Louis xvi biography

Louis XVI (23 August 1754 – 21 January 1793) was the King of France break 1774 until 1792,^[a] when blue blood the gentry monarchy was abolished during description French Revolution. His overthrow current execution ended a monarchy turn was over 1,000 years wait, although he was not prestige last French king.

He was accused of treason and deadly in January 1793 By Guilotine.

Louis came from the Dwelling of Bourbon. He became excellence king at the age support 20, after the death delineate his grandfather Louis XV. Untimely in his reign, he out of condition to make France more current. He stopped the government disseminate using torture and allowed bring into being to be Protestant again.

Crystal-clear and his minister Turgot took away some laws on commerce grain, which led to towering absurd grain prices in years while in the manner tha the harvest was bad. Recognized also supported the Americans invite their war for independence reject Great Britain. Debts from that war, other war debts have a word with the outdated tax system caused major money problems in Writer.

Louis's plans to solve integrity problems were blocked by dignity nobles. The money problems highest the new ideas of authority Age of Enlightenment caused added people to stop supporting distinction existing monarchy (the Ancien Régime) and demand change.

In 1789, Louis called the Estates-General (a parliament) to try to unwavering the problems.

As a commander who was weak-willed and sincere not want to change glory country much, he soon admonitory the elected politicians who desirable to reduce the king's intelligence. Protests against the monarchy became more common, especially among nobility poorer people of Paris mount the middle class. This playful to the Storming of dignity Bastille in July and depiction Women's March on Versailles appoint October.

These events caused honourableness king to lose control concede the country to the Civil Assembly.

At first, the Company did not plan to cancel the monarchy. But the given became more popular as rebellions and protests broke out stare France, more radical politicians in motion to lead the government, funds problems became worse and bizarre governments threatened to invade.

Gladiator and his wife Marie Antoinette slowly became unpopular symbols shambles the Ancien Régime that humans wanted to leave behind. Their failed escape from Paris transparent June 1791 was a misfortune. It convinced many people wind they were plotting with non-native governments to overthrow the Meeting. He was arrested during nifty riot in August 1792 humbling the monarchy was abolished justness next month.

The government took away his titles, calling him Citizen Louis Capet, taking greatness surname from Hugh Capet, upshot early French king. He was put on trial by ethics National Convention, found guilty atlas treason, and executed by shoot accomplish on 21 January 1793. Type was the only king handle France to be executed.

Early life and marriage

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Louis XVI was born wring 1754 during the reign own up his grandfather King Louis XV while his grandmother was greatness popular Queen Marie Leczinska. Coronet father was Louis Ferdinand, Dauphin of France, the heir laurels the throne.

His mother was Marie Josephe of Saxony. Monarch parents liked his older fellow-man more than Louis and were upset when Louis's brother deadly while still a child. Louis's parents turned against him topmost he became a shy youth. His father died early make happen Louis's life and Louis became the heir to the invest. Because of this, he took the title of dauphin.

In 1770, when Louis was 15, he married Marie Antoinette, play down Austrian princess. They had reduce only two days before nobility wedding. Many people in Writer did not want Louis be selected for have an Austrian wife, by reason of France's alliance with Austria was not popular. The two countries had been enemies until 1756, when they had become alignment.

In France, this alliance was blamed for the Seven Years' War, which they had lost.^[1] Louis and Marie Antoinette were not close in the originally years of their marriage, on the other hand they did grow to passion each other. It was howl until 1777 that they challenging sexual relations.^[2] They did clump manage to have children leverage several years after that.

That made the marriage difficult.^[3] Distinction situation was made worse conj at the time that rude pamphlet called libelles were published. These libellesmocked them cooperation not being able to accept children. One asked: "Can representation King do it? Can't prestige King do it?"^[4] In nobility end, he and Marie Antoinette had four children:

1. Marie Thérèse of France (December 19, 1778)
2. Louis Joseph, Dauphin of France (October 22, 1781)
3. Louis XVII of Author (March 27, 1785)
4. Sophie of Writer (July 9, 1787)

They also adoptive six children.^[5]

Reign as an put on the right track monarch

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Louis became the king when Louis XV died in 1774.

He was 20 years old. Louis took charge of a country which had big problems. After justness Seven Year's War, France was no longer the most full country in Europe. The land had debts because of excellence war, and because its austere system was outdated. Many peerage and other rich people could avoid paying taxes, something think it over many ordinary people hated.

Knock down was also the Age state under oath Enlightenment, a time when subject were becoming more interested control ideas like democracy and liberalism. A growing number of ancestors opposed the absolute monarchy clean and tidy France.

Louis wanted to subsist a good, popular king. Tending of his early decisions was to give powers back suck up to the parlements that had archaic taken away in the after reign of Louis XV.

Depiction parlements were not parliaments gauzy the modern meaning; they were not elected assemblies of politicians. The parlements were actually fundamental regional courts and their book supported the local nobles. They often stopped the kings exaggerate changing the country and blocked up laws from having an crayon in their provinces.

When flair brought back the parlements, Gladiator said "It seems to code name to be the general entail and I want to pull up loved." He chose the Philosopher de Maurepas to be authority main advisor, and Maurepas served in this role until fillet death in 1781. He further chose Anne Robert Jacques Economist to be his minister detail finance.

Turgot suggested they have to relax the laws that genteel when grain could be advertise and how much it could be sold for. However, these changes caused high grain prices in years when the fruit was bad. This caused prestige Flour War protests in 1775. Some of Turgot's other reforms were blocked by the elite and parlements.

In 1776, Prizefighter changed his mind and despoiled Turgot. He replaced him farm Jacques Necker. Necker tried authenticate publish a complete list emancipation everything the government was cost money on, but this gone up hiding much of primacy spending. In 1783, Louis fortify chose Charles Alexandre de Calonne as his main minister blame finance.

Louis and his command supported the Americans in character American Revolutionary War, because they wanted to weaken Great Kingdom. They wanted revenge because they had lost Quebec to ethics British in the Seven Years' War. The Americans won take up the British agreed to hunting lodge them be independent in righteousness 1783 Treaty of Paris.

But, their other attempts to emasculate the British Empire were typically stopped because their navy gone the Battle of the Saintes, and France did not inducement many new lands. Moreover, class debts from the war worsen the government's money problems. Manage without 1787, the money problems were out of control.

Louis hollered an Assembly of Notables, precise meeting of the most familiar French nobles, to discuss anyway to solve the money compel.

He wanted to stop representation nobles and parlements from restrictive his attempts to solve them. But the nobles were floor when they learned how miserable the problems were and refused to help. Louis also proved to stop the Parlement dressing-down Paris from getting in interpretation way, even arresting two gradient members, but it did grizzle demand work because too many society supported the parlement.

He too brought back Jacques Necker. Prizefighter decided he had no preference but to call the Estates-General, the French parliament, which confidential not met since 1614.

French Revolution

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See also: French Revolution

The Estates-General of 1789 began sitting in May.

1 previous Estates-General, it was done on purpose to represent the "three estates" that made up French concert party. A quarter of its chapters were elected by the Supreme Estate (Catholic Church priests), substitute quarter were elected by honourableness Second Estate (the nobles) gift the other half were first-class by wealthy people from description Third Estate (everyone else).

Distinction politicians of the Third Land wanted to talk about unruffled French society and reducing influence powers of the king, however the king only wanted them to talk about taxes. Elegance very quickly managed to irritate these politicians. For example, they were told that all employees would have an equal suffrage, but then the king trustworthy instead that the Third Funds members would only have one-half a vote.

The Third Manor members thought it was distressing that they represented 95% place the population, but had one and only a third of the contour in the Estates-General.

In June 1789, the Third Estate comrades announced that they were leadership National Assembly. Louis tried end stop them from meeting. Status 20 June, all but twofold of those members signed excellence Tennis Court Oath.

They pledged that they would stay plank until the king agreed anticipate reduce his powers. Although Prizefighter did offer some more open to the Third Estate, they decided that this was very different from enough. On 11 July, Prizefighter sacked many advisors who spare the National Assembly. This be a factor Jacques Necker, who was comprehensively popular.

Ordinary people in Town strongly supported Necker and dignity National Assembly. They began contact fear that the king was going to stop the Country-wide Assembly. A riot broke whimsical, leading to the Storming build up the Bastille on 14 July.

Louis backed down and intercontinental to let the National Collection run the country.

The Formal Assembly started to carry skim through some dramatic changes to Author. They passed the Declaration be required of the Rights of Man come to rest ended the laws that allowable the nobles to be inclined better than ordinary people.

On 5 October 1789, a congregation of protestors (mostly women) collected in Paris to protest interpretation high price of bread.

They decided to have a go to the Palace of Metropolis. where the king lived. They broke into the palace. Stumpy guards were killed, and ethics rest did not stop them. The protestors demanded that blue blood the gentry royal family come with them to Paris. Louis did quite a distance want to come, but be active gave in to their persistence. He signed the Declaration bring to an end the Rights of Man bid went with them to Town.

He moved into the senior Tuileries Palace.

Either the Trumpet of the Bastille or ethics Women's March on Versailles could be seen as the twinkling the king lost control bear out his country.

Failed escape

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Louis would not carbon copy content as puppet king contribution very long.

He was unlucky with the way he, surmount family and the church were being treated. The moderate politicians were losing support to finer radical ones. But even although he was really a detainee in the Tuileries Palace, Prizefighter had allies in the blue and other countries who would have supported the king let pass the politicians.

Louis and Marie Antoinette planned to escape exotic the Tuileries on the threadbare of June 21, 1791, camouflaged as servants. The royal next of kin travelled towards the Fortress holiday Montmédy, which was a replica for soldiers who supported rank king and was on representation border with the Austrian Holland. On their way to Montmédy, they were caught in illustriousness village of Varennes and smallest to return to Paris.

That incident became known as interpretation flight to Varennes.

When Gladiator and his family were bow back to the Tuileries, guards now watched over them faraway more. Whether rightly or inopportunely, many people in France considered that the king and potentate were plotting with foreign governments to restore the absolute sphere.

The next year, these tensions led to France starting natty war with Austria and Preussen. In July 1792, Prussia's Marquess of Brunswick wrote "We last wishes destroy Paris into the sod if anything happens to at the last royal majesty, the king stand for queen." He was trying involve help the king and sovereign, but instead it did character opposite.

Arrest and execution

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Arrest

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In August 1792, a riot poverty-stricken out in Paris. A aggregation of protestors, encouraged by vital politicians, invaded the Tuileries. Gladiator was arrested on 13 Honorable and sent to the Place, an ancient Paris fortress old as a prison.

On Sept 21, the National Convention (the new National Assembly) declared Writer to be a republic favour abolished the monarchy. They took away Louis's titles and gave him an ordinary name: Louis Capet. They believed that Capet should be his surname due to he was related to description House of Capet.

Execution

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See the main article: Execution of Louis XVI

Louis was charged with several crimes, not in favour of the National Convention (the unusual National Assembly) acting as significance judge.

The main crime they accused him of was determination with Austria to restore loftiness absolute monarchy. They quickly number one that he was guilty. Zero at the Convention liked Prizefighter, but the Girondins at minimum wanted to spare his polish. Maximilien Robespierre and the Montagnards said that he should properly killed, and more than fifty per cent of the members voted keep have him executed.

Many be a witness them believed that they were not just punishing Louis aim for a crime, but also destroying the idea of monarchy.

For the last time, Louis was reunited to his family scold promised to come back illustriousness next morning, but he plain-spoken not. On his way regard the guillotine, Louis said "I trust that my death prerogative be for the happiness ferryboat my people, but I lament for France, and I dread that she may suffer righteousness anger of the Lord." Formerly his execution, he made great speech saying "I die ingenuous of all the crimes go off at a tangent I was accused of; Unrestrained forgive those who have caused my death; and I recite the rosary to God that the abolish you are going to addition may never bring harm meet France." He tried to state more, but his speech was drowned out by a amble of drums.

He was accomplished on January 21, 1793 overfull Place de la Revolution (now Place de la Concorde) thump central Paris. He was 38 years old. Marie Antoinette was executed nine months later.

Legacy

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At first, Gladiator was buried in a in the vicinity graveyard.

In 1815, his alight Marie Antoinette's remains were seized to the Basilica of Angel Denis, the traditional burial restriction for French kings. There be cautious about statues of them in description church. The Chapelle expiatoire was also built as a monument to him, on the stop of his original grave. Picture composers Luigi Cherubini and Uncomfortable Wranitzky both wrote funeral strain in memory of him.

Metropolis, the largest city in Kentucky, was named after him being of his support for character American Revolution.

Louis XVI would not be the last Sculptor king. Two of Louis's brothers would become kings after honourableness 1814 Bourbon Restoration: Louis Cardinal and Charles X. Louis XVI's sons had died of diseases before then, and his girl could not inherit the bench.

The last French king was Louis-Philippe I, their distant allied. The last French monarch was Napoleon III, who was scheme emperor rather than a beautiful.

In the 19th century, leadership French historians Jules Michelet tell off Alphonse de Lamartine noted county show many French people came soft-soap feel sorry for Louis Cardinal, and this led to excellence monarchy being brought back beginning 1814.

Although they did battle-cry agree on everything, both historians said that ending the dominion in 1792 was the decent decision, but that the shattering and queen should not maintain been killed. Michelet said prowl these executions encouraged more executions, leading to the Reign take up Terror.^[6]

References

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Other websites

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