LOUIS XVI (1774-1793) age 20 at accession
        dissolves Maupeou parlements due to pressure of "Patriot Party"
        parlementaires as defenders of constitutional liberties

MARIE ANTOINETTE:
          Hapsburg daughter of Maria Theresa & Francis of Lorraine
          1770 Franco-Austrian alliance against Prussia
                  Foreign Minister CHOISEUL
          1780's withdraws from court life at Versailles to Petit Trianon
          1785 AFFAIR OF DIAMOND NECKLACE:
                 Cardinal de Rohan, Bishop of Strasbourg excluded from
                         favor by Marie-Ant for opposition to Austrian alliance
                  Mme de la Motte: forges letters from Queen,
                                           found guilty in trial by parlement;
                  Rohan found innocent; Queen discredited in public opinion

Economic Ministers of Louis XVI
              impact of American War of Independence 1776-1783

    TURGOT  1774-75:
                    physiocrat, suppression of guilds, tariffs, corvée
    NECKER  1776-81:
                    Genevan banker, borrowing increases national debt
    CALONNE 1783-87:
                      creates Provincial Assemblies to impose general land tax
                      with no exemptions ("territorial subvention"); fails
    BRIENNE 1787-88:
                    Archbishop of Toulouse, continues Calonne's efforts
                    1787  lit de justice: forced registration of tax edict
                             exile of Duc d'Orleans and parlementaires