considering he did not think he was about to die. He accomplished a great deal, especially in the economy, in s short time. The only times his work could be said to be incomplete are in trying to get people to invest in industry, and declaring war in Spain. Had Henry lived longer,the good results of his reign would have been less. As he died so soon after assuming power, he has been remembered as Henry the Great, and his reign has been looked back upon as a golden age, especially after the reign of his son.