The French Revolution As A Turning Point In European History

The years 1789 to 1799, was a period of social and political transformation in France as well as a turning point in European history. On the surface of the French Revolution royal incompetence may inevitably appear as its major contributor. However, the revolt was far more deep rooted as French citizens sought “liberte, egalite and fraternite” which was a major philosophy of the time. They sought to eradicate the class biases of the ancient regime society, the albatross of unfair taxation and also the oppressiveness of feudalism. Moreover, France was experiencing a phase of enlightenment as well as it was greatly influenced by Atlantic revolutions of its time such as the American war of independence. For those reasons, no one element is

Blanning, the origin of the French revolution was the old regime which affected France socially and economically. The social impact of the ancient regime society which divided France into three estates had not only hindered social mobility but was one causative factor of the revolt. The discovery of new sources of wealth outside Europe had fostered the evolving of a new class known as the bourgeoisie. They were generally hardworking, educated men, some of whom were instrumental in the enlightenment phase of France. Many of these persons were also more affluent than some of the nobilities themselves as they “controlled almost all trade and the greater part of industry, which had begun full-scale revolution by the late eighteenth century. The majority of the industrialized factories were owned by this new class.”

France, whose population had been stagnant between the fifteenth and eighteenth century and had an average lifespan a little more than twenty four years old, had experienced a population explosion by the eighteenth century. “The population in France which had never exceeded 18 million since the fourteenth century had passed this figure, by about 1730.” This increase made way for a high level of unemployment, an increased need among peasant to survive in a struggling economy and additionally, criminals began to surface as person who were jobless still needed basic commodities such as food which gradually became over-priced. The monarchy had failed to deal with these matters adequately and thus overpopulation was an instigator of the