French And English Revolution

Thousands of revolutions have taken place throughout the course of the history of the world. These revolutions have changed the politics, history, and all other facets of civilization of certain groups. Most revolutions follow a basic set formula of events: a leader is overthrown, radical and extremist groups take control for a period of time, and then the government is eventually restored to it’s original state. Both the English and French

Revolutions followed this basic formula with various differences along the way. The English Revolution which took place in the seventeenth century, and the French Revolution, which took place in the late eighteenth century to early nineteenth century, both share many similarities and differences with one another.

One similarity of both revolutions was the causes: financial problems.

Both King Charles I and Louis XVI were experiencing debt because of financial problems left behind from previous monarchs. Both kings placed the extreme tax burdens on the already poor peasants which further angered and oppressed them. Both kings had to summon on Parliament and the Estates

General to raise revenue. Both monarchs attempted to use force to maintain their power but eventually lost to the liberal people who wanted a reformed government. The extremist period of both the English and French Revolutions consisted of a semi-dictator; Cromwell in England and Robespierre in France, who set up a totalitarian military state. Lastly, both the English and French had to carry out two attempts at establishing a constitutional monarchy in order to finally have a stable, lasting government.

In both the English and French Revolutions the monarch was the establishment being revolted against. In the English revolution it was more of the Parliament rebelling against the monarchy whereas in the French

Revolution the peasants were the strongest and most motivated factors for change. In both revolutions the legislative body issued some form of a declaration for basic human rights. In England, however, their Bill of Rights was issued at the end of the revolution, while France’s Declaration of the

Rights of Man was issued at the beginning of the revolution. Religion was in issue at different times in both the English and French Revolutions. The

English Revolution did not incorporate any large territorial expansion and there was barely any outside interference during the Revolutionary period.