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France was the most advanced country in Europe because of its large population, the prosperous foreign of trade, and because it was the center of enlightenment.
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King Louis XVI became the king of France on May 10, 1774. His Predecessor was Louis XV.
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During the years, 1770 and 1780 France´s government began sinking into debt. The problem that caused that was the extravagant spending of Louis XVI and her spouse, Marie Antonette. Did you know that Marie Antonette used to spend more than 1.5 million us dollars in gambling each year?
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King Louis XVI got into serious problems when he noticed he was getting broke. He then got a plan. The plan was to impose taxes and nobility. However, the estates general assembled a meeting, to see if they all approve the new tax. The meeting was held at Versailles.
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On June 17, 1789, people voted to establish the national assembly. They were proclaiming the end of absolute monarchy and the beginning of representative government. This vote was the first deliberate act of revolution.
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On May 20, 1789, the Third Estate delegates found herself´s looked out of King Louis meetings. They broke a door that leads to the tennis courts. Then they pledged to stay until they had written the new constitution. This pledge then became known as the Tennis court oath. In response to this event, Louis set his mercenary army around Versailles.
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In September of 1791, the national assembly completed the new constitution. Louis XVI reluctantly approved. The new form of government was constitutional monarchy. But still, the king held executive power to enforce laws.
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The war began badly for the French, by the summer of 1792. Prussian forces were advancing into the country, they even threatened to destroy Paris if the revolutionaries harmed any members of the royal family.
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For the next years, Robespierre governed France virtually as a dictator due to the fact that he had all of the militaries to his side.
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On January 21 of 1793 king Louis XVI walked with calm and dignity to a machine that cuts people heads of called the guillotine. He was them killed that same day.
