Which events strengthened the french monarchy

With the Edict of Fontainebleau, Louis ordered the destruction of Protestant churches, the closure of Protestant schools and the expulsion of Protestant clergy. Protestants would be barred from assembling and their marriages would be deemed invalid.

Baptism and education in the Catholic faith would be required of all children. Roughly 1 million Huguenots lived in France at the time, and many were artisans or other types of skilled workers.

Although emigration of Protestants was explicitly forbidden by the Edict of Fontainebleau, scores of people—estimates range from , to ,—fled in the decades that followed, settling in England, Switzerland, Germany and the American colonies, among other places. His reign had lasted 72 years, longer than that of any other known European monarch, and left an indelible mark on the culture, history and destiny of France. His 5-year-old great-grandson succeeded him as Louis XV.

But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! Subscribe for fascinating stories connecting the past to the present. Louis, an African American, is perhaps best known for his legendary matchups against German boxer Max The young couple soon came to symbolize all of the excesses of the reviled French monarchy, and Marie Antoinette herself became the target of a great deal The French Revolution was a watershed event in modern European history that began in and ended in the late s with the ascent of Napoleon Bonaparte.

Few monarchs have ruled for longer. This marks him as both the longest-reigning French monarch in history and the longest-reigning Before the war, he worked to strengthen ties with Great Britain and Russia against the growing threat of Lacking royal subsides and thus unable to keep up a noble lifestyle, these rural nobles often went into debt.

This created an effective system of control as the king manipulated the nobility with an elaborate system of pensions and privileges, minimizing their influence and increasing his own power. In the political system of pre-Revolutionary France, the nobility made up the Second Estate with the Catholic clergy comprising the First Estate and the bourgeoisie and peasants in the Third Estate.

Although membership in the noble class was mainly inherited, it was not a closed order. New individuals were appointed to the nobility by the monarchy, or could purchase rights and titles or join by marriage. Sources differ about the actual number of nobles in France, but proportionally it was among the smallest noble classes in Europe.

This breach in the privileged status of the aristocracy and the clergy, normally exempt from taxes, was another attempt to impose taxes on the privileged. However, the new tax was received with violent protest from the privileged classes in the estates of the few provinces that retained the right to decide taxation most provinces had long lost their provincial estates and the right to decide taxation.

The new tax was also opposed by the clergy and by the parlements provincial appellate court staffed by aristocrats. Members of these courts bought their positions from the king, together with the right to transfer their positions hereditarily through payment of an annual fee.

Membership in such courts and appointment to other public positions often led to elevation to nobility the so-called nobles of the robe, as distinguished from the nobility of ancestral military origin, the nobles of the sword. While these two categories of nobles were often at odds, both sought to retain their privileges. Pressed and eventually won over by his entourage at court, the king gave in and exempted the clergy from the twentieth in Eventually, the twentieth became a mere increase in the already existing taille , the most important direct tax of the monarchy from which privileged classes were exempted.

It was another defeat in the taxation war waged against the privileged classes. As a result of these attempts at reform, the Parlement of Paris, using the quarrel between the clergy and the Jansenists as a pretext, addressed remonstrances to the king in April During the reign of Louis XV, the parlements repeatedly challenged the crown for control over policy, especially regarding taxes and religion.

The parlements had the duty to record all royal edicts and laws. The Girondins in the La Force Prison after their arrest.

Woodcut from The Girondins campaigned for the end of the monarchy but then resisted the spiraling momentum of the Revolution. The Girondins comprised a group of loosely affiliated individuals rather than an organized political party. When the National Assembly was replaced in by the Legislative Assembly comprising entirely new members, the divisions continued.

When the succeeding National Convention met in , the seating arrangement continued, but following the arrest of the Girondins, the right side of the assembly was deserted, and any remaining members who had sat there moved to the center. Several Europeans monarchies, notably Austria, Prussia, and Great Britain, engaged in military conflicts with revolutionary France to take advantage of the political chaos and stop the spread of the revolutionary, anti-royal spirit across the globe.

During the French Revolution, European monarchs watched the developments in France and considered whether they should intervene in support of Louis XVI or to take advantage of the chaos in France. He became disturbed as the Revolution became more radical, although he still hoped to avoid war. In August , Leopold and King Frederick William II of Prussia, in consultation with emigrant French nobles, issued the Declaration of Pillnitz, which declared the interest of the monarchs of Europe in the well-being of Louis and his family and threatened vague but severe consequences if anything should befall them.

Although Leopold saw the Pillnitz Declaration as a way of taking action that would enable him to avoid actually doing anything about France for the moment, Paris saw the Declaration as a serious threat and the revolutionary leaders denounced it.

The National Assembly of France interpreted the declaration to mean that Leopold was going to declare war. Radical Frenchmen who called for war used it as a pretext to gain influence and declare war on April 20, , leading to the campaigns of in the French Revolutionary Wars.

The King, many of the Feuillants, and the Girondins wanted to wage war. Louis XVI and many Feuillants expected war would increase his personal popularity. He also foresaw an opportunity to exploit any defeat; either result would make him stronger.

The Girondins, on the other hand, wanted to export the Revolution throughout Europe and, by extension defend the Revolution within France. The forces opposing war were much weaker. Some Feuillants believed France had little chance to win and feared a loss might lead to greater radicalization of the revolution.

On the other end of the political spectrum, Robespierre opposed a war on two grounds: he was concerned it would strengthen the monarchy and military at the expense of the revolution and that it would incur the anger of ordinary people in Austria and elsewhere. France preemptively declared war on Austria April 20, and Prussia joined on the Austrian side a few weeks later. What followed was a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from until that would become known as the French Revolutionary Wars.

They pitted the French First Republic against several monarchies, most notably Britain and Austria, and are divided in two periods: the War of the First Coalition — and the War of the Second Coalition — Initially confined to Europe, the fighting gradually assumed a global dimension as the political ambitions of the Revolution expanded.

While the revolutionary government frantically raised fresh troops and reorganized its armies, a mostly Prussian Allied army under Charles William Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick assembled at Koblenz on the Rhine.

This, however, strengthened the resolve of the revolutionary army and government to oppose them by any means necessary. On August 10, a crowd stormed the Tuileries Palace, seizing the king and his family. Anonymous caricature depicting the treatment given to the Brunswick Manifesto by the French population.

The Brunswick Manifesto, rather than intimidate the populace into submission, sent it into furious action and created fear and anger towards the Allies. It also spurred revolutionaries to take further action, organizing an uprising.

On August 10, the Tuileries Palace was stormed in a bloody battle with Swiss Guards protecting it, the survivors of which were massacred by the mob. The War of the First Coalition began with French victories, which rejuvenated the nation and emboldened the National Convention to abolish the monarchy.

In , the new French armies experienced numerous defeats, which allowed the Jacobins to rise to power and impose the Reign of Terror as a method of attempting to unify the nation.

In , the situation improved dramatically for the French. By , they had captured the Austrian Netherlands and knocked Spain and Prussia out of the war with the Peace of Basel. A hitherto unknown general Napoleon Bonaparte began his first campaign in Italy in April In less than a year, French armies under Napoleon decimated the Habsburg forces and evicted them from the Italian peninsula, winning almost every battle and capturing , prisoners.

Their goal was to contain the spread of chaos from France but they failed to overthrow the revolutionary regime, and French territorial gains since were confirmed. The Coalition did very well in , but Russia pulled out.

Napoleon took charge in France in late and he and his generals defeated the Coalition. Britain and France signed the Treaty of Amiens in March , bringing an interval of peace in Europe that lasted for 14 months. After a decade of constant warfare and aggressive diplomacy, France seized and conquered a wide array of territories, from the Italian Peninsula and the Low Countries in Europe to the Louisiana Territory in North America.

French success in these conflicts ensured the spread of revolutionary principles over much of Europe. Louis XVI attempted to work within the framework of his limited powers but won little support.

He and the royal family remained virtual prisoners in the Tuileries, a royal and imperial palace in Paris that served as the residence of most French monarchs. For the next two years, the palace remained the official residence of the king.

Louis XVI became emotionally paralyzed, leaving most important decisions to the queen. Prodded by the queen, Louis committed the family to a disastrous escape attempt from the capital to the eastern frontier on June 21, However this would have involved splitting up the royal family and Louis and Marie-Antoinette decided on the use of a heavy, conspicuous coach drawn by six horses.

Due to the cumulative effect of a host of errors, which in and of themselves would not have condemned the mission to failure, the royal family was thwarted in its escape after Jean-Baptiste Drouet, the postmaster of Sainte-Menehould, recognized the king from his portrait. They felt betrayed. Republicanism burst out of the coffeehouses and became the dominant ideal of revolutionary leaders. The intended goal of the unsuccessful flight was to provide the king with greater freedom of action and personal security than was possible in Paris.

The long-term political objectives of the royal couple and their closest advisers remain unclear. A detailed document entitled Declaration to the French People prepared by Louis for presentation to the National Assembly and left behind in the Tuileries indicates that his personal goal was a return to the concessions and compromises contained in the declaration of the Third Estate in June , immediately prior to the outbreak of violence in Paris and the storming of the Bastille.

Private correspondence from Marie Antoinette takes a more reactionary line of restoration of the old monarchy without concessions, although referring to pardons for all but the revolutionary leadership and the city of Paris. When the royal family finally returned under guard to Paris, the revolutionary crowd met the royal carriage with uncharacteristic silence and the royal family was again confined to the Tuileries Palace.

From this point forward, the abolition of the monarchy and the establishment of a republic became an ever-increasing possibility. The credibility of the king as a constitutional monarch had been seriously undermined. However, on July 15, , the National Constituent Assembly agreed that the king could be restored to power if he agreed to the constitution, although some factions opposed the proposal. A crowd of 50, people gathered at the Champ de Mars on July 17 to sign the petition, and about 6, had already signed.

But earlier that day, two suspicious people hidigg at the Champ de Mars were hanged by those who found them. Jean Sylvain Bailly, the mayor of Paris, used this incident to declare martial law. The Marquis de Lafayette and the National Guard, which was under his command, were temporarily able to disperse the crowd but even more people returned later that afternoon. Lafayette again tried to disperse the crowd, who in response threw stones at the National Guard.

After firing unsuccessful warning shots, the National Guard opened fire directly on the crowd, an event known as the Champ de Mars Massacre. The exact numbers of dead and wounded are unknown; estimates range from 12 to 50 dead.

From the autumn of on, the king tied his hopes of political salvation to the dubious prospects of foreign intervention. Prompted by Marie Antoinette, Louis rejected the advice of the moderate constitutionalists, led by Antoine Barnave, to fully implement the Constitution of he had sworn to maintain.

He instead secretly committed himself to covert counter-revolution. Relations between France and its neighbors, already strained because of the revolution, deteriorated even further, with some foreign ministries calling for war against the revolutionary government.

The outbreak of the war with Austria in April and the publication of the Brunswick Manifesto led to the storming of the Tuileries by Parisian radicals on August 10, It was now no longer possible to pretend that the reforms of the French Revolution had been made with the free consent of the king.

Some republicans called for his deposition, others for his trial for alleged treason and intended defection to the enemies of the French nation. On December 3, it was decided that Louis XVI, who together with his family had been imprisoned since August, should be brought to trial for treason.

He appeared twice before the National Convention. Convicted, Louis was sent to the guillotine on January 21,