When King Louis XIV died in 1715, France was the largest, the richest, and the most influential nation in Europe.
However, the Grand Monarch left France with a heavy burden of debt incurred during his endless wars in which so many lives were lost and so much money wasted. Although France was a prosperous country, the French monarchy was approaching bankruptcy, both in its finances and in its ability to provide the nation with effective leadership.
Louis XIV's successors, Louis XV and Louis XVI, proved incapable of dealing with the government's financial and administrative problems.
Failure to Solve the Financial
Crisis
When Louis XVI came to the throne in 1744, he saw the need for economic reform. Louis' two able finance ministers -- Turgot and Necker -- eased the financial crisis for a time by controlling government spending and reducing expenses at Versailles. However, these men had little success when they proposed taxing the nobles. Louis dismissed these minister without effecting any financial reforms. By 1788 France was in bankruptcy. To solve the
