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Year 12 History - Unit 1 AOS 1 (Individuals (King Louis XVI (reigned 1774…
Year 12 History - Unit 1 AOS 1
Individuals
King Louis XIV (reigned 1648-1715)
Sun King
Known for aggressive foreign policy
Desire for expansion
Expensive enemies
Often regarded as the last 'decent' King of France
Had good leadership qualities
Saw the need for reform in France
Built Versailles to move away from the people of Paris
King Louis XV (reigned 1715-1774)
Grandfather of Louis XVI
Well loved
Easily influenced by people - especially mistresses
Prone to overspending
Had bad foreign relations especially with Britain & Austria
Involved in both the Seven Years War and the War of Austrian Succession - these were very costly
Became increasingly popular due to a lack of reform
King Louis XVI (reigned 1774-1791)
Married to Marie-Antoinette at age 16
Became King of France in 1774 due to the death of his father and older brothers in 1765
Ill-prepared to rule
Criticised for "failing to handle to crisis of the French monarchy in the 1780s"
Inherited a France in crisis
Extremely indecisive
BIG overspender
Involved in the American War of Independence
Executed 1793
Queen Marie Antoinette
Austrian born
Spent lots of money on clothes and jewellery - made her unpopular
Extremely despised
Delay in starting a family
Places
Versailles
Major symbol of opulence - showed status
Built by Louis XIV to move away from the people of Paris
Costly to both the monarchy and the economy
Costly to run (6-25% of national economy spent on Versailles)
FUN FACT
The Queen had the biggest bed for the 'live births'
The Church
The First Estate
The King had the support of the church - ruled with absolute power and divine right from God
Church was fairly 'tax exempt' - only paid the option
don gratuit
(around 5%)
Controlled education
Controlled information - pulpit was the main place to found out information, could censor information
Main source of public assistance
Register of births, deaths and marriages
Had established a parliament-like structure of governance
Eventually turned against the monarchy and joined with the other people in 'revolting'
Ideas / Conditions
The Enlightenment
Birth of critical thought - questioning what is originally believed as normal
Ideas of parliaments and parliamentary structure - King no longer ruling by divine right, but by real sovereignty
Key political idea of representation - people cannot be asked to abide by laws that they don't agree to
King and church attempted to stop this birth of ideas through censorship
Is said to have contributed in some ways to the French Revolution, but not the sole contributor
Writers of the Enlightenment criticised the Old Regime, but did not suggest it be overthrown
Many writers compared France and England - England seen as a more fair society with parliamentary political structures in place
