The financial ruin of France
streamlined venal offices which were jobs in the French state sold by the monarchy. 4 This made Necker very unpopular and Louis made another disastrous mistake. He fired Necker. His successor, Joly de Fleury, aided and abetted by Louis, took French fi nance in the opposite direction. He cancelled Necker’s austerity measures and in the next two years, the amount of borrowing was equal to all of Necker’s loans in the previous 5 years. When Necker resigned in 1781, the debt was 15 million Livres. By 1786, this had skyrocketed to 112 million Livres. 5 It was at this point, when another finance minister, Alexandre Calonne, informed the King that France was bankrupt. It was not debt from the American Revolution that led to this crisis, but the mishandling of debt post-1781. Moreover, much of the debt was created after the war ended. King Louis XVI influenced and exacerbated a chain of events which led to a bankrupt France. In this way, therefore, Louis’ role in the French financial system is an important factor leading to the French Revolution of 1789. The new enlightened French culture that changed the ‘mentalities’ of the people was another a key factor in starting the Revolution. A crucial facilitator of this change was the Encyclopedie. Written by the philosophes – the intellectuals of the era – , a collection of essays was published between 1751-1772 on every conceivable topic, from cannibalism to theology. New ideas were presented and the emphasis was on people informing themselves and thinking for themselves. They were modern, secular ideas which championed reason and were at odds with the m onarchy’s traditional view of the world. 6 This was a seismic shift in French culture and was key in changing the ‘ mentalities ’ of the people. Louis XVI could have chosen to ally himself with this new spirit of enlightenment and might have made himself more popular with the people instead of less. Instead he vacillated, and eventually clung to the ancient, mystical and absolutist image of the French monarchy. 7 This led to the King becoming culturally separated from the people. As time went on, this separation was exacerbated by both sides. The philosopher, Jean Jacques Rousseau was particularly influential in creating this new, patriotic, enlightened culture. Rousseau was primarily known for two novels, Emile and Julie . Emile considered how an ideal citizen might be educated and Julie showed its audience how to fashion individual virtue in a corrupt and depraved society – a barely disguised attack on the traditional world of the Bourbon monarchs. 8 While Julie affected the overall cultural mood of France, Emile – in a different way – was just as influential. It had an enormous influence on the gender economy of the late 18th century, something that had critical ramifications for the royal couple. The novel argued that women's education should be secondary to men's and that women should also be confined to a subordinate and supportive role outside of the public sphere. This had a profound effect on royal authority. After a scandal known as 'the Diamond Necklace Affair ’, Queen Marie Antoinette ’s reputation was irreversibly damaged. She was seen as a frivolous nymphomaniac desperate to fulfil her appetites. This view of the Queen was confirmed by her public appearances. She was boisterous, she made no concessions to her public role and she did not resign herself to the traditional role of Bourbon queens as a meek producer of heirs. Worse still, it was as if the gender roles of the royal couple were reversed. Louis was a meek, shy, secluded man who appeared to hide behind his outgoing, independent and publicly active wife. This shocked France, especially the enlightened citizens who viewed this gender dynamic as morally reprehensible. While steering clear of a 'literary conspiracy of the French Revolution' 9 works by
4 Schama 1989: 91. 5 Ibid.: 93. 6 Jones 2002: 175. 7 Schama 1989: 51. 8 Jones 2002: 194. 9 Schama 1989: 175.
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