King Louis XVI of France - Essay Example

?Henry Nabea # History # 16th April, King Louis XVI of France According to the Biography of King Louis XVI, he was born on 23, August,1754. He was born as Louis-Augustus, and his parents were, Louis, dauphin of France and princes Marie Joseph of Saxony (Louis XVI Biography, online). His grandfather was Louis XV, whom he succeeded as the king of France, Louis XVI, was born at Versailles in France. His father’s death of tuberculosis in 176 at the age of 36 made him heir to the throne that was held by his grandfather, Louis XV (Louis XVI, online). His mother too died of the same illness, and Louis and his siblings were left as orphans. At this time Louis XVI was only 13 years old, and he was oldest among his siblings. The children were taken by their grandmother following the death of their parents, but the grandmother died one year later. As a child, Louis Augustus wasn’t prepared to become the king of France and, although, he was a good student especially in sciences, he was, however, shy, disorganised and irresponsible, and his main interests were hunting and making locks (Louis XVI Biography). At the age of 15 in 1770, Louis Augustus married Marie Antoinette, the daughter of Empress Maria Therese of Austria. This was a strategic political move. On June 11, 1775, following the death of his grandfather, King Louis XVI, Louis Augustus ascended to power and he became King Louis XVI. Louis XVI became the king of France when the country was in economic and military crisis. The military was inefficient and the economy was in turmoil. And immediately upon becoming the king of France, King Louis XVI began a radical programme of reforms in both economy and military. And, although, King Louis XVI had many failings and was eventually ousted from power and executed, he, however, had many accomplishments in his reign. The following are the achievements of King Louis XVI of France. On foreign policy, King Louis XVI led his country to successfully end the British domination of North America (The Greatness of King Louis XVI, online). With the British having dominated the whole of North America and reaping a lot of benefits from the domination, France had to find a way of ending that domination, or at least curtailing the domination. And to achieve this end, King Louis XVI sent an expedition to join the fledgling American troops so as to support them and to defeat the British troops. The French troops did excellently in the war and this led to the independence of USA when the British troops gave up on the war. In the war, the French expedition also managed to capture the Island of Tobago. Still on foreign policies, King Louis sought to curtail French influence in India. And to do achieve this goal, he joined the Maratha Empire and took the side of Mysore in the Anglo-Mysore war. This move strengthened the Mysore side and led to the defeat of Britain. This led to the weakening of the British influence in India and the subsequent strengthening of the French influence in the region. On the human rights, King Louis was a great champion of human rights. On assuming power as the king of France, one of his quick reforms was to flee to freedom the prisoners of state who had been imprisoned for political and other illegitimate reasons. He also reformed the penal code and abolished the use of torture in punishing the offenders (Grimshaw, 249). Death penalty, also, was abolished in the penal code reforms. King Louis also achieved immensely in improving the economy of France, and this move made him so popular to the people. To improve the economy of France, the King, through his able minister in charge of economy, Turgot, introduced the right economic policies, and this led to improvement of the economy. The improvement of the economy led to reduction in prices of basic food stuffs such as the price of flour and bread (Louis XVI Biography, online). One of the economic policies that helped to improve the economy o France under King Louis XVI was the equal taxation of all the subjects of France. Prior to this policy, the nobility were exempted from paying taxes. Also, in the reforms, there was reduction in the taxes paid (What are some accomplishments of Louis XVI? online) King Louis XVI was also a visionary leader and he sponsored various voyages of exploration (The Greatness of King Louis XVI, online). This move shows that King Louis was an ambitious leader who wanted to take France to great heights of prosperity. King Louis is credited as the first king to sponsor voyages of exploration, and America is said to have followed his example in sponsoring many explorations in different fields, some years later. King Louis XVI was, also, a God-fearing leader and a devout Catholic. The king used to pray whenever he faced difficulties and his prayer life was one of his well known and celebrated attributes. The king remained a committed Catholic throughout his life, and his faith in God and his loyalty to Church never wavered, even in times of challenges and crisis like when he was executed. The king also had a heart for the poor and the lowly in his country and he sought to help and to uplift them by putting the right policies in place that would ensure that their interests are well taken care of by his government. After his death, the Catholic Church recognised his virtuous life and he was canonised as a martyr and a saint of the Church. In his reform programme, the king also abolished servitude. Before he became the king of France, servitude was viewed as a normal and a good practice (What are some accomplishments of Louis XVI, online). Servitude was a common place practice and none of his predecessors had ever dared to question to moral value of the practice. King Louis XVI, however, questioned the practice and called for total abolition of servitude in France. This is usually considered as one of his main achievements. King Louis XVI also recognised and relieved the Jewish people of many challenges that they had been subjected to by his predecessors (What are some accomplishments of Louis XVI? online). Just like in many other European countries, Jews in France were viewed as an inferior race, and as the cause of many owes that the French people were facing in life, economical challenges and other challenges. But King Louis, however, had a different view of the Jews people and he advocated for respect of all people in France including the Jews. By this act, the Jews people were respected and they were accorded respect, just like other people living in France. In the reign of King Louis, there were also various reforms in the hospitals and the medical care services in general. This was meant to ensure that all the subjects of France, especially the poor, had access to quality medical care. King Louis XVI, also, cared for the physically challenged members of his country, like the deaf, and he ensured that they were well taken. He also made sure that their rights were upheld. King Louis XVI, also, took care of the lost children and he provided them with the basic necessities of life. This was to ensure that all his subjects lived a dignified life and their basic human rights were respected and upheld. Lastly, King Louis advocated for more freedom of the press. This move made promoted freedom of speech and expression more in France. Before he took power, the press had a very limited power. Contributions of King Louis XVI to historical records One major contribution of King Louis to historical records is his mistakes and his failings, despite his many achievements as the king of France. One of his major weaknesses was his indecisiveness. King Louis wasn’t assertive and he lacked administrative qualities. This was the cause of his undoing as a king. Although King Louis had excellent economic and other policies, he however, did not have a mean of implementing them because the members of his court were against his policies. His problems started with the reforms that he, together with his able minister Turgot, started. While the public supported the reforms for they were meant to be beneficial to them in many ways, the members of his court did not support the reforms and they severely criticized the reforms. This made the king to bow to the wishes of his critiques, and this made him to sack Turgot and to appoint Necker. Necker’s reform attempts, also, failed miserably and this exacerbated the financial crisis in France. This finally led to public unrest and eventually the king was ousted and executed. The main point in this disgraceful episode is that, a king or a leader must be decisive and assertive. This point is one of the major contributions of King Louis XVI to historical records. The second major contribution of King Louis XVI to historical records is that, faithfulness and devotion to God and to the Church can, actually, go together. Despite being a powerful king, Louis XVI remained steadfastly a devout Catholic. The trappings of power did not entice him to leave the church, or to become less committed in his devotion to church affairs. This point also is a big contribution in the historical records. The third major contribution of King Louis XVI to historical records is that, his poor administration style led to French revolution. Had King Louis XVI been strong in character and, had he been assertive, French revolution would not have occurred under his reign. But due to his weak character and inability to implement his policies, unrest arose among his people and this led to the first French revolution. Impact of Louis XVI in later history One of the major impacts of the legacy of King Louis in later history is that, the first French revolution that resulted from his reign influenced the second French revolution of 1830. In the first French revolution, the citizens of France became more aware of their rights, and they realized that they, indeed, have power to control how they would like to be governed in future. This realization made them to fight more for liberty, justice, and freedom in the 18th century. The first French revolution, therefore, acted as the basis of the second French revolution. The second impact of Louis XVI in later history is that, the French revolution that resulted from his administration led to the clamour for freedom and respect of human dignity, in all the western countries. The French revolution led to the later development of the theories of human rights in the western world. And even the 20th century American civil rights movements have their basis in the French revolutions. Even in the contemporary world, we are enjoying the fruits of the French revolutions, inform of the many human rights that we enjoy. The decision by King Louis XVI to support Americans in their fights for independence against their colonizers, the Britain, has led to rivalry and some kind of enmity between France and England up to the modern world. While the French succeeded in their mission to curtail British influence in North America, England took this move as an invasion of their territory by the France. The foreign policy taken by King Louis XVI on England has therefore defined the diplomatic relations of these two countries up to now. Louis XVI. Web. 16 May 2013. Louis XVI Biography. Web. 16 May 2013. Grimshaw, W. The History of France, from Foundation to Monarchy, to the death of Louis XVI (1829). Web. 16 May 2013. The Mad Monarchist: The Greatness of King Louis XVI. Web. 16 May 2013. What are some accomplishments of Louis XVI? Web. 16 May 2013. Read More