King Louis Xvi Research Paper

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King Louis XVI of France comes from an extensive continuance of Bourbon monarchs. He was the last of the monarchs foregoing the French Revolution (A&E Television Networks, 2017). Born into royalty, King Louis XVI had an undemanding childhood. Once a young boy, now the king of France was not popular to his subjects, which led to the downfall of not only himself, but the monarchy as well. King Louis XVI, born August 23, 1754, in Versailles France was the third son born to Louis and his wife Maria Josepha of Saxony (Goodwin & Popkin). He was given the name Louis Auguste de France and was given the title Duc de Berry to signify his secondary status in the court of France. As a boy, King Louis XVI grew up strong and healthy, but was also very …show more content…

He had every desire to be a good king and serve his subjects, but faced many challenges such as immense debt and a rising resentment of the monarchy by the common people (A&E Television Networks, 2017). Despite being given a well education growing up, it failed to prepare him for the challenges of government. “His political philosophy was influenced by Fénelon and the thinkers of the Enlightenment, who held that the nation existed independently of the king – an idea which challenged the traditional conception of the French monarchy” (Chateau de Versailles, 2018 March 02, Louis XVI pg. 1). As King Louis was obtaining power, he initiated many events to alter the economic and political anxiety of France into the French Revolution; these events include: the coming together of the General Estate, Tennis Court Oath, and the declaration of the National Constituent Assembly. “Although he was beloved at first, his indecisiveness and conservatism led some elements of the people of France to eventually hate him as a symbol of the perceived tyranny of the Ancien Régime (Boyle, 2011, Louis XVI: Last King of France pg. 1). The revolutionaries despised King Louis XVI. Most historians believe that the revolutionaries, to bring the monarchy to its demise, used King Louis XVI as a scapegoat and the Storming of the Bastille is the embodiment of the revolutionaries victory

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