alternatehistory.com

Vallot’s big break came in the winter of 1647 when the then premier médecin, the aforementioned François Vautier, summoned Vallot to Louis XIV’s bedside alongside a host of court physicians. The nine-year-old king was suffering from smallpox. In his written account of the event, Vallot placed great emphasis upon his advocation of a specific course of treatment which involved a series of well-timed bleedings and purges. Although initially disapproved of by some of his colleagues, the treatment was eventually decided upon and administered to Louis XIV with successful results.

Suppose that Louis dies. What happens next?
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