Question

Why was the treasury empty whe
louis xvi came to power?

Answer 1

Answer:

Upon his accession, Louis XVI found an empty treasury as long years of war had drained the financial resources of France. Added to this was the cost of maintaining an extravagant court at the immense palace of Versailles.

Under Louis  XVI, France helped the thirteen American colonies to gain their independence from Britain. The war added more than billion livres (unit of currency in France. Discontinued in 1794) to a dept that had already risen to more than 2 billion livres. Lenders who gave state credit, now began to charge 10 per cent interest on loans. So the French Government was obliged to spend an increasing percentage of its budget on interest payments alone.