The French Revolution was a drastic time for the people of France. In 1789, the majority of people were living in poverty and dealing with terrible conditions. People were split into three estates: the first, second, and third, the first being the wealthiest. Political, economic, and social situations were what contributed to people’s desire for change. The three main, or biggest causes of the French Revolution, were taxes, inequality, and lack of reform.
The French Revolution of 1789 marks a watershed in the political development of France and its role in European history. Many events contributed to the adversity that France was already facing before the revolution had even begun. The nation’s intervention in the Seven Years’ War, the American War of Independence, and their already problematic taxation system, ultimately caused it to go into state debt. This, combined with France’s rapidly growing population, is what most of France’s economic crisis revolved around. The French population had actually grown by about 8 million people from 1700 to 1789, making it Europe’s most populous state.
Black, Elias. “Causes of the French Revolution.” HISTORY CRUNCH - History Articles, Biographies, Infographics, Resources and More, https://www.historycrunch.com/causes-of-the-french-revolution.html#/. “The Estate System in France.” Students of History Teaching Resources, https://www.studentsofhistory.com/the-estate-system-in-france#:~:text=They%20had%20very%20little%20rights,of%20their%20income%20in%20taxes. “Enlightenment Influence on the French Revolution.”
Imagine a country of rigid hierarchy, and restricted rights, brimming with conflict, and chaos to come. This was Pre-Revolution France. The French Revolution was brought on by the French people’s desire for equality and liberty for all estates, and their anger at the current monarch King Louis the 16th. It was largely influenced by the ideas of Enlightenment thinkers such as John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, with some of the main goals being equality, freedom, and ending feudalism. Feudalism was a social system, widely used in pre-revolution France, where peasants worked for the lords in exchange for land and protection.
Kaylie Eversole Mr. O’Reilly/Mr. Metzger Humanities 9 10/27/2015 American versus French Revolution As you can see the American Revolution embraces enlightment. There are many ways the american revolution embraced the enlightment. three reasons is the Declaration of independence, bill of rights, and the results of it. First, i’m going to talk to you about the what the Declarations of independence is.
During the Eighteenth Century, France had an absolute monarchy with Louis XVI as king and Marie Antoinette as queen. In that time period, French society was based upon a system of Estates where the clergy made up the First Estate; the nobility comprised the Second Estate, and everyone else including professionals, peasants, and the bourgeoisie made up the Third Estate. The Third Estate was immensely unhappy with the old regime, the Estates General, and Louis XVI’s leadership. France was also in the midst of a fiscal crisis due to the American Revolution, Louis XVI’s lavish lifestyle, the Seven Years War, and the tax exemption of the First and Second Estate. Following the surge of new ideas and impactful philosophers from the Enlightenment,
The militaristic inclination of France during the late 18th and early 19th century was the culmination of the idealism of the newly adopted French political system, and the abrupt character of French people's motivation to implement these ideals. As discontent with the despotic system of government in France increased in magnitude and scale, the will to fight in order to achieve equality became gained momentum. Factors such as the rapid spread of enlightenment ideals, the socio-economic inequity of the three estate system, and leaders’ utilization of French citizens’ new sense of justice to incite warfare, all come together to create an militaristic, imperial French nation. The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen, enacted July of 1789, provided the foundation
The French Revolution was one of the most significant wars that changed France’s history. The Revolution started in 1789 and ended in 1799 and was mainly initiated by the conditions affecting the Third Estate. Louis XVI was predominately the king during this time period but little did he know that an uprising among the peasants was happening. The French Revolution was caused by the Enlightenment ideas because of the American Revolution, the knowledge of rights, and the questioning of France’s government. The American Revolution was basically the “fire” that ignited the change the Third Estate wanted to see in their country.
The actions taken against the oppression of the monarchy demonstrate that the French Revolution challenged the traditional value of social inequality to a near-full
There were three estates of the Ancien Regime that made up the French society. The three estates that made up the French society was the Clergy, the Nobles, and the commoners or everyone else. Each estate had an important role in the French society, but one estate was treated very unfairly. The estate that was treated the most unfair was the third estate of the commoners. They weren’t given privileges like the other estates and this caused many problems for the French society.
The people of France tried to resolve issues peacefully but the king cared only about his power and acted at the expense of the citizens. According to the French Revolution portion of the Encyclopedia Britannica Online, the bourgeoisie wanted to have political power and the peasants did not want the feudal system to continue (French Revolution 2). A large meeting was held to discuss and solve issues, but, “rumors of an ‘aristocratic conspiracy’ by the king and the privileged to overthrow the Third Estate led to the Great Fear of July 1789.” (French Revolution 2). With the king of France being unwilling to actually resolve any conflicts, the only choice that was left was to overthrow the government as a whole and rebuild it into being a more fair and just system.
This completely challenged Frances current system of an absolute monarchy. France also suffered through several years of poor harvests further increasing the gap between the rich and the poor. The years before the French Revolution would trouble both financially and socially, influenced by many more factors than the decisions of King Louis
Everyone has dreams and desires, but achieving those dreams and desires usually ends up hurting others and creating something unwanted. It is seen throughout our history like the French Revolution and displayed in many sources of literature such as “Frankenstein” by Mary Shelley. Frankenstein was published in 1818, sometime after the French Revolution ended which was in 1799 and both the war and the book have many instances that relate to each other. Although Shelley had published the book quite some time after the Revolution, there are ideas in the book “Frankenstein” that come from the French Revolution.
The French revolution is considered to be the most significant and effective event in the history. It changed the lives of many peoples and changed the future. Since people of France were under the control of the King they wanted to get rid of French government to eliminate power of the king. There were numerous other factors that also lead the French to the revolution. There were also many social unfairness among the taxes between the estates.
Christopher Rouse World History French Revolution Essay The French Revolution, lasting from 1789-1799 this decade long event took place in 4 different stages. It 's first being famously titled the “National Assembly”, followed by the Legislative Assembly, the Directory, and finally the Napoleonic Era. Each stage holds key events that are notably turning points in this 10 year long fight, but to fully understand the Revolution, mainly its causes and consequences, and the reason why the “common” people started the fight in the first place we need to evaluate the 1st and last stages of the revolution. The National Assembly & The Napoleonic Era. When we study the French Revolution, we understand the meaning or in this case difference between a revolution and a war.
