Peasant+Views+of+Louis+XVI


 * What did the peasants feel about King Louis XVI?**

The French revolution was a result of the people’s will to change. Before the French Revolution, the peasants were unhappy and angered about the way things were running by King Louis XVI. King Louis XVI was burdened with economic problems from his predecessors, which led to the state of France being grave. A major reason of the peasants’ unhappiness is from the Old Regime. Another reason of the peasants’ dissatisfaction is due to their weak leader, King Louis XVI. The third reason of their unhappiness are also shown in the peasants’ actions. The Old Regime contributed in antagonizing King Louis with its unfair system. The Old Regime was a social system that ran France before the revolution. The Old Regime divided the social class into three estates. This created an imaginary border between the rich and the poor and has made the peasants feel segregated. Theses separated estates had different privileges. The first and second estate payed little, if no tax, but the third estate had to pay about half of their income as tax. The Old Regime also gave the first and second estate the power to access high office. This meant that the third estate was not able to have representation, meaning their voices were not able to be heard. The Old Regime broke down the social class into three parts, leaving the peasants unhappy with their treatment. King Louis was viewed as a weak leader, who did not take actions that portrayed him as a good king. King Louis had took the throne with numerous problems with no way of solving them, which soon disrupted France’s status. King Louis took frequent, poor advice from the Queen. This indicated his characteristic of being unable to decide for himself, reflecting himself badly upon peasants. He constantly spent money on the Queen. The peasants saw his actions affecting France’s economy and named the Queen “Madame Déficit” for she has ruined the nation’s finance. King Louis did not deal with economical problems until facing bankruptcy. His irresponsibility as king was shown. The peasants couldn’t have been under ruling of King Louis XVI with his ways of controlling France. Under anger towards King Louis, the peasants act together to unleash their frustration. They hold riots burn and break houses of nobles. Three events that indicate the peasants’ rage towards King Louis are the burning of the Royal Carriages, Women March on Versailles and Storming the Bastille. These actions can be shown as a result of the peasants’ rage from being bottle up for too long. The peasants’ unhappiness towards King Louis XVI is clear with their actions and understandable through the conditions France was in.

This event symbolizes the start of the revolution as it occurs when the people of France's angers could not be contained anymore.
 * Revolutionaries storm the Bastille July 14, 1789**

Works Cited

"French Revolution." World History: The Modern Era. ABC-CLIO, 2011. Web. 29 Nov. 2011.

"Royal carriages burned during the French Revolution." Image. The Illustrated London News Picture Library. World History: The Modern Era. ABC-CLIO, 2011. Web. 30 Nov. 2011.

"Women march on Versailles." Image. Library of Congress. World History: The Modern Era. ABC-CLIO, 2011. Web. 30 Nov. 2011.

"Revolutionaries storm the Bastille on July 14, 1789." Image. Library of Congress. World History: The Modern Era. ABC-CLIO, 2011. Web. 30 Nov. 2011.

"Antoinette, Marie." HyperHistory.net. Web. 30 Nov. 2011. .