How accurate is it to say that the failings of Louis XVI and his ministers in the 1780s were the main reason for the onset of the French Revolution in 1789? (AS 2018)

Question 1

1) failings of Louis XVI and his ministers in the 1780s were the main reason for the onset of the French Revolution in 1789

Answer 1

As a monarch Louis XVI was perceived as indecisive, weak and dominated by his wife

Question 2

2) failings of Louis XVI and his ministers in the 1780s were the main reason for the onset of the French Revolution in 1789

Answer 2

Finance Minister Calonne’s attempt to extend taxes to the nobility and clergy, who resented it, led to protests in the parlements, which triggered the 1789 revolution

Question 3

3) failings of Louis XVI and his ministers in the 1780s were the main reason for the onset of the French Revolution in 1789

Answer 3

Louis XVI’s ill-judged decisions contributed to the onset of revolution by undermining the ancien regime, e.g. he exiled the Paris Parlement in 1788, called up the troops and abruptly dismissed Necker in 1789

Question 4

4) failings of Louis XVI and his ministers in the 1780s were the main reason for the onset of the French Revolution in 1789

Answer 4

Louis XVI’s Finance Ministers (Necker, Calonne and Brienne) all failed to address France’s financial problems effectively and by 1788 the state was facing bankruptcy, which sharpened divisions within French society.

Question 5

1) other factors were the main reason/the failings of Louis XVI and his ministers were not the main reason for the onset of the French Revolution

Answer 5

The Enlightenment promoted the spread of new ideas based on reason, logic and evidence that challenged the structure, inequalities and rationale of the ancien regime

Question 6

2) other factors were the main reason/the failings of Louis XVI and his ministers were not the main reason for the onset of the French Revolution

Answer 6

French involvement in the American War of Independence also encouraged the spread of more liberal ideas (following the colonists’ victory), which encouraged demands for reform in France

Question 7

3) other factors were the main reason/the failings of Louis XVI and his ministers were not the main reason for the onset of the French Revolution

Answer 7

A poor harvest in 1788 exacerbated rural poverty, substantially increased urban bread prices (e.g. bread prices increased by 50 per cent in Paris) and contributed to an economic downturn, which led to popular protests

Question 8

4) other factors were the main reason/the failings of Louis XVI and his ministers were not the main reason for the onset of the French Revolution

Answer 8

Office-holding in the royal bureaucracy was based on venality, which led to waste, corruption and incompetence, and also fed the resentment of bourgeois professionals who were excluded from the system.