Why did Louis XVI fail politically in 1789 during the French Revolution? Help!?

Question

Why did Louis XVI fail politically in 1789 during the French Revolution? Help!?

Answer 1

A great question, and also complex and hard to answer. I think this is a kind of multi-factor event, so~~

First of all, Louis XV (his grandpa) and Louis XIV (Louis XV's great-grandpa) did not leave a good legacy to Louis XVI. Although Louis XIV was regarded as the Sun King, he really exhausted the wallet of France by constant wars and luxurious court life, especially Versailles Palace, one of the most beautiful and titanic palace in the World. Louis XV fought the 7-year war against Prussia and Britain; the battlefield was not only in Europe, but also in North America and Mughal India. The result was horrible for France. Also they remained a big power in Europe, but it has to be kind of restrained by the new-rising Prussia and by the English, who took many of the French's American and Indian territories. In that time, colonies were important for a mercantilism economy, which base a lot on imports of raw materials and export and dumping of goods. So in this way, France was already weakened by wars and the two extravagant kings previous to Louis XVI.

Secondly, any one would be better than Louis XVI to become the king of France. He was a man of talents in hunting, gaming and reading; he had a great collection of books and did lots of reading in a variety of subjects; yet he was not a great king. His grandpa and grandpa's great grandpa set up the absolute monarchy in France, where nearly all affairs were decided and all powers were from the King. So if an able King like Louis XIV is on the throne, France thrives; if it is Louis XVI, France falls.

Thirdly, I think the most important factor would be the development of the bourgeosie class and capitalism in France. Following the development of trades and commerce, which also happened in Netherlands and England, merchants become rich and more active than before. Yet two things restricted their going forward. One is the feudal structure of France, where powers still rested in the feudal lords, the Church and the aristocrats. Second is the heavy taxes on inner trades and commerce as well as from the Church; taxes were actually a means  to control capitalism, since the free fluence of people, money and goods threatened the absolute reign of the king. So the bourgeosie class became very unsatisfied about the present status of France.

Forthly, people are unsatisfied of totalitarianism. Totalitarianism controls the live of people from their cradles to their tombs. And over-extravagance of the aristrocracy and Church costed too much from the people and bourgeosie, or togetherly called the Third Estate.

Fifthly, the influence of the Enlightenment. Originating from England, primarily started by Hobbes and Locke, the Enlightenment spreaded to France in about mid-18th century. Mostesquieu, Votaire and Rousseau put forward the popular concepts of the consent of people, the seperation of power, and guided the people and bourgeosie in their quest for freedom. During that time, Paris were a place of Salons, where people discuss political issues; these Salons were joined not only by those merchants and civic celebrities, but also by many aristocrats; it was true that the Enlightenment influenced the thoughts of many aristocrats; Marie Antoinette herselves enjoyed reading (or actually listening to?) the work of Voltaire.

And the last, maybe the least, Marie Antoinette, Louis XVI's wife, from Austra, was a nightmare. But to attribute the fall of Bourbon France mainly to Marie Antoinette is not proper as I think.

To know about this period of history or especially about the poor Marie Antoinette, may be you can read Zweig's biography "Marie Antoinette" or watch the movie by Columbia Pictures.

Answer 2

His wife..Marie