InNo+RyanC2013+08.30.2010

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=Notes - French Revolution=

**Ze Cons of Ze French Rulers**

King Louis the XVI (Sixteenth)

 * King Louis XVI ruled as an absolute monarch, meaning he did not have to share his power with anyone.
 * King George 3 had to share with parliament.
 * King Louis XVI lived in a large palace where nobles lived with him and served as his courtiers (also helped ran state affairs).
 * He married Marie Antoinette, an Austrian archduchess, when she was 14 and he was 15.

The Problems with King Louis XVI

 *  People thought that King Louis held to much power.
 * They especially disliked the King’s “Sealed Letters”, which were letters that had the authority to imprison someone or send someone into exile for as long as the king wanted.
 * The main point of hatred about the “Sealed Letters” was that the king’s ministers could use them (they commonly abused them for personal reasons).
 * These “Sealed letters mainly targeted people who disagreed with the government (total of 14,000 used).
 * Because of a great range of powers King Louis XVI was thought as dictator.

Marie Antoinette

 * Marie Antoinette was disliked among the people of France, who called her the "Austrian Women/Bitch".
 * She spent huge amounts of money on clothing, jewelry, and gambling. She was also believed to be unfaithful to King Louis XVI.
 * King Louis gave her a small area of the palace grounds called the **Petit Trianon.**
 * With the ground she built a run-down old looking village called the **Hamlet**. This village crafted by famous artist cost a fortune.
 * Many people thought the whole idea of the farm was pointless and silly.

France's Financial Issues
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 * The French government had a serious problem of debt for almost a hundred years.
 * This is because it spent more than it received from collected taxes.
 * Calonne, the financial minister, informed King Louis that he needed to either increase taxes, spend less, or borrow more money. If he didn't France would experience an economical collapse.
 * He decided to have Calonne make changes to the tax system.
 * The biggest change was on landowners.
 * Nobles and Clergies tried refused to register the new tax law to the Paris //Palement// in hopes of delaying its coming into affect.
 * Calonne invited 150 loyal nobles and clergymen to discuss and improve the new tax. Many of them refused to a new tax and claimed only the Estates General had the power to make these approvals.
 * King Louis XVI tried to enforce this law on his own, by exiling the entire Paris //Parlement//.
 * This act resulted in violent protests.
 * "Day of Tiles" was a day when 4 people died due to the pelting of soldiers with tiles from roofs.
 * Only after 6 months of protests did King Louis give in and order elections for an Estates General.

=Summary=

During his rule King Louis XVI and his wife Marie Antoinette were unpopular amongst the people of France. Because King Louis ruled under an absolute monarch people thought he had too much power and viewed him as a dictator. People especially disliked his "sealed letters", letters that imprisoned or sent people into exile. The main problem with "sealed letters" was that any of the King's ministers could use them, which they would sometimes use for their own personal reasons. Marie Antoinette was a Austrian Duchress who was disliked by the French because she wasted fortunes on clothes, jewelry, and gambling. They also disliked her because she was a foreigner and was believed to be unfaithful to King Louis XVI, they often called her the "Austrian Woman" which really meant "Austrian Bitch". King Louis XVI gave her an area of the palace grounds called Petit Trianon. She used this land to construct a village which she spent huge amounts of money on to make it look old and run down, she named this village Hamlet.

The French government owned a large debt for almost a hundred years. This debt built up because the government was spending more than it received in tax money. The Financial Minster, Calonne, warned King Louis that France would face an economic collapse if he didn't increase taxes, spend less, or borrow money. King Louis decided to increase taxes, and Calonne was assigned to reform the tax system. The largest change on tax would be for landowners. Nobles and Clergies tried to avoid the new tax law eagerly, and they did this by refusing to register the new tax law to the Paris //Parlement.// Calonne then invited 150 of the King's most loyal nobles and clergies to improve the new tax. They all refused and said that only the Estates Generals had the power to make these changes. King Louis then tried to enforce this new tax law on his own by registering the law to the Paris //Parlement,// but they too said that only the Estates Generals had the power to make these changes//.// King Louis then sent the entire Paris //Parlement// into exile. This act started violent protest and even resulted in a day where 4 people died due to people throwing tiles off the roofs of buildings, this day was called the "Day of Tiles". After 6 months of protests King Louis finally gave in and summoned the Estates General.

=Questions=

Were the four people that died soldier or civilians?

Does the Hamlet have anything to do with Shakespeare?