An Enemy of the French Revolution Examining Louis XVI’s Role in the French Revolution
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Abstract
The French Revolution is one of the most important events in world history. This era has been the subject of countless studies and has also been cited as the inspiration for revolutions around the world. The downfall of Louis XVI and the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte challenged and reshaped Europe’s political foundations. Simply put, the world would be a very different place if the French Revolution had ended differently. With that being said, the outcome of the French Revolution was not inevitable. Having explored this topic before, I believed that Louis XVI’s role in the French Revolution needed to be reviewed, as his actions completely changed the trajectory of the revolution. If Louis had given in to the revolutionaries’ demands, the revolution might not have escalated; calls for republicanism were not nearly as popular in 1789 as they were in 1793. This paper mainly challenges the concept of the inevitability of Louis’ downfall, showing that the monarch was responsible for his own ruin. This paper also seeks to clarify this moment in history by examining numerous books, journal articles, memoirs, and letters that explore why the revolution developed as it did. Furthermore, I believe that this paper’s findings clarify the French Revolution’s developments and contribute to the subject’s historiography through an examination of Louis XVI’s actions during the revolution.
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