Louis XV, King of France and Navarre
Louis XV (1710-1774) was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and of Navarre from 1715 (aged 5) until his death. Louis enjoyed a favorable reputation at the beginning of his reign and earned the epithet le Bien-Aim? (the Beloved). The debauchery of his court, his ill-advised financial policies, the return of the Austrian Netherlands and the cession of New France at the conclusion of the Seven Years War led Louis to become one of the most unpopular kings in the history of France. In 1757 there was an assassination attempt (stabbed in the side with a penknife by Robert Damiens). Louis XV had little interest in politics; his ill-advised, often unadvised, decisions damaged the power of France, weakened the treasury and discredited the absolute monarchy. Historians agree that the monarchy of Louis XV led to the French Revolution which broke out 15 years after his death. He died in 1774 of smallpox
