Louis XVI reigned France from 1174 to 1792 and was characterized by financial instability. However, the lack of wealth was not depicted in the lifestyle of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. The royals and the nobility were living in wealth and due to an unfair tax system, only the poor paid taxes. Furthermore, two decades of poor grain harvests, drought, and increasing bread prices had started unrest among peasants. A number of ill-advised financial maneuvers in the late 1700s worsened the financial situation of the already cash-strapped French government. Aiding the colonists in the American Revolution and fighting in the Seven Years War drained the wealth of the French government. The French allied with the French in hopes that when the colonists
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The credibility of the king was deeply undermined and the abolition of the monarchy and the establishment of a republic became an increasing possibility. The king’s attempt to run away, however, made it clear to skeptics that he was a reluctant associate at best and would turn his back on the constitution and its system of limited monarchy at any moment. Therefore, although Louis XVI constitutionally retained some power after being returned to Paris, it was clear that his days were numbered. However, with the Constitution of 1791, the revolutionaries decided to reinstate the King as long as he’ll accept reforms which he agreed to. Through the Constitution, all executive power was answerable to the …show more content…
At the end of both revolutions, the political landscape changed for each country. After a decade of Republicanism led by Oliver Cromwell as Lord Protector, England returned to having a monarch but with limited powers. “The Revolution involved not merely the substitution of one king for another but the abolition of the institution of monarchy” (L. Stone, p.49). The Glorious Revolution led to the formation of a constitutional monarchy in England culminating a struggle that has lasted for almost a century. It determined that parliament, not the king, would be the supreme authority. Under the Bill of Rights, kings were obliged to summon parliament frequently and could no longer suspend laws. They were also deprived of the power to impose taxes without the consent of parliament. Parliamentarians had complete freedom of speech and could not be impeached or even questioned by an outside court. It insisted that all subjects had the right to petition the king. The revolution, by confirming parliament’s authority as final, established the rule of law at the expense of the wish of the monarch. In doing so, it greatly advanced individual rights and freedoms (L. Stone, p.147). In France, after a tumultuous decade of their own with the Reign of Terror and the incompetent directory a new leader rose in the form of Napoleon Bonaparte. Napoleon seized
The credibility of the king was deeply undermined and the abolition of the monarchy and the establishment of a republic became an increasing possibility. The king’s attempt to run away, however, made it clear to skeptics that he was a reluctant associate at best and would turn his back on the constitution and its system of limited monarchy at any moment. Therefore, although Louis XVI constitutionally retained some power after being returned to Paris, it was clear that his days were numbered. However, with the Constitution of 1791, the revolutionaries decided to reinstate the King as long as he’ll accept reforms which he agreed to. Through the Constitution, all executive power was answerable to the …show more content…
At the end of both revolutions, the political landscape changed for each country. After a decade of Republicanism led by Oliver Cromwell as Lord Protector, England returned to having a monarch but with limited powers. “The Revolution involved not merely the substitution of one king for another but the abolition of the institution of monarchy” (L. Stone, p.49). The Glorious Revolution led to the formation of a constitutional monarchy in England culminating a struggle that has lasted for almost a century. It determined that parliament, not the king, would be the supreme authority. Under the Bill of Rights, kings were obliged to summon parliament frequently and could no longer suspend laws. They were also deprived of the power to impose taxes without the consent of parliament. Parliamentarians had complete freedom of speech and could not be impeached or even questioned by an outside court. It insisted that all subjects had the right to petition the king. The revolution, by confirming parliament’s authority as final, established the rule of law at the expense of the wish of the monarch. In doing so, it greatly advanced individual rights and freedoms (L. Stone, p.147). In France, after a tumultuous decade of their own with the Reign of Terror and the incompetent directory a new leader rose in the form of Napoleon Bonaparte. Napoleon seized