To what extent did the actions and policies of King Louis XVI caused the outbreak and affect the course of the French Revolution up to 1793?
In the year of 1789, there began a French Revolution due to economic troubles that had started back when King Louis XIV was ruling France. To pay back the money that had been lost in the aiding of the Americans in their war, the king began to make the third estate pay, raising the prices on small, everyday items unnecessarily as well as raising the taxes unreasonably. These taxes began to truly distinguish the inequality and separation between the three estates. Several of his influential actions on the French Revolution had a rather negative affect for his country. King Louis XVI affected the French Revolution in many ways: he had decided to help the Americans in their war, been desperate enough to call the States-General after losing a large quantity of money, was unfeeling and inconsiderate in his actions, and cared more for himself and his safety than the welfare of the people of his country.
The first and most prominent action King Louis XVI committed was to become allies with the Americans in their time of need and desperation. This was the primary reason for the economic problems that had been occurring in France, for they had spent over one million livres tournois on the American Revolution. When King Louis XVI discovered that his favor to the Americans would help his personal extravagant spending send the country into bankruptcy, he began to tax the third estate at a high rate, which began the revolution in the third estate. Along with sending his country into poverty through the American Revolution, King Louis XVI also exposed the citizens of his country to the seemingly wild ideas in America of freedom, unity, and equality, causing several people to begin to think about changes they could make in their own government. The Americans had set an example to the French, protesting, crafting documents,...