French Monarchy In Exile

The exiled Kingdom of France government, was the result of the Flight to Savanne by King Louis XVI as well as members of the nobility and clergy of France. Fearing the future of his reign, King Louis planned to flee Paris to Varennes. However, his advisors made him beleive that fleeing to the Hugenot Colony of Carolina would be a better option, as Louis would still be in French territory. However, the flight made the general populace in France skeptical of the monarchy, the the National Assembly declared a republic in France. Louis, as well as other nobility and clergy fled to Carolina and formed the Kingdom of France's government-in-exile based in Savanne.

Over the course of 21 years, most of the first two estates in France fled to Carolina, hoping to escape the instability in France. Additionally, during the reign of terror, many moderate Republicans tried to flee to Carolina with moderate success. Louis XVI decided to slightly amend the constitution that was written for the Kingdom by the National Assembly in 1791, allowing freedom of religion, since Carolina was a majority Protestant. While the three estate system stood, slaves now made up a classless and unrepresented estate, since they were seen as the property of their owners. Louis XVI reinstated some of the former privileges the first two estates had. However, under the country's new tax plan, taxes were slowly introduced to the upper classes in small amounts. An increase in cotton production also helped France become more fiscally responsible, and by 1805 the country has a surplus.

The Kingdom of France constantly claimed that it was the legitimate government of France, competing against the claims of the First French Republic and the First French Empire. However, records show that King Louis believed that he would never return to France, and considered changing the name of the Kingdom in-exile to Carolina. From 1799 to 1802, a new capital was built at Versailles, which is seen by many historians as King Louis' contempt and readiness to establish a legitimate government in Carolina. Between 1807 and 1814, personal diaries even indicate that Louis liked the warm weather of Carolina, and believed the region to be more peaceful than Europe. During the Bourbon Restoration, European countries preferred Louis Charles to King Louis XVI and therefore placed him on the throne of France. Louis XVI subsequently declared the independence of Carolina, which was achieved without bloodshed and was immediately recognized by France.