Louis XVI and the French Revolution

By Sultan Kholkar

The French Revolution is one of, if not the most famous, example of a disgruntled population overthrowing its oppressors. Though caused by a complex mix of factors such as social inequality and a deteriorating economy, there was one man who stood at the centre of it all: King Louis XVI of France. In this article, I will explore the role of the king in causing the Revolution, as well as how he exacerbated the situation after July 1789.

On 10 May 1774, Louis XV died and was succeeded by his son Louis XVI. The new king of France was an interesting figure; his tutors and contemporaries found him to be adept at matters of mathematics and geography, and he had a brilliant understanding of the British political scene, keeping a close eye on it at all times. However, at the same time, he lacked in imagination, and despite his supposed proficiency with mathematics that should lend itself to public finances, by the mid-1780s France had accumulated a great deal of debt. Then there was Louis’ indecisiveness, many of the important decisions he had to make in the years before the Revolution took him much too long to come to. For example, France’s entry into the American War of Independence in 1778 was preceded by two years of deliberating. In that war, France supported British colonies in America in their mission to gain independence from Britain, indeed the war was a success for the Americans, as it resulted in the overthrow of British rule and the formation of the United States of America. However, while France was successful in challenging British colonialism, it also accrued a large amount of debt due to its participation in the war, around 1 billion livres. As the government’s debt grew larger and larger due to its involvement in conflicts like the Seven Years’ War and the American Revolutionary War, it gradually slipped into greater and greater disrepute; people were unhappy with their government’s handling of finances and the taxes that would have to be paid to resolve the matter. Much of the population, especially the common folk of the Third Estate were suffering from high rates of poverty during this period, so increasing government debt unsurprisingly worsened the situation.

Another issue with Louis XVI’s reign was the influence of his Marie-Antoinette on matters of state, in the lead-up to the revolution. For most of his reign, the king had excluded her from such matters, in an attempt to resist any sort of Austrian influence on the French crown (Marie-Antoinette was the daughter of Maria Theresa, the Empress of Austria), however around 1787, when he began to face more opposition from his ministers, the king began to rely more and more on his wife as a source of guidance and comfort, away from the ministers and government officials who rejected his ideas. Her influence on matters of government began to grow; indeed, it was her who was responsible for some significant appointments, such as Necker’s appointment as prime minister. Eventually, Louis XVI’s indecisiveness, poor management of the economy, and the too-strong influence of Marie Antoinette would lead to the downfall of the ancien régime.

In 1789, the French Revolution overthrew the monarchy and established a republic. The revolution came about due to a combination of factors and can be split into two parts: the fall of the ancien régime and the establishment of the French Republic. For one, the French government was in huge debt after its support of America in the American Revolutionary War. Despite the fact that America had defeated Britain with its help, France did not really stand to gain much from a victory in the war. It was more a means of opposing British imperialism than a way to gain something tangible for France, unlike previous wars. Therefore, even though Louis XVI had been able to win his major war, unlike his father, the consequences of this were nothing advantageous; France racked up a great deal of debt and regressive taxes were proposed, unsurprisingly proving highly unpopular.

This was in tandem with the fact the less wealthy portion of French society (such as many in the Third Estate) were already doing rather badly. There had been bad harvests recently, and so the commoners were already suffering financially. Despite this, they still owed taxes to the government and those in the other estates, as was France’s feudal system, so it was no surprise that the new tax proposals inflamed them. Resentment against the nobility and clergy grew due to this economic gap and inequality combined with Enlightenment ideals of democracy. The king’s new minister Necker was more popular with the people, through moves like publishing the government’s finances and new taxes were proposed, whereby the wealthy would – for the first time – have to make a reasonable contribution. Safe to say, this was strongly opposed by the king’s advisors, who belonged to these classes and certainly did not want to give up their wealth. And so, unable to win support with his advisors, Louis XVI called for a meeting of the Estates-General, marking the first time this had been done in one hundred and seventy-five years. The Estates-General was France’s most democratic body; it was composed of representatives from all three Estates of French society, with no one Estate having more representatives than another. However, this notion of equal representation was merely superficial. Although the Third Estate made up 98% of the French population, they enjoyed the same amount of representation in the Estates-General as the First and Second Estate. In this way, the privileged two per cent made up sixty-six per cent of this body, while the poorer ninety-eight per cent were represented by only a third. Also, the Estates-General had very little real power, as they were not a legislative body, rather, their role was more advisory. Unlike the English Parliament, which was required to approve royal legislation, the most the Estates-General could do was present petitions or perhaps discuss some legislation.

The Third Estate quickly realised how little power they truly had. Furthermore, the First and Second Estates were – unsurprisingly – opposed to any tax reforms which would cause them to pay more. As a result, the Third Estate broke off from the Estates-General, proclaimed the formation of the National Assembly, and pledged to draft a new constitution with or without the help of the other Estates. The king ordered the First and Second Estates to meet with the National Assembly, a seemingly positive move, however, this was jeopardized by his dismissal of Necker, a minister who was quite popular with the people. This caused outrage amongst the people of the Third Estate and in July, thousands of furious Parisians and some sympathetic soldiers stormed the Bastille, a prison in Paris. The Bastille contained many weapons and was a symbol of the Crown’s power. By effectively seizing it, the revolutionaries were, in essence, declaring that they could and would challenge the hold of their tyrants.

Quickly, the revolution spread and rapid action was taken. In August, the National Assembly abolished the feudal system. This included all the old rules, taxes, and privileges of the ancien régime. In the same month, the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen was passed. This proposed something which, to us, seems sensible and expected. However, for the time, the notion that individual rights and freedoms were integral to human nature was something radical, as was the idea that government existed to protect these. In October, there was the Women’s March on Versailles, which forced Louis XVI’s royal court back to Paris from the Versailles Palace. Thus, the monarchy persisted, although the power it had once enjoyed was now extremely diminished. Louis was now a king in name only, the head of a constitutional monarchy that held little to no power of its own.  With their former privileges now gone, many nobles fled abroad and petitioned foreign leaders to invade France and restore order. This further angered the rebellious French population, as it seemed that the nobility did not care for the wellbeing of France and her people, rather that they were solely concerned with preserving their own privilege, wealth, and power. The next few years saw conflict between those who still supported the monarchy and were intent on blocking major liberal reforms and republicans like the Jacobins.

In June 1791, Louis XVI and his immediate family attempted to escape France, an occasion known as the Flight to Varennes. The plan was to escape the Tuileries Palace and travel to Montmédy, where loyal forces had been gathered. However, on their way, the royal family was arrested in the small town of Varennes, after being recognised during their previous stop in the town of Sainte-Menehould. Furthermore, the plan progressed slowly and miscalculations were made, as well as the fact that there was a general lack of secrecy; at various stops, the king himself was chatting with peasants, while in one town the royal party was openly greeted with applause and cheers. All of these factors led to their escape plans being thwarted and the family being brought back to Paris once again. The attempt to escape contributed to the charges of treason that were eventually levied against the royal family too. The Flight to Varennes and their efforts to forcibly regain control of the country significantly shattered the people’s belief in the monarchy and lost them a great deal of support. The Insurrection of 10 August 1792 saw armed revolutionaries storming the Tuileries Palace and arresting the royal family, with the king being charged with treason. It was announced that the monarchy had been abolished and finally, in January 1793, the once-revered King Louis XVI was publicly beheaded by guillotine. This was a momentous occasion, as it brought an end to almost one thousand years of uninterrupted monarchic reign in France.

In September, this was solidified by the proclamation of the First French Republic, with its famous motto, “liberté, egalité, fraternité”. Nine months later, Marie-Antoinette was also beheaded by the guillotine, long-mocked as Madame Déficit due to her extravagant lifestyle. However, executing the royal family was not enough. A group of radical liberals called the Jacobins, led by Maximilien Robespierre, would initiate the Revolution’s Reign of Terror. Over twenty thousand people were executed, with anyone who expressed even the slightest opposition to the new regime being prosecuted. Religious and political leaders of the old regime were arrested, expelled from France, or even executed. These events prompted monarchs from many other nations to take action. Britain, Prussia, Russia and Austria, among others, engaged France in a series of conflicts that we know as the French Revolutionary Wars, as they were concerned that revolutionary beliefs could spread beyond France’s borders.

Though the democratic republic that the revolutionaries sought to bring about was short-lived, the effects of the French Revolution were anything but. The notions of equality that it was based upon shaped thinking in France and the rest of Europe for decades to come, such as influencing the Bolsheviks more than a century later in Russia. Historians agree that the French Revolution was one of the most important events in history, as it played a very significant role in spreading French culture and liberalism to other countries, bringing an end to centuries of feudal laws and practices.