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After the Napoleonic era, the Congress of Vienna restored King Louis XVIII to power in France. The French government now consisted of a king, constitution, and a legislature, but the king still had the most power. Charles X inherited the throne, after his brother Louis XVIII died. King Charles X wanted to rule as an absolute monarch, but the citizens got angry and rebelled. This became known as the Revolution on 1830 and caused Charles to flee to England. Moderate liberals now formed a constitutional monarchy and Louis Philippe was chosen as the new king. By dressing and acting like a normal citizen, Louis Philippe gained popularity among the middle class citizens. Many French people referred to him as the “citizen king.” Louis Philippe increased the number of wealthy citizens that could vote, limited the freedom of the press, and began to silence those who opposed him. These actions gradually made him seem less like a citizen and more like a king. In 1846, an economic depression made life difficult in France for everyone but the wealthy. The economic depression led to ano...
During his rule, Napoleon called himself an emperor, but he acted like the kings before him. The French Revolution stood against the idea of one leader with all authority over one country and promoted liberty, equality, and fraternity. The French citizens did not glorify Napoleon as a king because he gave his people sovereignty over political situations. He used plebiscites or voting to spread equality, however, the majority was always in favor of Napoleon. This happened due to fear because he was the strongest man in Europe at the time. He idolized himself as a hero, saving the French people from the
When Charles X came to power after the death of Louis XVIII, the leader of the ultraroyalist faction came to power. Charles X first began compensating aristocrats who had lost their land during the revolution ...
In his book The French Revolution, William Doyle talks about the king’s power before the The French Revolution. Doyle explains that the king has an absolute monarchy over the citizens in France. An absolute monarchy is when a king or queen has full control over his citizens. The king is the judge, jury, and the executioner for his people. Whatever the king decides goes, no one has a say in what he has decided on. There are several examples that Doyle talks about in his book that shows how King Louis the 16th had an absolute monarchy over his citizens before 1787.
Europe as a continent includes many nations and yet the structure and boundaries of European countries have morphed multiple times creating and dissolving governments through war and conflict. The Napoleonic wars were from around 1803 to 1815, though this may not be exact since the wars’ start date is a matter of opinion due to earlier conflicts with Europe during the entire French revolution. They were a geographical and political restructuring of Europe that lead to the creation and organization of the Europe nations that eventually became the primary combatants and effected territories of World War 1. The nations of France, England, and kingdoms of Germany experienced sweeping changes in their positions in the world due to Napoleon’s actions and the French’s influences across Europe. The spread of new ideas of nationalism, society, and government that spread across Europe as a consequence of the Napoleonic wars and French Revolution impacted each of these countries to varying degrees and set their position in the world until the start of the first World War.
King Louis XIV's 72 year reign was incredibly influential in shaping French history. King Louis XIV’s childhood was traumatic because of “La Fronde” which was a noble rebellion against the monarchy. This experience taught King Louis XIV to distrust the nobles. It was for this reason that he eventually excluded nobility from the council and surrounded himself with loyal ministers whom he could control. He also separated the aristocracy from the people of France by moving the court to the Palace of Versailles. One of the most notable of King Louis XIV’s decisions was that he refused to appoint another Prime Minister after the death of Prime Minister Mazarin. Every decision, from the declaration of war to the approval of a passport, went through him personally. During his reign as king, France participated in several wars including the War of Devolution, in Anglo-Dutch War, and the War of the Spanish Succession. Another major action he took was the proclamation of the Edict of Fontainebleau, which revoked the Edict of Nantes, imposing religious uniformity through Catholi...
Louis XIV (the fourteenth) was an absolute monarch. He was often called "the Sun King," and ruled over France. He devoted himself to helping France achieve economic, political, and cultural prominence. Many historians believe the phrase "absolute power corrupts absolutely" mirrors Louis' reign. Louis XIV revoked the Edict on Nantes, changing the economy of France in one motion. By creating the city of Versailles and being a major patron of the arts, Louis was very influential on French culture. He made France go almost bankrupt from his costly wars and failures. Louis was very corrupt in his power, and it shown in all he did to change France; he got what he wanted, when he wanted it.
As the result of the French Revolution, the political system changed from an absolute monarchy to a more representative Republic. The monarchy in France was abolished, because the nation lost their belief in the king and the power of the government due to corruption, economic problems and weak leadership. For example when Louis XVI fled to Varennes, together with his wife - Marie Antoinette, this showed the nation that they could no longer trust Louis XVI and they way he led the government and the country.
French Pre-Revolutionary Government The ancien regime was an expression used to describe the system of government, laws and institutions which preceded the French Revolution of 1789. The system relied heavily on the 'seigneurial system', based largely on the medieval feudal system by which the monarch had absolute power, most of the clergy (first estate) and the nobility (second estate) were very wealthy, and the peasants (third estate) were oppressed by heavy taxation and made to work as virtual slaves for their landlords. It was this system which was an important contributing factor to the resentment which developed between the poor, who made up three quarters of France's population at the time, and the nobles, and eventually led to the uprising of the lower classes and revolution in 1789. The ancient regime was an outdated system which ignored the demands of social and economic progress in favour of keeping the third estate in check and attempting to ensure that France was a dominant power in Europe. In most European countries the system of feudalism had died out in the Middle Ages.
During the eighteenth century, France was one of the most richest and prosperous countries in Europe, but many of the peasants were not happy with the way France was being ruled. On July 14, 1789, peasants and soldiers stormed the Bastille and initiated the French Revolution. This essay will analyze the main causes of the French Revolution, specifically, the ineffectiveness of King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, the dissatisfaction of the Third Estate, and the Enlightenment. It will also be argued that the most significant factor that caused the French Revolution is the ineffective leadership of King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette.
The French Revolution evokes many different emotions and controversial issues in that some believe it was worth the cost and some don't. There is no doubt that the French Revolution did have major significance in history. Not only did the French gain their independence, but an industrial revolution also took place. One of the main issues of the Revolution was it's human costs. Two writers, the first, Peter Kropotkin who was a Russian prince, and the other Simon Schama, a history professor, both had very opposing views on whether the wars fought by France during the Revolution were worth it's human costs. Krapotkin believed that the French Revolution was the main turning point for not only France but for most other countries as well. On the other hand, Schama viewed the French Revolution as unproductive and excessively violent.
Prior to the revolution, King Louis XVI was at the top of the ancien régime, the social, economic, and political structure in France, which means he had absolute power. When he received the throne in 1774, it came along with insoluble problems. The people were split into three estates which divided social class. The first estate consisted of 100,000 tax exempt nobles who owned 20% of the land. The second estate consisted of the 300,000 tax exempt clergy who owned 10% of the land.
France had to declare bankruptcy after the American Revolution--war and debt helped bring down the monarchy. King, in 1787, called the Estates General, an assembly of noblemen buried since 1614. Thus the Revolution becan with an aristocratic attempt to recapture the state. "Men born and live free and equal under the law." Not democratic, but constitutional. The King was not King of France, but King of the French!!
The inflated opinion the French monarchy had about themselves and other nobles lent itself to how they contributed to and handled the economic downturn in France for centuries prior to the French Revolution. Forming the foundation of many of France’s financial issues, the monarchial system granted royals and the nobles who surrounded them the ability to feel as if they are intended to be superior to the rest of France, a mentality that would last until the French Revolution began. With this monarchial system, each king of France from 1610 to 1789 would contribute in both positive and negative ways, depending greatly on the Chief Ministers they appointed. [ADD]
The French citizens were correct in overthrowing the French monarchy because King Louis XVI was a poor leader. One of the qualities that made King Louis XVI a poor leader was that he was not interested in ruling the country. According to the World History Textbook, “He was easily bored with affairs of state and much preferred to spend his time in physical activities.” (Beck Roger, Black Linda, Krieger, Larry, Naylor Phillip, Shabaka Dahia, 653) It is obvious that King Louis XVI was more interested in personal enjoyment then the livelihood of his country. He would rather be noble having fun rather than being a leader making decisions for his country. When King Louis XVI was removed from power, he was given what he wanted, the escape from the affairs of state. Another example why King L...
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: