LOUIS XVI: A SNAPSHOT OF HIS LIFE AND DEATH

Portrait of Louis XVI of France

Louis XVI suffered an unfortunate

rule over France in the period 1774
to 1793. Though many paintings,
such as the one above, depicted
the monarchy, the court, and the
aristocracy
as
frivolous
and
decadent, many French aristocrats,
including Louis XVI, were wellintentioned and pious. However, he
came to rule at a time when the
French
proletarian
class
was
suffering due to the shift from the
feudal system to the putting-out
system, the longlasting economic
depression at the time, and severe
food shortages. By the late 1780s,
the French monarchy reached a
financial crisis in which it could not
finance itself nor could it pay off
debts from the Seven Years War;
as a result, Louis XVI was forced to
call the Estates General.
The Estates General had not
been called since 1614, and was
structured so as to favor the
nobility and the clergy. As soon as

the Estates General met, though,

the three estates represented
almost immediately clashed with
each
other.
Existing
tensions
between the estates, as well as the
imbalance
between
the
representation of the clergy and
the nobility versus the middle and
lower classes, directed the initial
debates toward finding justice for
all three estates. The Third Estate
was finally doubled, and days later
the representatives came to the
royal palace with lists of grievances
calling for major reform of the
French monarchy and equality
among subjects. These same
grievances formed the basis for the
French Revolution as the monarchy
proved ineffectual for repairing the
objections.
Further political dissolution
occurred as the Third Estate was
banned from discussions between
the monarchy and the First and
Second Estates. The maligned
Third Estate
met in the royal
tennis courts and created the
famous Tennis Court Oath, which
marked the beginning of the
National Assembly, viewed as the
most representative body for the
nation. After this date, things only
went downhill for the French royal
family. Rumors that the king
intended to suppress the assembly
roused the citizens, precipitating
the Storming of the Bastille. Louis
and his family were later forced to
return to Paris from their palace in
Versailles. Two years later, in 1791,
the family tried to escape, which
was considered proof of Louis
treason against the state. He was
forced to ratify a new constitution,

LOUIS XVI: A SNAPSHOT OF HIS LIFE AND DEATH

thus estabilishing a constitutional
monarchy.
By September 1792, the National
Convention overthrew the monarchy
and declared France a republic. Louis
XVI was executed in January of the

next year under the charge of

treason. Louis inability to deal with
the changing political climate and
the radicalization of the French
population led to his quick demise,
paving
the
way
for
future
developments in French government.