Louis XV of France

injustices. There were many different causes of the French Revolution, some of which were feudalism and the class system, the monarchy, and the economy. To began with, feudalism and the class system helped cause the French Revolution. The people of France were divided into three different classes, which were the clergy, nobility, and then everyone else. They had a lot of of privileged society. First, the Clergy were the high members of the church pope, priest bishops, archbishops,and…

King Louis XVI - The Awful Leader King Louis XVI, born August 23, 1754, was the last King of France and he wasn't a particularly strong leader. Although he’s one of the most famous monarchs in the 18th century who went down in history, he miserably failed at his job. The kings before him, Louis XIV and Louis XV, put the country in debt and the unemployment dropped to 50%. He was a beloved king at the beginning of his reign, but as he made more decisions he slowly became a despised king. His…

in eastern Europe such as Leopold I of Austria and Ivan the Great of Russia. Although an age of constitutionalism had been occurring at the same time in western European nations, including France, some aspects of absolutism were apparent in the reign of Louis XV as he spent much of the taxpayer money on France on wars, which he would be unable to pay off. Not only that, he increased the power of the nobility by imposing them with fewer taxes than they deserved, angering the Third Estate and…

Terror By 1700s France was recognized as Europe’s most advanced country with foreign trade, large population, and raising culture. Even through everything seemed great unrest was rising between the three estates. This unrest in France’s society came from the poor conditions of the third estate, which was 97 percent of the population. The unfair conditions of the three estates lead to new-enlightened ideas, the French Revolution, and the Reign of Terror. Before the revolution France was under a…

and the lives of those who believed in change to get there. A huge problem was the leaders of the nation were not prepared to take on the challenged they faced. They all led France to disaster. Conditions in France in the late 1780s Later on in the 1700s, the people of France began to realize that the constitution of France was not exactly working. Their constitution was formed around the absolute power of the monarchy. New Enlightenment thinking was sweeping…

Imagine, if you can, the excitement when King Louis XIV appointed the great and genius financial mind of Jean Baptiste Colbert as his finance minister in 1665. Allow me to bring you back to how it all began. Born in the great city of Reims, France in 1619, Jean Baptiste Colbert began his life as a member of the bourgeoisie, or middle class. His family was considerably poor and as a result struggled to afford his education. In fact, his family was dependant on his potential success from the…

Louis XVI learns that France is on verge of bankruptcy in 1786. The reason France had so much debt is because they funded the American War of Independence, but America never paid them back. In order to try and save the French economy, Louis XV raised taxes. After multiple failed tax reforms, France continued to go deeper into debt. Over half of France’s annual budget went to paying interest of their increasing debt. Another contributing factor to France’s debt is the fact that they have no…

figures in the history of France . Marie Antoinette was an innocent victim, despite public belief and conditions in France during her rule. Her marriage to Louis XVI was less than blissful, they were polar opposites and frustrated each other greatly. She was wrongly accused in the affair of the diamond necklace, when she was in fact blameless in the scandal. Marie Antoinette lived as a kind and caring mother, displaying unreciprocated kindness to others. Her new life in France began with a…

and its events is often helpful when determining how impactful they will be to current or future events, writings or people. Maxillien de Robespierre’s influence on the Jacobins and the direction of the ideals shaped the revolution. The history of France and the surrounding countries before and during the early point of the eighteenth century affected the circumstances that arose during events such as the terror. Future mindsets and psychological constructs depend on the surroundings of…

figure that typically gets glossed over is Marie Antoinette. She is often tossed aside as a two-dimensional character of history; the frivolous spendthrift who ruined the French economy, brought not only her ruin, but the ruin of her innocent husband, Louis XVI, and was the victim of the society around her. This is not true. Through the analysis of three biographies ranging over fifty years of historical study, it is the goal of this research to show how Marie Antoinette…