When the King Took Flight Essay

Towards the end of his reign, Louis began to lose much of the mystique and influence he had previously held, as his lack of financial resources and inability to adequately tax the nobility began to catch up to him. Document 6, a letter from French nobleman Francois Fenelon, criticizes Louis for his reckless warfare, warning, “God will one day lift the veil that covers your eyes… you will become a Christian only through humiliation.” As an educated nobleman, Fenelon likely held resentment towards the crown for its subjugation of his class. Additionally, Louis’ frequent, frivolous war campaigns caused great struggle in France as the nation struggled to supply the efforts; even Louis, by the end of his life, stated that “I have gone to war too lightly and pursued it for vanity’s sake.” However, regardless of the fact that sustained warfare drove France into debt and ruin, Louis’ ability to go to war based off of nothing more than his own will is even more evidence that supports his power as an absolute ruler, whether or not Fenelon agrees with his policy.

In June 1791, King Louis XVI and his family snuck out of Paris during the night, hoping to escape from the French Revolution and its violence. He planned to escape the country and return with foreign assistance to reclaim control of France, but the people of Varennes stopped and detained him until authorities arrived and sent him back to Paris. Louis’ attempted escape, in addition to the letter he left behind denouncing the Revolution, “profoundly influenced the political and social climate of France” (223). His escape outraged many people and left the administration in shambles, and this caused tensions to break out. To control the situation, the people of France quickly organized

While even prior to King Louis XVI flight, the monarchy’s power was already waning. However, upon being forcibly sent back to Paris after the flight, this action further damaged the monarchy by losing the trust and respect of the populace and many factions within the National Assembly. After the knowledge that Louis XVI had willing fled by his own accord had spread through the newspaper presses, many people expressed a severe revulsion and disgust for the monarch and many began to vilify his name, including removing artistic depictions of him from homes and public shops—many of which these images were tossed into the gutter (Tackett, 104). The degree to which the people loss faith and trust in their fatherly monarch figure weakened the image and

     In addition to his strengths, Louis XIV had weaknesses. After Colbert died, Louis made one mistake that undid all of his work. He revoked Edict of Nantes who protected the religious freedom of the Huguenots. Instead of being imprisoned, more than 200,000 Huguenots fled from France. The country lost many of its skilled workers and business leaders. Louis XIV also fought many costly wars that caused his people great suffering. Many of the wars left France on the brink of bankruptcy.

King Louis XVI loved his country, even if it was in ruins which he was trying to fix, and even though unfortunately he was not the strongest ruler that does not mean King Louis XVI committed treason against France. He was wrongly persecuted for something he did not commit, treason is the crime of trying to overthrow your country's government or of helping your country's enemies during war, not fleeing from an unsafe home. King Louis XVI was innocent of treason because he actively tried to fix problems in the country, even though sometimes the outcomes of his solutions weren't perfect. He was a significant monarch with the way he affected the French Revolution as a

The French Revolution was also a result of the discontentment of the social structure in France. King Louis and his wife, Marie Antoinette, were very unpopular among the French because they did not care about their subjects.

Internal enemies of the French Revolution included Louis XVI as well as his wife, Marie Antoinette. Louis kept a supportive front toward the Revolution yet he remained in contact with Austria (like his Austrian wife), Prussia and Sweden asking for help to restore the Monarchy. When Louis tried to escape with his family and failed, the population began losing faith in their King, something that previously was not the case as he was rather popular. He was returned to Paris as a prisoner and reluctantly agreed to the Civil Constitution. The fact that Louis also greatly opposed the Rights of Man also led to his growing unpopularity.

Of all of the mistakes king Louis XVI made, whether it be not taxing the rich, his frivolous spending and just overall weakness, I think the worst mistake he made was trying to flee the country. With the country already on edge from the revolution and the fact that the people who hated you the most and you screwed over the most were the ones in charge,it kind of seemed like a bad time to flee the country.

During the French revolution, French citizens went against absolute monarchy and the feudal system that was antiquated. They were influenced by Enlightenment ideas such as inalienable rights and popular sovereignty. Louis XVI was the ruler at the time; he believed that his power was given to him by God, thus making him think his ruling was right despite people’s opinion. The citizens of France especially the 3rd estate disliked the king for treating them poorly. Eventually the Jacobins convicted Louis XVI to death by a guillotine for treason after finding a large iron box holding Louis XVI’s secret correspondence with foreign monarchs. The beheading of King Louis XVI was justified because he took people’s rights away and made people follow his inadequate rules and biased judgments based on status. Furthermore, if he were to be left alive it would have posed a threat to the security and stability of France.

How can one separate a mere normal man from a king? And which is more important between men with a passion from a man with a selfish desire? King Louis XVI was an example of a king unfit to rule. We will discuss King Louis’s early life, his reign as king, and the role he played in the French revolution.

Timothy Tackett’s book When the King Took Flight focuses on arguably the most consequential event in the French Revolution. King Louis XVI and his family’s attempt to escape France would influence an atmosphere of violence that would only continue to worsen. King Louis XVI regretted signing and accepting the Civil Constitution of the Clergy earlier in July 1790. Deciding to flee the country he assumed that through foreign intervention or negotiating he could change parts of the constitution he disagreed with. However he would be recognized and captured in Varennes. The king underestimated the true meaning and appeal of the revolution (87). His misunderstanding of the revolution led the way for the destruction of kingship and the monarchy itself. This decision had given power to the sans-culottes and the idea of a republic. While the kings flight to Varennes had many unintended consequences it serves as a crucial turning point for the revolution.

Some people think that King Louis XIV did more harm to France than good. They cite his lack of moderation in managing his money. They also point out that Louis denied religious liberties to the Protestants of France and tightened control over his Roman Catholic subjects by revoking the Edict of Nantes. They also claim Louis’ war efforts were very costly and drained the treasury of France. Some say his arrogance, including his emblem of the “Sun King”, turned “his” people away from him. They think that Louis only cared about himself and what he wanted and didn’t think about future France.

On the night 20/21st June 1791 Louis attempted to flee from the Tuileries Palace in Paris for a number of reasons. One of the main reasons that Louis wanted to flee was because he felt as if he was being kept as a prisoner there which led him to fear for his own safety. Since the October days when the crowd stormed the Versailles palace and brought the royal family into Paris Louis had felt like he was a prisoner of the crowds as his freedom did become reduced. Furthermore, in Easter of 1791 Louis and his family had been prevented from leaving Paris in order to visit Saint Cloud, a visit that they took annually. This prevention made Louis feel like even more of a prisoner as he was being held against his will, which highlighted the power that the sans-culottes crowd had as they had stopped him, and the power that he was losing as he

After being ruled by a prime minister for so long, France needed some changes. That is exactly what Louis the XIV would bring to France. In an age of separation, Louis wanted to start a unification process. He started this by giving himself sole power and also only having one religion for the country. The king is always the center of attention good or bad. Louis was prepared to take the good with the bad, and handled it well. He emphasized the king as the center of attention. While some see him as egotistical and greedy, Louis was one king who knew how to make improvements.

During the eighteenth century there was one central political cause for the French Revolution. King Louis XVI was a weak ruler who endured a lavish lifestyle. He disregarded the people’s needs, leaving much of the French population in discontent. Prior to the revolution the form of government was Absolute monarchy led by Louis XVI. The problem with absolute monarchy was that people were denied basic rights, and a say in government because the divine right theory was abused. The King ruled by the divine right of theory which