When you hear “10 ways louis,” you probably picture a guillotine and a kingdom in chaos. But King Louis XVI (1754‑1793) also left a surprisingly progressive legacy. From granting religious freedom to backing the American Revolution, his reign was peppered with reforms that nudged France toward modernity. Below, we explore each of these ten notable actions, complete with images and details that reveal a king who tried, against daunting odds, to be a force for good.
10 Religious Tolerance
The Catholic Church once wielded near‑absolute power, and non‑Catholics—Jews, Protestants, and others—were denied basic civil recognition. Louis XVI turned the tide in 1787 by issuing the Edict of Tolerance, also known as the Edict of Versailles. This decree granted non‑Catholics the right to marry, record births and deaths, and own property without discrimination. While full legal equality wouldn’t arrive until Napoleon’s Code in 1804, the Edict marked a monumental step toward religious liberty in France.
9 Supported The American War For Independence
Louis XVI wasn’t content to watch across the Atlantic; he actively backed the fledgling United States. In 1778, France signed the Treaty of Alliance, promising assistance should Britain declare war. When that happened just four days later, Louis dispatched arms, uniforms, a secret loan, and naval forces to the colonies. French officers, most famously the Marquis de Lafayette, joined the fight, and French troops reinforced American forces from 1778 to 1782, proving decisive in the ultimate victory.
8 Abolished Serfdom On Royal Land
While serfs owned some property, they were bound to the land and could be bought and sold with it—essentially the lowest rung of feudal society. Influenced by Enlightenment thinkers like Voltaire, Louis XVI abolished serfdom on all royal estates in 1779, hoping other nobles would follow suit. Complete eradication of serfdom arrived later, on August 4, 1789, when the National Constituent Assembly eliminated feudal privileges across France.
7 Encouraged Exploration
Passionate about discovery, Louis XVI championed French voyages into the unknown. He authored “A History of the Exploration of the South Seas” (1791) and, in 1785, commissioned a global expedition with the ships La Boussole and L’Astrolabe under Captain La Pérouse. The mission aimed to establish trading posts, meet new peoples, and chart uncharted waters. Though the expedition tragically vanished off Australia in 1788, the data collected proved invaluable and now resides in Versailles.
6 Abolished Torture For Confessions
Torture had long been a courtroom staple, used to force confessions despite its unreliability. On August 24, 1780, Louis XVI eliminated “la question préparatoire,” a method extracting confessions from accused individuals. He later abolished “torture préliminaire” in 1788, which was employed before executions to coerce accomplice names. By ending these practices, Louis advanced a more humane justice system, aligning with Enlightenment ideals.
5 Damage Control
Louis XVI inherited a kingdom teetering on the brink. He was the third son of the dauphin, never the intended heir, thrust onto the throne at 19 after his grandfather’s death in 1774. France was drowning in debt from the Seven Years’ War, faced crop failures, and suffered from an inequitable tax system that burdened peasants while sparing nobles. Enlightenment ideas were fermenting revolutionary sentiment. Despite these overwhelming forces, Louis managed to keep the state intact for over a decade, a testament to his perseverance amid inevitable collapse.
4 Tried To Help The Poor
Faced with mounting debt and famine, Louis XVI sought to lighten the common folk’s tax burden. He pressed the nobility to shoulder a larger share, but aristocrats resisted, even rallying some Third Estate members to their cause. The entrenched tax system siphoned wealth from peasants while nobles kept most of the gabelle (salt tax) revenue. Louis’s attempts at fiscal fairness were stymied by this entrenched elite, limiting his ability to enact meaningful relief.
3 Abolished The Labor Tax
Until the late 1700s, French peasants were obligated to perform fourteen days of unpaid “corvée en nature” each year, building and repairing roads. Louis XVI, alongside finance minister Anne‑Robert‑Jacques Turgot—friend of Voltaire—abolished this forced labor in favor of a land tax. This reform angered the nobility, who saw their traditional privileges eroded, but it represented a clear move toward protecting commoners from exploitative obligations.
2 Promoted Enlightenment
Literacy rates were still low in 18th‑century France, yet Louis XVI cultivated a personal library of roughly 8,000 volumes and mastered several languages, including French, English, Italian, and Latin, as well as astronomy, history, and geography. In 1774 he founded the Academy and College of Surgery—today’s Université Paris Descartes—advancing medical education. A patron of the arts, he commissioned Jacques‑Louis David’s “Oath of Horatii” and supported poet Joel Barlow’s epic “The Columbiad,” underscoring his commitment to cultural and intellectual growth.
1 Abolished The Death Penalty For Deserters
Ironically, Louis XVI’s abolition of capital punishment for army deserters foreshadowed his own fate at the guillotine. By sparing deserters from execution, he hoped to encourage initiative and morale within the ranks, moving away from a robotic, fear‑driven military. This humane stance may have been inspired by the 1769 play “Le Deserteur” by Michel‑Jean Sedaine, reflecting his progressive outlook on justice.