made up 80 percent of the population. They struggled to survive and were heavily taxed. All the money peasants made went to taxes and bread. Peasant unemployment resulted in many homeless citizens, emigration, and death. People became homeless because they could not afford to pay taxes. The crisis of Europe was felt the most in France. As population increased, inadequate agriculture productivity and bad harvests came along too. Soon the price of grain was more than the peasants wages. Also, the standard of living declined. Even though the whole situation was not Louis XVI’s personal fault, the decisions and choices he made, made the situation even worse. During his reign he made some very poor decisions that could have influenced the end result of the French Revolution. He was influenced greatly by many people around him. One of these people was Finance Minister Jauques Necker. Throughout Louis XVI’s reign, he was often helped, supported, and even betrayed by Necker. Necker made a lot of the king’s decisions and persuaded him. He seemed to be on Louis’s side but then Necker published an account of the royal finances, which showed the heavy costs of the privileges and favoritism. This action did not look good for the monarchy. Necker was soon fired. His wife influenced him to attend to the interests of Austria and ignore the financial crisis in France. It was also her idea to fire one of his most trusted advisors who may have been able to actually prevent the revolution. Her lifestyle and the fact that she was a foreigner made her very unpopular with the public. In the late 1780’s both classes were unhappy with the financial situation and wanted a change. However, Louis never took advantage of this situation to create new reforms and gain the support of the people. Under pressure from nobility and other powers, Louis agreed to meet with the Estates-General. This provided more controversy and provided a stro...
