The Revolution brought to its end an era where the French Catholic church was allowed to do as it wanted with little to no oversight. Ever since its establishment in France the church had amassed wealth and power by becoming the singular religion of the nation, however discontent grew and masses rose against the institution of the church. The revolution split the country in two, on one side those who supported the church as it always had been and on the other side those who supported the church as it had been redesigned by the new constitution.
Over a period of centuries France transitioned from being a religious state to a more neutral stance where religious diversity is encouraged. The dechristianization of France which eventually led
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It will then move on to the ways in which the Revolution transformed the state and whether or not these modifications were beneficial. The last aspect this investigation will consider is the return of the catholic church and whether or not Napoleon’s actions nullified the accomplishments of the revolution.
What caused the Revolution:
Before the French Revolution of 1789 the church had much control over the monarchs of the country yet there was very little oversight as to how the church handled its asset, the church owned an estimated six percent of the land and its wealth resented was by many who felt that the church was not contributing from the economy yet benefited from the hard work of common French people. The dissatisfaction for the church was first made vocal by the philosophes in their eyes the clergy was “full of priests and tonsured clerics who serve neither the church nor the state”. (Mercier,
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(Paris-architecture.info, 2015). The display of wealth that was Versailles resulted in indignation throughout the country, the 1780’s were particularly poor years for agriculture and whilst the King and Queen lived in a golden cage the populations starved. These shortages led to nationwide inflation, the price of bread rose to 14.5 sous which was 70-90% of the daily wage of an unskilled worker. (French Revolution, 2012). For the revolutionist Marie-Antoinette became a symbol of the opulent nobility they were trying to bring down and they dubbed her “Madame Deficit”, France financial crisis was unjustly blamed on her lavish
By 1791 their had been a constitutional monarchy with the revolutions mission complete, now major changes would have to be made to ensure that the country benefited from this change, but this would be hard, the church had already been abolished and its funds taken to resolve the spiralling debt problems. A lot of groups had been set up to fight the revolutionary committee including the Monarchiens and the Noirs. The main opposition came from ...
Before the French Revolution, an inexperienced king, and an irresponsible queen ruled over the citizens of France. Food cost was high due to the poor crop season, and Antoinette gambled away what would be billions today.
...s on who should have power. Rebellions broke out across France and turned the nation against itself. The major revolutionary revolt was The Storming of Bastille. The third estate demanded for a republic. King Louis was killed, along with his wife Marie Antoinette to pursue the ideas of changing society. Maximilien Robespierre ordered their deaths by the violent and horrific machine, the guillotine. He was also killed shortly after, but provided the Jacobins a leader in his efforts to overthrow the monarchy. Napoleon was the last to save the revolution as it came to a close. The French Revolution has changed history and the lives of everyone in France up to today. Many people sacrificed themselves to change the country for others today. This revolution was life changing and inspired many others around the world to stand up for their beliefs and fight for a democracy.
Beginning in mid-1789, and lasting until late-1799, the French Revolution vastly changed the nation of France throughout its ten years. From the storming of the Bastille, the ousting of the royal family, the Reign of Terror, and all the way to the Napoleonic period, France changed vastly during this time. But, for the better part of the last 200 years, the effects that the French Revolution had on the nation, have been vigorously debated by historian and other experts. Aspects of debate have focused around how much change the revolution really caused, and the type of change, as well as whether the changes that it brought about should be looked at as positive or negative. Furthermore, many debate whether the Revolutions excesses and shortcomings can be justified by the gains that the revolution brought throughout the country.
France wasn’t an exception, just like many other countries it changed its form of government in order to make the nation stronger and thus became more democratic. There are many reasons why the French Revolution have played a big role in the political change of France during the 1800’s. Firstly, the monarchy was abolished after the fall of the monarchy and the execution of Louis XVI has set the ground of the new more modern government. Secondly, the people started to change their positions in the government the nobility was liquidated and everybody was fighting for the power and rights. Finally, with the fall of the old dictatorial government, the people of France finally gained their human rights with the protection of the new modern
The French Revolution represents a period in history that brought about a major change in not only Europe but the entire world. The French revolution spanned from 1789 to 1799. It brought about several key changes in not only the economic state of France but also the perception of the Christian church, specifically the Catholic church in France. Its impacts both economically and religiously are still felt to this day. The French Revolution may have temporarily destroyed Christianity in France, however, it acted as a savior for the future of Christianity.
Under their rule, the lives of those in clergy were changed. The land of the church was confiscated to help pay for the financial crisis France found themselves in leading up to the revolution itself. The clergy had to swear their allegiance to the National Assembly and no longer had any allegiance to the Pope, the man who was the head of the Catholic Church which was the predominant religion of France. This lead to problems in the clergy because they were forced to change their allegiance from a man who believed in the same thing as they did, to a movement they were now forced to agree with whether they truly did or not. The social life of the people changed when they adopted a new calendar, which included a ten day week, and the citizens had to work for nine of them. This didn’t lead to a positive change because it did decrease productivity; the people weren’t made to work for approximately twenty-seven days out of thirty, so they couldn’t perform their jobs when they were worn down from
In order to investigate the claim that ‘Napoleon betrayed the revolution’, it has to be determined what is the French revolution? And what are the revolutionary ideals that Napoleon allegedly betrayed? If Napoleon betrayed the Revolution then he betrayed the ideals of liberty, equality and fraternity. However if Napoleon did not betray the revolution, he consolidated the revolutionary ideals. The only way of determining whether Napoleon consolidated or betrayed the revolution is to explore his actions such as his military success, Dictatorship and social reforms. The difficulty of this analysis is that Napoleons motives for his actions determine whether he consolidated or betrayed the Revolution.
The French Revolution was a period of political upheaval that occurred in France during the latter half of the 18th century. This revolution marked an end to the system of feudalism and the monarchy in France and a rise to democracy and new Enlightenment ideas. By 1789, when the revolution began, France was in a deep financial crisis due to the debt they had obtained over many years of reckless spending and France was nearly bankrupt. These financial issues fell almost completely on the bottom social class or the Third Estate which made up a majority of the country. Because of this financial trouble, the common people were heavily taxed, leaving many of them in poverty.
The French Revolution was one of the defining moments of French history. It overturned traditional ideas about the privileges of the aristocracy and the Church and replaced them with enlightenment ideals of democracy, equality, and secularism. It began in a time of financial crisis and overturned the old regime in France. The French Court, domain of the elite, was portrayed in the media as debauched and decadent, and led by Marie Antoinette, who was the most immoral of them all. Marie Antoinette (1755-1793), Queen of France and Navarre, was often characterized in libelles (pamphlets which slander a political figure) as a spendthrift, who was so focussed on her lovers and luxuries that she failed to notice the poverty of many commoners. Yet, other accounts that emerged after her death, suggest she was a tragic mother figure. She was unprepared for ruling a country, and isolated from her husband, friends, and Austrian family. Though there may be some legitimacy to claims supporting a more negative depiction, they are overshadowed by the overwhelming evidence demonstrating the positive portrayal of Marie Antoinette as a well-intentioned, but misguided.
During the eighteenth century, France was one of the richest and prosperous countries in Europe, but many of the peasants were not happy with the way France was being ruled. On July 14, 1789, peasants and soldiers stormed the Bastille and initiated the French Revolution. This essay will analyze the main causes of the French Revolution, specifically, the ineffectiveness of King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, the dissatisfaction of the Third Estate, and the Enlightenment. It will also be argued that the most significant factor that caused the French Revolution was the ineffective leadership of King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. The first and main reason for the French Revolution was the terrible leadership of King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette.
In the evening of August 11, 1784 (Fraser, 2001), Motte set up a meeting in the garden of Versailles with a prostitute posing as Marie Antoinette. Before the French Revolution in 1789, France was on the verge of a political revolution. The French Monarch’s enjoyed a luxurious life and ultimate power, while the majority of the French public did not enjoy the same benefits of the Monarchy. The Seven Year’s War between England and France in 1756-1764 (Rana, 2015) caused France to go in great debt with France gaining little outcome for an expensive war.
France was about to collapse due to imbalance, bankruptcy, and a new way of thinking. In France, feudalism was still practiced where the nobles and clergy had exceptional benefits over the commoners and lower class. For example, the nobles and clergy did not have to pay taxes; they owned most of the land, and they had the most political power in France. However, the ...
The French Revolution was a period of upheaval in France, during which the French governmental structure and Catholic clergy underwent a large change due to Enlightenment ideas. The commoners of France began to revolt after hearing the ideas of famous philosophes like Voltaire. Voltaire was a deist who believed that the Catholic Church and its doctrines were not to be trusted since they used propoganda to get followers rather than the actual religion. He believed it was unfair that there wasn’t any religious freedom since you were expected to be a Catholic. He spoke openly about this, which of course got him into a lot of trouble. Nevertheless, the French commoners took his word into thought and decided to act upon what he said by revolting against the church. Voltaire’s ideas also critized royal absolutism because they had, in his opinion, too much power. He favored an elightened absolutist, which is an absolutist who adopts Enlightenment ideas. Once again, the French commoners took this to heart and agreed with Voltaire that the French government was too ...
“Let them eat cake.” A famous response given by Queen Marie Antoinette when she was asked about the grain shortages in her country. But, did she really say this? Many people see Marie Antoinette as a leading cause of the French revolution, with her enormous spending, affairs, disapproval of reform, and influence on her husband, King Louis XVI. But did Marie Antoinette play a decisive role in causing the French Revolution? Or were the peoples judgements the cause of the uprising? This essay will provide both sides of this argument, stating findings and facts about Marie Antoinette’s influence on the people of France, and what feelings she provoked in them with her actions, and if there was any connection between her behavior and beginning of the French Revolution.