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Though the exact date is hard to pinpoint, authors and artists began discussing themes of equality and rational thought in the late 17th century. These Enlightenment works helped inspire the revolution.
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The war left France with mountains of debt, which was later worsened by Louis XVI's actions.
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Louis XVI's marriage was carried out despite his incompetence as a monarch-to-be. This marriage represented a budding alliance between Austria and France.
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Robespierre and other influential French citizens would later help spark dissent and become key figures in the revolution.
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Louis XVI poured money into the American Revolutionary War, further bankrupting his country.
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Anoinette and Louis XVI's first child, Marie Thérèse Charlotte, was born after eight years during which the couple could not conceive. The royals' inability to do so prompted the creation of caricatures around Paris and helped destabilize the French people's faith in the monarchy.
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Throughout the pre-revolution years of their reign, the French monarchy drove their country further into debt and poverty through lavish spending and unfair taxes.