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[[image:baroque-palace-versailles.jpg width="550" height="364" caption="A picture of the magnificent Palace of Versailles"]]
"Baroque Art and Architecture | European Painters | Baroque Sculptures and Palaces." // Articles in Easy, Understandable English for ESL Learners //. Web. 28 Aug. 2010. . This picture portrays the Palace of Versailles and one of it's thousands of sculptures. Paris of Versailles is now a national museum in France. It use to be the residence of Kings of France from 1682 to 1790. media type="youtube" key="mH2SDB5q3g0?fs=1" height="385" width="640" A short video of the Grand Trianon and Petit Trianon of the Palace of Versailles. This video presents the beauty of the Palace of Versailles. Simple Lin original toondoo about the royal debt. It shows the main ideas, not every single detail of the attempt at reform, Louis and Calonne trying to increase tax income by introducing the tax of land.

The Government of France
France was governed by King Louis the 16th (Louis 16th) Louis married Marie Antoinette They married in 1770, Louis- 15 Marie- 14 First they were popular, but they lost popularity People especially disliked Marie Not everyone criticized Marie, such has her foster-brother and some historians wasn't only Marie who made royal govt. unpopular people thought the king had too much power During reign of Louis 16th, around 14000 sealed letters were used Sealed letters were only one of the ways Louis could impose his authority Other powers enabled him to do whatever he wants More and more people criticized it, and called Louis a despot
 * Louis 16th **
 * was monarch
 * unlike King George III in England, shares power with parliament
 * can do whatever he wants
 * Palace of Versailles **
 * 18 km from Paris
 * Louis governs France from here
 * thousands of nobles lives with him
 * they serve him and run affairs for country
 * Marie Antoinette **
 * Austrian archduchess
 * people disliked her for many reasons
 * 1st, she was foreign
 * called her austrian woman in French, pronunciation sounds like "bitch"
 * 2nd, she spends huge amount of money on clothing, jewelry and gambling
 * 3rd, have favorites at court
 * 4th, unfaithful to Louis
 * Petit Trianon **
 * 1774, Louis gave Marie a small palace, the Petit Trianon
 * on grounds of palace of versailles
 * for next 5 yrs, Marie spent tons of money building a garden around the palace
 * in part of the garden she built a village, known as the hamlet
 * many people thought that it was pointless, even her most loyal courtier
 * Use and Abuse of Power **
 * Sealed letters (letters de cachet) **
 * people hated it more than any aspect of kings power
 * royal warrant ordering imprisonment or of the person named on it
 * written on a single piece of paper, signed by king, and sealed with wax
 * person who has name on it is in prison or exiled as long as king wants
 * They hated the fact that minister could use them
 * A paris lawyer said to the king that most of the names up there, are names that the king does not know
 * they are up there because ministers put them up there
 * mainly against people who disagreed with govt.
 * some where into exile to distant parts in France
 * Others were to put in royal prison (Bastille in Paris)
 * despot is 18th century way of saying the ruler was a dictator

** Financial Problems **
France was deeply in debt has been in debt for more than 100 yrs spend more than taxes received each year Calonne decided they had to increase the tax biggest change would be all landowners had to pay taxes introducing tax of land would not be easy noble and clergy would do everything they could to avoid it They could refuse to register it in Paris law court which they controlled (Parlement) All new laws had to be registered by the Parlement Calonne gathered 150 loyal nobles and clergymen (Assembly of Notables) He thought they would not have any disagreements of passing this law they claim they don't have enough power to approve the law they said only Estate General could approve Louis then dismissed the Assemble of notables and tried to introduce new tax without approval Nobles in Paris Parlement refuse to pass it They also said only estate general had the power to agree with new taxes Louis exiled the whole parlement
 * The Royal Debt **
 * 1786 **
 * government minister in charge of finances was Calonne
 * he informed Louis that the government was close to financial collapse
 * they had to increase tax, spend less or borrow money
 * An Attempt at Reform **
 * would delay the new tax from coming into effect
 * Estate General is a national parliament elected by all three estates
 * People everywhere in France protested **
 * some where violent
 * In Grenoble, 4 people died in the "Day of Tiles"
 * Mob of protesters pelted soldiers with tiles torn from the city's rooftops
 * went on for 6 months
 * August 1788, Louis ordered elections to be held for Estate General
 * Date of 1st meeting would be on May 1st 1789

1. Louis the 16th governed whole France in Monarchy. He governed France in a palace named Palace of Versailles. Louis married Marie Antoinette, they became more and more unpopular as time goes by. People hated Marie for various reasons, one of the most important ones was that she spent too much money on things that she wanted. 2. People hated the royal government, not only marie. They hated the sealed letters especially. Sealed letters are only one of the ways for Louis to show power. French people started to call their king a despot. 3. France was always in financial crisis, they owe a lot of debt. Government Minister in charge of finances Calonne told Louis that they are in deep financial trouble. They decided to increase the tax by making landowners (the nobles and clergy) to pay tax for land. They had trouble registering the law since the Paris Parlement, in charge by nobles, had to register a new law before it can be put in effect. Louis exempted the whole Parlement after they refuse to register it. The Parlement said that only estate general could agree with new taxes. People protested everywhere. In August 1788, Louis ordered elections for Estate General.
 * Summary **

Wasn't there already an Estate General in 1786, when Calonne informed Louis about the crisis? Did Louis had other wives besides Marie Autoinette? Why did the French citizens dislike foreigners, such as Marie Autoinette?
 * Question **