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After all, without doubt he had taken over at the eve of the revolution. His queen Marie Antoinette was a woman of great strength of character and of more intellectual power than her husband which was of a buggery burden. She was a stranger to France and her influence upon her husband was at times evil and most time detrimental. There are several reasons as to why Louis should not be executed. The revolution took place in 1779, and he was unable to undo the past mistakes in such a short period of time. He wasn’t a typical tyrant ruler like Louis XIV.
He sent France into bankrupt by engaging in a series of wars such as the French- Dutch war, league of Sagebrush, war of Spanish succession, war of devolution, and the war of reunions. Louis XVI took part in the American War of Independence against the British army with a strong maritime arsenal which brought prestige and fame to France. France was mainly bankrupt due to the Seven year war, not of his doing. He in fact appointed Turbot as his chief minister who followed a policy of “No bankruptcy, no increase of taxation, and no borrowing.
Subsequently he appointed a moderate reformer t in 1776 and appointed Jacques Necked as the finance minister ho tried to uplift the economy by skillful borrowing to bring about a balance between the income and the expenditure of the state. He proposed to tax all French citizens, whatever their social status was, on a unique tax rate unfortunately criticized by the first two estates that refused to pay. Necked was quite popular at court until he accused Marie Antoinette of her glamorous lifestyle which was bankrupting France, for which he, too, was dismissed.
To settle the finances of France and the growing resentment the common people had against the nobles and clergy, Louis called the Estates-General, which represented all three classes of the Ancient Regime which was the First Estate, the clergy; the Second Estate, the Aristocracy; and the Third Estate, which comprised of basically of peasants and middle class. The estate general which hadn’t been called for 175 years was summoned to reform the feudal tax system.
Before the Revolution, Louis proved Himself to be a devoted king by ending the death penalty for deserters and abolishing all forms of torture, giving aid to Jewish families, reforming taxation, Write a report on behalf of Louis XVI detailing what he has done for France and why he should not be executed. By lashings provisions to aid abandoned children and the deaf. Steps were taken to abolish the letters De cachet”. The king became unquestionably popular due to his services. Louis was a kind-hearted reformer who was caught in a tidal wave of his misfortune.
Louis XV took no interest in affairs of state, and when France had to face difficult situations. Louis XVI was also never given a proper education in either the classics or politics, leaving him to learn from books he could gather and by watching the French Court conduct its affairs. Louis also placed a great confidence in his wife, often following her suggestion against his better Judgment. He simply found it hard to handle state affairs without the guidance of anyone. Maybe he could have done more for France by striping the first estate and the second estate off their privileges and abolishing feudalism completely.
He could have reduced most of the expenditure used on hosting massive parties and he also could have prevented his wife from spending so much of wealth on her clothes. His poor rule may have caused the revolution, but it was the damage done by the previous rulers, which led to such a revolution. If he had been educated properly, he may have been a better ruler. He scented the throne very young, so it’s not reasonable to expect something big from him, especially when he wasn’t ready for it. Louis was one of the first kings to give up some of his power to the people.
In 1789 when the mob invaded the palace of Versailles, he told his guards not to defend him. People blame him for the blood he had shed, but on the 10th of August 1792, he attended the assembly to prevent bloodshed. He also never had thoughts on counter revolution and Louis in his own defense said that he would argue for his life but never beg for it. Some of the accusations against him weren’t true. He was shown documents which revealed that he were trying to encourage foreign armies to invade France, but that certainly wasn’t true.
He really didn’t understand the events which took place from 1789 to 1791. When the estate general was summoned he didn’t give out any ideas, and when the national assembly was set up he didn’t know what to do. Louis was like a pawn in this whole revolution. He really didn’t know why all this was happening, especially when he had succeeded in being a better king than his grandfather and ancestors. Louis may have been responsible for certain things, but that didn’t mean he had to be executed.