There is great mystery surrounding the death of Louis XVI. Many different events led up to this. His actions before, during, and after the French Revolution greatly affected his fate. The French Revolution was a very important time period in European history. However, the situation in France under Louis XVI, was a negative one. France had great financial problems and it was infested with plagues of all sorts. A lot of the financial problems were because of the American Revolution, among many other wars. Because so much financial aid was given to armies in these wars, Louis XVI was forced to raise taxes on much of the nobility. The financial problems only got worse in the following years because the government went bankrupt. Much of the blame for this was placed on Louis XVI. He was described as a weak, stupid, and incapable king. He was often more concerned with his own affairs than the affairs of his own people. He very rarely did his own work, much of the time leaving the work up to advisors and ministers. He used much of the people’s money for his own entertainment. He also spent a lot of money on his wife, Marie Antoinette. He listened to his wife a lot, which may not have been the best idea for him. She convinced him to ignore the financial problems in France and spend all the money on her. She also told him to fire some chief advisors, important advisors that probably could have prevented the French Revolution for ever happening. He never attempted to pay back any of the debt, he kept spending more money, making the predicament worse. There became tensions between the social classes, often between nobility and the peasants. Living conditions were very poor. The nobles had all the right, while the peasants were stepped on by everybody. Nobles had a say in public affairs, were entitled to a trail at special courts, and enjoyed financial advantages. They paid the basic tax once a year and that was it. Peasants and commoners...
