SEMINAR
Examine the nature and extent of the opposition in 1789 to policies of Louis xvi.
The nature and extend of opposition to the policies of Louis xvi’s policies can be described as radical and violent and it emanated from nearly all classes in France. In this case nature refers to the way in which the opposition was demonstrated and extent refers to how widespread the opposition was, thus it was essentiality from all classes in France. The resentment of Louis xvi ‘s policies were staged in the form of the self –conversion of the third estate into the National Assembly and the storming of the Bastille to mention but a few .These forms of opposition were aroused by Louis xvi’s voting policy in the meeting of the estate general and the king ‘ dismissal of Necker, respectively.
To commence with, the system of taxation caused opposition to Louis .This stemmed from the king’s participation in the American War of Independence .The king ‘s participation in the American War of Independence imposed extra strains on the royal finances which eventually brought the French monarchy to the point of bankruptcy which went on to trigger the revolution of 1789.This aggravated the precarious state of finances and before embarking on this policy Louis was opposed by Turgot who warned him that such a move would lead France into bankruptcy .Thus the war was unwarranted from an economic point of view because France was yet to solve the enormous debts caused by Louis .Hence the American War of Independence had serious economic repercussions .Consequently Louis faced opposition from the bourgeoisie who had economic grievances ,merchants and industrialists. The government had tried to meet the situation by raising huge loans from the nobility ,the bourgeoisie and the church. This created a feeling of discontentment amongst the bourgeoisie as to whether they would ever recover their money. In a bid to solve this problem the Government increased taxes upon the