Aristocratic+Revolt

toc =Introduction=

Starting in 1787 and lasting until 1789, the Aristocratic Revolt progressed from the simple action of the higher classes resisting taxes, to a full-blown insurgence. King Louis XVI, like many other kings before him, had horrible spending habits and soon faced a large debt. With France's inability to feed its large population, and the growing need for money, Louis' financial advisers, particularly Charles-Alexandre de Calonne, suggested the placement of taxes on privileged classes to erase the debt. As to be expected, the Nobles did not accept the tax and resisted it. With that plan failed, Charles-Alexandre de Calonne soon attempted to place more taxes, this time on land owners, regardless of priviliges, only to have them resisted yet again. Things progressed, and it soon led to the defiance of the "aristocratic bodies". The situation came to such a point where the Estates-General, which had not been called on since 1614, was summoned with hopes that it could settle things.

=King Louis XVI=

King Louis XVI was king of France and Navarre from 1774 until 1791. From 1791 to 1792 he was king of all the French. King Louis got all his money from the lower and middle classes by taxing and exploiting them because he was almost bankrupt. The general public presented their feelings with the government by starting a riot because of the king's irresponsible actions. There were two groups in the royal court; one group supported king Louis and the other followed Marie Antoinette. The people of France were hungry and poor, and asked for a change in the pricing of food and taxes. They complained and argued because they ultimately had nothing to lose.

=Bibliography= <> <> <> Cranny, Michael. __CrossRoads: A Meeting of Nations__. Toronto: Prentice Hall, 1998. Price, Robert. __ A Concise History of France __. New York: Cambridge, 1993.


 * By: __Matt____D.__, __Pamela__.**