French Revolution
Could the King have averted the revolution? If so how?The king could have definitely averted the revolution and in a multitude of ways. The following essay will elaborate on how exactly he could have done so.Firstly, one of the main long term causes of the revolution was the losing of respect and confidence in the government due to the individual personality of the king. If, from the start, the king had behaved in a dignified manner and took his duties seriously, most probably, the revolution could have been averted.Louis XVI was very timid and refused to give constant support to his ministers’ (example: Turgot) reform plans. This led to a failure of making reforms over a long period of time and making the reforms only when an absolute crisis occurred. It was this sudden change that contributed to the revolution. Not only that, the king could have discouraged the intriguing of certain ministers to bring others down, but instead adopted a ‘divide and rule’ policy, because he was weak. This undermining of fellow ministers is one of the factors led to Calonne failing in the Assembly of Notables, which le
d to the eventual calling of the Estates-General. At least if he had maintained his stand, the people might have respected his authority. The king insisted that it was legal because he wished it to be and brought back fears of his despotism. ------------------------------------------------------------------------**Bibliography**. He then threw the parlement in jail and drew up new laws to take away the ability of the parlement to obstruct justice. Also, after the National Assembly was formed, the king sent troops to Paris. Furthermore, at the meeting of the Estates-General, the king could have resolved the issue of whether to vote by head or by Estate, and could have hence gained control of the Estates-General meeting. This again led the people to think that the king was being despotic and all over the country there was a breakdown of law and order and a rallying cry for the Estates-General to be called. The king, as usual, in the face of opposition, allowed them to stay. However, he introduced them too late for the people to be completely satisfied. This just confirmed suspicions of despotism. If he had acted diplomatically, the parlement would have probably agreed to his wishes, and it would also have allayed public fears that the king was being despotic; which was one of the core causes of the revolution. The king didn’t help in this by banning the parlement by royal policy in 1771, when they refused to accept financial reform, even after a lit-de-justice. After the king brought the parlement back, and met up with them in a royal session, he began adopting a persuasive rather than a confrontational attitude toward the parlement. If he had adopted a conciliatory approach a revolution may not have occurred.
Common topics in this essay:
National Assembly,
Duke Orleans,
Estates-General Furthermore,
Louis XVI,
,
Assembly Notables,
revolution averted,
royal session,
national assembly,
national assembly formed,
causes revolution,
assembly formed,
parlement jail,
king despotic,
parlement probably,
averted revolution,
revolution king,
|
Acceptance Essays
