Why did Louis XIV revoke the Edict of Nantes in 1685?

Louis XIV revoked the Edict of Nantes in 1685 primarily because he believed that religious toleration was not a virtue and that state unity was impossible to maintain with multiple churches present.1

Driven by a desire for uniformity and the fervent urging of church spokesmen to end the legal protection of "heretics," Louis XIV sought to extirpate Protestantism from his realm. By 1685, he was persuaded that most Protestants had already converted to Roman Catholicism, leading him to believe he could succeed where others had failed in establishing a single, unified faith.1

Prior to the formal revocation, Louis XIV had already intensified the persecution of Huguenots by destroying churches, restricting their professional opportunities, and employing the dragonnades—the brutal practice of billeting soldiers in Protestant homes. The revocation ultimately deprived France of many skilled craftsmen, sailors, and soldiers, as hundreds of thousands of Huguenots fled the country.12