Louis XVI

With the guillotining of Louis XVI and his wife Marie Antoinette, one might say absolute monarchy was literally cut off after nearly a millenium of kingly succession, “For nearly 1,000 years, the house of Capet furnished France with kings, first as direct-line Capetians and later through the branch of families of Valois and Bourbon” (Washitaw 1). Louis XVI was not only hampered by the French Revolution which dominated his reign, but also because of a complete lack of interest in politics and his inheritance of his grandfather’s reign which was rife with corruption and lavish expenditure at the cost of the common people. Thus, it was a combination of selfish indulgence based on desire and emotion over reason and a lack of political skill which brought about the end of absolute monarchy and the death of Louis XVI to the French Revolution.

As with many politicians, Louis XVI’s problems were of a political and a financial nature. He was slow to address the rising financial crisis in which France was immersed and he made the political mistake of restoring the parliaments which his grandfather had abolished finding them too reactionary. Louis XVI did hire Baron Turgot to be in charge of fiscal reform, but the parliamentary reaction was in such opposition to the choice that he was forced to remove him from the position. Louis XVI’s next financial director was also removed from office mainly because of floating huge loans cou

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At first, the King was greeted as a popular reformer who agreed to a constitutional framework of government. Accelerating radicalism, rumors of his opposition to revolutionary principals, and a host of scurrilous pamphlets purportedly describing his personal habits and those of his wife diminished his popularity as the revolution progressed” (What is… 1). Political and economic woes were not the only challenges that Louis XVI faced for he also faced religious trouble because the newly elected National Assembly seized the property of the Church and sold it. This set the middle class against the peasantry. The peasants wanted the lands belonging to the church and the middle class could afford to buy the lands for cash. Clergy who would not swear an oath of loyalty to the newly elected government began to join the efforts of Marie Antoinette’s brother to attack France and stop the Revolution. Yet, Louis XVI tried to establish reforms that would prevent the people from revolting. He lost money and respect for monarchy in his efforts to assist the American colonies. He re-established the parliaments and with the ordering of the election of an Estates-General he single-handedly abolished Absolutism. Louis XVI also not only r
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Approximate Word count = 1702
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page)

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