Economic Troubles
In the years before the French Revolution, many economical issues
had been created. Many kings before Louis XVI hade gone to war with
several countries. Louis himself led France during the Seven Years
War. France also funded the American colonies during their
revolution. After each war, the debt skyrocketed.
War was not the only economic drain on France. The king and his
wife were a large problem themselves. They spent large sums of the
countries money for personal pleasures. Louis had an enormous palace
built at Versailles. It's construction used up approximately 10% of the
money in the National Treasury. Marie Antoinette, Louis' wife, also
lost a large amount of money by gambling.
Though Louis saw these problems, he did little to fix them. His
initial attempt to fix the debt was to raise taxes on the third estate
and to impose taxes on the nobility and clergy. This plan was quickly
rejected by the people. He then attempted to loan money from other
European countries. Seeing that France's economy would not be
repaired anytime soon, no country would loan Louis money.
had been created. Many kings before Louis XVI hade gone to war with
several countries. Louis himself led France during the Seven Years
War. France also funded the American colonies during their
revolution. After each war, the debt skyrocketed.
War was not the only economic drain on France. The king and his
wife were a large problem themselves. They spent large sums of the
countries money for personal pleasures. Louis had an enormous palace
built at Versailles. It's construction used up approximately 10% of the
money in the National Treasury. Marie Antoinette, Louis' wife, also
lost a large amount of money by gambling.
Though Louis saw these problems, he did little to fix them. His
initial attempt to fix the debt was to raise taxes on the third estate
and to impose taxes on the nobility and clergy. This plan was quickly
rejected by the people. He then attempted to loan money from other
European countries. Seeing that France's economy would not be
repaired anytime soon, no country would loan Louis money.