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Social economic political causes of the french revolution
The causes and course of the french revolution
Social economic political causes of the french revolution
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From 1789 to 1799, a period of radical social and political upheaval in France, named as “French Revolution”, that profoundly affected French and modern history. Before 1789, France was under the rule of the aristocracy and the church. The ideas of the Enlightenment were start to make the common people want more authority. They could see that the American Revolution had formed a country in which people had supremacy, instead of a king. This period is the bloodiest period in the Europe history. French people was very frustrated with the king because of his lack of ability to deal with the declining living situations, financial circumstances, shortages of food and few religious intolerances. As people become angrier because of the power of privileged few, they wanted change, …show more content…
France was divided into three Estates. Before this revolution, Clergy was the first Estates and it was made up of 1% of population, the nobility was Second estates and contained 2%of population and the third estates were made up of other 97% population. From all the three estates representatives of people together made up the Estates–General. This revolution swept away all political institutions which were badly corrupt. The French revolution is a result of conflict between new ideas and the old system. The old system causes the unfair circumstances. The third class (Common peoples) had to pay the taxes and they were under the slavery of the aristocratic society. However, the first and the second class (upper class peoples), they did not have any responsibility, but they led extravagant life. In France priests and nobles were living a comfortable life while common people were facing various difficulties. The government was all dishonest, peasants were paying large amount of taxes. Monarchy was dismissed by democracy. The King, Queen and many other supporters were killed by rebellions. Many of people lost their
First, the French Revolution was a result of the failed estate system and the extreme economic and social inequality it led to. Under the rule of Louis XVI, the people of France were divided into three main social classes or estates as they are called. The First Estate featured wealthy members of the Church such as Bishops and Priests who held great political power due to their influence on government affairs. The Second Estate was a class comprised of the wealthy nobles and
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.
The social condition in France before the French Revolution was very poor. The society was divided into three estates: first estate, second estate, and third Estate. The first and the second estates were made up of the Clergy
There were various amounts of perspectives on the French Revolution. Some were similar, such as those of the people of the 3rd Estate like Joseph Sieyes and the creators of the National Assembly's constitution. There were also some conflicting perspectives between the Third Estate and the other two, such as King Louis XIV and Joseph De Maistre. With all of these perspectives displayed throughout these documents of historical evidence, I see the horrible treatment the people of the 3rd estate received simply because they weren't born into nobility or clergy. This was very unfair, and I believe the country of France needs a revolution.
The French Revolution was the revolutionary period of social and political upheaval that shook France from 1789–1799, starting of with the ruling of absolute monarch Louis XVI and ending with the ascent of dictator Napoleon Bonaparte. During this time citizens destroyed the foundations of the “Old Regime” in France, which was done through changing political ideals, and uprooting centuries-old institutions such as absoluatte monarchy and the class systems. The causes of the revolution are still being debated among historians. But the demands for change were influenced by many of the Enlightenment ideals. Which were formulated through the leading Enlightenment thinkers Baron de Montesquieu, Voltaire, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau.
The people of France overthrew the king of France Louis XVI and that is why the French had won the American Revolution. “The French Revolution had reached its pinnacle of violence, the French Revolution had been a point in time where you could re-create everything in a society, through political action. French Revolution had been an important event that had occurred in Western history. It had been an important revolution that upset the most. It had gotten rid of the Catholic church, Christianity, nobility, and even the king. There had been so many things that the French Revolution had gotten rid of. The revolution would bring bread to the poor and
During the french revolution many events shaped the country into the place it would become. Uprisings and battle for control would keep the country on its toes for many years before eventually it would stop. People were questioning everything and revelling against authority left and right. Blood would paint the streets before eventually it was quelled. Some of the most crucial events were the execution of Louis XVI, The Reign of Terror and the rise of Napoleon.
They say knowledge is power. This was the case for 1789 France, where the “Enlightened” peasants, after years of autocratic dominance from the First, Second Estate and the King, decisively fought and won a revolution for civil liberties and rights, an event which would not have happened had the peasants and lower classes not been literate. But, their literacy did not come immediately. It took at least a century for the peasants to be numerously literate, and even then they were still not as educated as the privileged, wealthy nobility. In addition, different regions in France had access to different rates of schooling, which had a profound effect on how the local peasantry responded to their rulers and events. The levels of literacy in Old
from around 1780 to 1890, a remarkable change occurred in human affairs as slavery, widely practiced and little condemned since the beginning of civilization, lost its legitimacy and was largely ended. Enlightenment thinkers in eighteenth-century Europe had become increasingly critical of slavery as a violation of the natural rights of every person, and the public pronouncements of the American and French revolutions about liberty and equality focused attention on this obvious violation of those principles. To this secular anti slavery thinking was added and increasingly vociferous religious voice, expressed first by Quakers and the Protestant evangelicals in Britain and the United States. The actions of slaves themselves likewise hastened
Way back in the late 1789, a country went through a great change. France had always a monarchical country, as well as the rest of Europe and Great Britain. Despite the long history of being that, the people wanted a change. France had some great kings, but they also had some not so great ones, which I believe may had led them to their decision to revolt. There were many factors that caused them to be upsetted by bad kings, such as higher taxes, loss of land, mistreatment, or just corruptness (not all of the bad kings had these qualities)but, the thing that upsetted them the most, was the feudal system. People of higher classes were growing and the peasants just wanted to be free, they wanted their own land, and not have to work off someone else’s. Anyways, back to the revolt, this was no little revolt, this revolt turned into a revolution. The revolutionaries had good intentions, at first, to make a constitution, (they were inspired by the American revolution) but that didn’t go as planned, and it all went south. Later on, they planned to get rid of the King, and they did, beheading King Louis XVI, but after that, a thirst for blood continued, seeking out the people they despised, the Aristocrats.
The French Revolution of 1789 is an extraordinarily complicated and complex time period. The country was having financial, social and political problems all of which contributed to the outbreak of the war. France, had two Kings each of whom ruled the country in different ways but both were effected tremendously by the people. When an absolute monarch is in control the king is supposed to have complete control over the country and therefore in order to be a successful or well-liked King he must be able to connect to the people.
Prior to the revolution, King Louis XVI was at the top of the ancien régime, the social, economic, and political structure in France, which means he had absolute power. When he received the throne in 1774, it came along with insoluble problems. The people were split into three estates which divided social class. The first estate consisted of 100,000 tax exempt nobles who owned 20% of the land. The second estate consisted of the 300,000 tax exempt clergy who owned 10% of the land. The third estate consisted of the remaining 23.5 million French people who were 90% peasants. The third estate was the only estate that paid taxes. Their taxes ensured the financial well-being of the clergy, state, and nobles (French Revolution Overview 6).
The first underlying cause of the French Revolution was the Old Regime. The people of France were divided into three estates. The first estate was composed of the highest church officials. They held about ten percent of all the land in France. They paid no direct taxes to the royal government. The second estate was made up of nobles. They were only two percent of France’s population, but owned twenty percent of the land. They paid no taxes (Krieger 483). The third estate accounted for ninety-eight percent of France’s population. The third estate was divided into three groups; the middle class, known as the bourgeoisie, the urban lower classes, and the peasant farmers. The third estate lost about half their income in taxes. They paid feudal dues, royal taxes, and also owed the corvee, a form of tax paid with work (Krieger 484).
The thesis of this study is how society was during the French Revolution from 1789 to 1799. The French Revolution during this time went through significant changes from the beginning when society was run by the wealthy class and being undemocratic and changed to being a democratic state. From 1789 to 1799, the French Revolution was a “cataclysmic political and social upheaval.” French society was going through a hard period in France.
The third estate (made up ninety-eight percent of the population) was the people who wanted to be equal to the nobles and clergy. The clergy and nobles made up the First and Second Estate. They first two estates had overruling power in the government than the Third Estate. This was one of the reasons of the Storm of Bastille. They were knowledgeable of the ‘existing conditions.’ The social class was the main thing separating the people of France. There was a lack of social mobility also, causing people to be based on lineage, rather than wealth.