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How Did King Louis Xvi Cause The French Revolution

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In 1789, France was precariously balanced on the edge of chaos. King Louis XVI was ruling monarch of France. King Louis’ youth depicted him as reckless, thoughtless, and unwise. A series of bad financial and political decisions, lead to his unpopularity among the people of France. King Louis was young, distracted and misguided. He did make several bad decisions that endangered France and contributed to the beginning of the French Revolution. However, he is not entirely to blame due to several other highly contributing factors.

King Louis XVI’s youth and immaturity hindered his rule and forced him to make irrational decisions which contributed to the beginning French Revolution. King Louis XVI was only a young boy when his elder brother died in 1761 and his father who died in 1765, soon after his grandfather died leaving him as heir to France. In 1770 he married Marie-Antoinette daughter of the ruler of Austria Maria Theresa. This marriage didn’t help King Louis …show more content…

French society was defined by the the “Ancien Regime” the system of three estates (Clergy, Nobility, and Peasantry). The clergy and nobility were respected and had a higher position in society and the peasants were left to carry the country, by working farms, generating the wealth, and paying a large majority of taxes. This largely contributed to the tensions arising in 1780’s France. Meanwhile, France was engaged in the Age of Enlightenment people were demanding that church and state be separate, the King resigns and a new logic based system of government is to be established. This completely challenged Frances current system of an absolute monarchy. France also suffered through several years of poor harvests further increasing the gap between the rich and the poor. The years before the French Revolution would trouble both financially and socially, influenced by many more factors than the decisions of King Louis

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