Was King Louis Xvi Responsible For The French Revolution

The Great Fear was a surge of peasant riots that sweeped the countryside of France from July 17th to August 3rd 1789. Rumors arose of the overthrow and seizure of the Third Estate by a famine plot. A famine plot is burning and starving crops, essentially wiping out the entire Third Estate (peasants and farmers). These rumors spread like wildfire across the French countryside. This caused peasants to fight against their lords, burn feudal scripts, and seize manor houses. These riots that were propelled by hate, confusion, and conspiracy all kickoffed the infamous French Revolution. With King Louis, XVI reigning over France, there is a common question of “To what extent is King Louis XVI responsible for the Great Fear of 1789?” While there are many people to blame, King Louis XVI played the role of the peasants believing the outlandish rumors that caused the initial riots. He played this role by socially neglecting and placing harsh taxes on the Third Estate. King Louis XVI’s lackadaisical, inattentive, and unreasonable rule on the people of France, cause them to lose faith in their King

King Louie socially neglected the Third Estate into near anarchy and placed crippling taxes on the farmers that were unwarranted and cruel. These factors pushed the Third Estate into a state of fear and political unreliability. His actions gave the peasants a reason to believe that the conspiracies of the famine plot were true. While there are other people responsible for the Great Fear such as the Nobles and the Peasants, it was King Louis XVI’s responsibility to keep the people of France under control. Due to the King’s inattentive and apathetic personality and actions, the people of the Third Estate were concerned and on their toes, which led them to believe the outlandish rumors that sparked the Great Fear of