Louis XVI Biography

1. KING LOUIS XVI
The Last King of France
Louis the XVI ruled as Frances King from 1774 to 1791 (17 years and 144 days). He was born on the 23rd of August, 1754,
in the Palace of Versailles. He was the 3rd son in his family and Grandson of Louis the XV. When his older brothers both
passed away along with his father he became the new the Dauphin of France. At the age of 15 he married Archduchess
Marie Antoinette of Austria. This marriage was met with much hostility from the public. Some of the people of France already
disliked the Austrian alliance because they blamed the Austrians for dragging them into the 7 year war and causing much of
Frances immense dept. Further strain was put upon the two when they were unable to produce a child, and wouldn’t do so
for several years into their marriage. Only 5 years after Louis marriage his grandfather, Louis XV passed away, and Louis was
crowned the King of France, only at the age of 20. Unfortunately Louis inherited a country that was already deep in debt.
This was mainly from the 7 year war and his wife's excessive spending on gowns, jewels, redecorating and gambling didn't
help the treasury. To further this Louis signed a treaty with the Americans to help them with their own revolution towards
becoming their own country, and Louis was advised to do so to show the French’s strength towards the British after their
embarrassing defeat in the previous war. The people of France called out. They were starving and Louis could not afford to
feed them. Riots broke out throughout the country and in Paris the Bastille fortress was stormed and torn down. The
Revolution was on the rise. On the 5th of October 1789, an angry mob of Parisian women stormed to the Palace of Versailles
12 miles from Paris, demanding bread for their families. During the night The crowds broke into the Palace, and if the crowds
had found either the King or Queen they most likely would have been killed. The next day the crowd forced the royal family
out of the Palace, put them in a carriage and marched them all the way back to Paris. They were placed in the Tuileries
Palace where they would stay for the following 3 years. This was mainly so the people of France could now be able to
enforce decisions by being in the same place as Louis so he would be forced to abide. He would spend 2 years in Paris
before he would finally decide to do something. He was going to escape. On the 21st of June the Louis, Marie and their
children disguised as servants of a wealthy Russian Baroness and were taken from Paris in a carriage. They traveled over
200 km to the town of Varennes. But they were discovered and taken back to Paris. the King was now a traitor. The Royal
family were only 50 km off the Austrian border. 50 km from safety. Louis was now a prisoner of his own country. On the the
15th of January, 1793, Louis was taken before the Convention which was made up of 721 deputies, who would vote. They
were asked if Louis was guilty. If there should be a referendum and weather he should be banished or executed. He was
found guilty, there was no referendum and he was to be executed. Louis returned to his family spending the rest of the day
with them saying he would visit them in the morning. That was the last time he saw his wife and children. On Monday the
21st of January Louis was taken by royal carriage to the stand. He delivered a short speech claiming his innocence but was
soon drowned out by a drum roll and the shouts of the crowd. He was tied down to the guillotine and executed. Louis XVI
was dead. The Last King of France...