King Louis Xi Qualities

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In the year 1774, King Louis XVI began his reign as king of France until 1792 when he was tried for treason and executed. According to The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli, a prince can cause the fall of his reign by performing a multitude of mistakes, “... he will find things which, though seeming good , will lead to his ruin if pursued” ( Machiavelli 62). Louis XVI tied his hopes of the restoration of his past kingdom to foreign intervention. Furthermore, Louis did not communicate with his deputies and occupied his time with personal hobbies, such as hunting. Finally, King Louis XVI wanted to be loved by all and then became hated by the French, both things Machiavelli advises against strongly. “Still a prince should make himself feared in such a way that, though he does not gain love, he escapes hatred;...” (Machiavelli 66). King Louis XVI did not show the…show more content…
\ After the Declaration of Pilnitz, the revolutionaries declared war on the Holy Roman Empire; during the first battle however, the troops ran in fright. While the revolutionary army reorganized and trained its troops, an allied army from Prussia led by the Duke of Brunswick, invaded and easily took over at Verdun and Longwy. On July 25th, a proclamation, written by Louis’ cousin, was proclaimed by Brunswick that the intent of the Austrians and Prussians was to restore the King back to his former glory. In The Prince, Machiavelli advises against this foreign aid by stating “‘quod nihil sit tam infirmum aut instabile quam fama potentiae non sua vi nixae’” (qtd. in Machiavelli 58). This statement he referenced was from

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