The French Revolution and the tip of the Versailles epoch are occasions that can all the time be linked to Louis XVI’s reign.
Here’s a have a look at the well-known ascent and descent of the earlier French king.
Who was Louis XVI? Marie Antoinette’s husband
Previous to the French Revolution of 1789, Louis XVI, who was born in August 1754, was the ultimate monarch within the line of Bourbon kings to rule France.
He was the kid of Maria Josepha of Saxony and Louis, Dauphin of France, son and inheritor presumptive of King Louis XV.
He succeeded his father as Dauphin in 1765 after his dying.
Then, on Might 10, 1774, he succeeded his grandfather as King of France and Navarre, a place he held till September 4, 1791, when he was given the title of King of France.
Louis-Auguste married Archduchess Marie Antoinette on Might 16, 1770, when he was simply 15 years outdated. She was the youngest daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Francis I and his spouse, the empress, and his second cousin as soon as eliminated.
What occurred to Louis XVI?
Louis XVI encountered animosity from the French populace when he was king.
Because the 18th century got here to an in depth, France was on the verge of going bankrupt as a result of its costly participation within the American Revolution and King Louis XVI’s lavish spending.
Moreover, the poor and peasants had turn into uneasy as a result of a number of years of poor harvests, drought, cattle ailments, and rising bread prices.
Occasions just like the storming of the Bastille, which brought about riots in Paris to drive Louis to lastly recognise the legislative authority of the Nationwide Meeting, have been characterised by rising tensions and violence.
Many expressed their desperation and contempt for a authorities that levied excessive taxes with out providing any reduction.
Marie Antoinette had additionally grown to be despised by the French, together with Louis XVI.
Due to this, in October 1789, the French folks marched on the royal palace at Versailles, beginning the French Revolution, which helped to form fashionable democracies by demonstrating the power of the folks’s will.
The royal couple confronted such ferocious resistance in June 1791 that they have been compelled to flee to Austria.
The monarchy was dissolved on account of the royal couple’s seize and imprisonment by the sans-culottes one yr later, in 1792.
The Nationwide Conference tried Louis XVI for treason in November after discovering proof of his disagreements with Austria and different international international locations.
On January 21, 1793, Louis was put to dying by the guillotine, a tool developed for rapidly finishing up beheading executions.
His spouse suffered the identical destiny 9 months later.