How far was Louis XVI responsible for the collapse of absolute monarchy in 1789?
The responsibility of collapse of absolute monarchy in France in 1789, specifically during the time
between the 5th May and the 14th July, cannot be tied solely to Louis XVI. The problems facing France
were too great for any monarch to bear and even the most proficient of kings would not have been able
to control the impact of things like the Enlightenment coupling with the unrest of their people. Louis’
skills, or lack thereof, for kingship can be blamed for why absolute monarchy fell, where absolute
monarchy means the monarch holds unlimited power and is not tied down by the law; having such
power requires control and decisiveness, things that Louis did not have. Due to this, it can be argued
that he was the reason why it fell, however, the uncontrollable finance issues and the discriminatory
system that France was run by caused the unrest French citizens faced, leading to them collapsing the
monarchy themselves. The finance issues in France were perpetuated by the outed tax system, reliant
on the peasantry. This inequality spurred the Third Estate to take on the Enlightenment’s ideas, allowing
growing their confidence, and lead the revolution against the unrestrained power held by the monarchy.
It is evident that the actions of the people, because of their discontentment with the handling of
financial problems in France, were why absolute monarchy collapsed.
One must consider the impact of Louis XIV’s actions initially, during his reign as king, and his handling of
the financial turmoil in France. France’s involvement in the American war of independence by providing
arms and resources added to the already high crown debt France had, accumulated during the Seven
Years’ War. Louis XI inherited it when he came to the throne and did not handle it well due to his weak
and indecisive nature. Additionally, the inefficient tax system that was heavily reliant on the peasantry
of France meant that the debt was not paid back well, making the French state based on an unstable
economy. Louis took unpopular routes to solve it, thus causing intense unrest among France, making
them collapse absolute monarchy in 1789. Louis' weak nature is seen in his failure to back his financial
controllers as they aimed to fight the financial issues. For example, Turgot, a physiocrat appointed
controller-general in 1774, had attempted to incorporate free trade to keep prices low, if grain was
plentiful but bad harvests prevented this from happening. Later, Turgot had attempted to make a tax
payable by all estates, which could have been helpful in tackling France’s debt. Due to the resistance
Turgot faced, Louis ordered Turgot to resign. This reflects Louis’ weak nature, succumbing to the
opposition Turgot was facing, despite the benefits that could have been reaped from such taxes and
goes against the absolute power Louis was supposed to have. This is seen again where he orders his next
minister, Necker, to resign after Necker attempted to replace venal ministers with officials. Opposition
was caused and the king failed to support Necker. Whilst this is not a direct cause of the collapse of
absolute monarchy in 1789, it displays the little control Louis had, supporting why he lost control
completely in 1789. His handling of Paris Parlements in 1788, when he exiled them in support of
Brienne, had caused the series of Aristocratic revolts that ended up in a calling of the Estates-General.
Louis’ poor handling of the aristocratic revolts and him exiling parlement had severely damaged his
reputation and made him call the Estates-General to fix his mistakes, showing why his actions caused
the absolute monarchy to collapse. The Estates-General had spiraled out of Louis’ control, causing the
3rd Estate to rise against the monarchy. If Louis had used his absolute power, he may have been able to
exert more influence over parlement instead of exiling them completely and allow Brienne to introduce
the universal land tax, therefore establishing his role as an absolute monarch and solving the financial
turmoil in France.
