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The French Revolution was very controversial time period with many different aspects affecting it. The French Revolution was a time in French History, between the years 1789-1799, in which the French citizens fought to abolish the monarchy and put in place a new democratic system. As it was a large event spanning over a decade, there were many supporting elements which majorly influenced the revolution. French Enlightenment, The Fall of Bastille, The March on Versailles, and the general state of the economy at the time were all major contributing factors of the French Revolution. finished
(1) Enlightenment was a European intellectual movement (from 1685-1815) that directly influenced the French Revolution because it focussed on reason and individualism
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rather than tradition. Among the various thinkers Montesquieu, John Locke, and Rousseau all shaped aspects of the French Revolution with their philosophies. Initially, the ideals of Montesquieu were favored. In his dissertation on political theory, L'Esprit des lois, he expressed his belief that a liberal constitutional monarchy was what type of government France needed. He also thought that freedom was unlimited in what one can choose to do as long as it is legal. Ultimately, the implementation for liberal constitutional monarchy was a bust because of what happened when the Estates-General first met in May 1789. Montesquieu had hoped that those of powerful orders would readily agree with him on the powers they should possess, but instead the simply wanted to maintain what they had. It was the less powerful commons who called for a share of the jurisdiction with the Crown. Also, despite his lack of French origins, John Locke also served as an influence for revolutionists. His belief in regards to the natural rights of man (life, liberty, property) led to revolutionists announcing the Declaration of the Rights of Men in 1789. However, the declaration itself did not effect the government of France. It took King Louis XVI’s flight from Varennes to show how he did not want to share his power with lawmakers. That was the catalyst to shift the public’s beliefs into Rousseau’s ideals as early as 1790. Revolutionists revered his beliefs on sovereignty being undivided and that France ought to have a republic. In his eyes, freedom was seen as individuals commanding themselves and the people would maintain dominance. His book, The Social Contract created the phrase, "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity," that would become known as the motto of the revolution. It was his beliefs that led to Robespierre’s reign of terror (September 5th 1793- July 28th 1794) in a way. Robespierre made use of Rousseau’s words and twisted them to justify his reign. Without these thinkers, and many others, the French Revolution would not have been so thoroughly motivated. finished? (2)The Fall of Bastille started Bastille was a large french prison, which on July fourteenth was stormed and taken by disgruntled French citizens. The fall of Bastille had a large effect on the revolution as it became a crucial event that inspired the French citizenry. When Bastille was stormed the French suffered heavy losses. Over a hundred citizens dies and so did several guards. By the end of the event, however, the crowd had taken the fortress, forcing the king to acknowledge that there was going to be a revolution. The event also helped to inspire the people by giving (3)The March on Versailles was one of the most significant events leading up to the French Revolution.
In France from 1788-1789, the supply of grains used for bread and other products fell shorter than their regular level. This was due to the poor harvests at the time, causing the price of bread to rise greatly in 1789. In October of that year, popular markets in France had food shortages that evoked anger and apprehension among the women at the market place. These shortages initiated the market women to take action and march to Versailles armed with muskets and pitchforks in order to confront King Louis XVI about this issue, as it was the king’s job to provide food for the people of Paris. On their way, a great angry mob of men and women alike began to develop. At the Chateau of Versailles, there was a struggle between the soldiers guarding the castle and the mob causing many deaths. The women’s demand for the king supplying food and violent riot persuaded King Louis XVI to return to Paris. The royal family relocated to the Tuileries Palace in the center of Paris and never returned to Versailles. King Louis XVI could longer avoid the politics and rising tensions in Paris. Now he is right in the center of it and could not escape it. The significance of this daring act showed how much authority the common people had over royalty. The power no longer belonged to King Louis XVI and Queen Marie. With the King now in Paris, the royal family was vulnerable in the revenge seeking …show more content…
hands of the commoners. The march illustrated how strong women were at this time politically. This little taste of power over royalty helped to intensify and drive the revolution. (4)Another cause of the french revolution was France’s economic hardships.
Prior to the French revolution France was in great debt. This was due to both King Louis XIV’s and Louis XVI’s extravagant spending. Maintaining the palace at versailles took a large toll on their funds, to make matters worse Marie Antoinette’s spending was anything, but modest. In an attempt to solve the debt problem King Louis XIV the king’s appointed finance ministers Turgot and Malesherbes set a new financial reform. Although Turgot’s new financial reform was . Even after a few more attempts and a few more ministers hired, the king failed and even more debt was added because of Jacques Necker, a former finance minister’s decision to help fund the American revolution. As a final resort The king called in the Estates-General meeting which started on may 5, 1789. During this meeting the french tax system was completely changed and nobles and clergies were exempt from all direct taxes. As a result the poor shouldered the burden of paying unreasonable taxes. Furthermore many of the poor people were left sick, hungry, or even dead which created resentment towards the king and further influenced the people’s desire to
revolt. (5) Relevance The March on Versailles was This strength is accurately reflected in A Tale of Two Cities. In the novel, women are a key component in the revolution. Madame Defarge, a woman, was one of the fiercest and most ruthless revolutionaries.
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. In addition to the economic issues, France also held an Estate System that led to heavy
In the book Travels in France by Arthur Young, he states that “There is an injustice in levying the amount each person must pay. Lands held by the nobility are taxed very little. Lands held by commoners are taxed heavily…”. This line is important because yes, it is easy to see that only the middle class but Arthur is English, not French. From the website Encyclopedia Britannica they state he is an “English writer on agriculture, politics, and economics. Besides his books on agricultural subjects, he was the author of the famous Travels in France. The book is especially valued for its vivid descriptions of the French Revolution and of the conditions that produced it”. If an English man can see that French have a financial crisis because the king is in debt, then there is a financial crisis. The clergy and the nobles were not being taxed even though they had lots of money. Even the nobility went against their own people, the website Bastille Day and The French Revolution state that “Faced with all these problems, Louis XVI needed more funds to govern is country. His financial advisers, inspired by Turgot, decided to turn to the nobility and tried to pass a law that would make them pay more taxes. The nobility opposed the king 's decision. By a clever game of persuasion, they even rallied part of the third estates at their side to denounce the power of the King”. As can be seen taxes were
Lasting from 1789 to 1799, the French Revolution led a major turning point in the history of France. Ten years were filled with bloodshed, war, and terror. One of the results of the revolution was the overthrow of the monarchy, Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. Marie Antoinette is considered the most infamous and despised person in French history; however, not many know her life story.
The Enlightenment was the time period that followed the Scientific Revolution and was characterized as the "Age of Reason". This was the time when man began to use his reason to discover the world around him rather than blindly follow what the previous authority, such as the Church and Classical Philosophers, stated to be true. The Enlightenment was a tremendously broad movement that dominated much of the European thinking during the 18th century, however, several core themes that epitomized the movement were the idea of progress, skepticism against the Church, and individualism.
The French Revolution, also known as the revolution of 1789, was a movement that helped shape France into what it is today. The Revolution may have started in 1787 but it wasn’t till 1789 when the revolution actually started to become worse. The Revolution had many reasons for why it started, but it was only a few major things that really made it happen.
The enlightenment was an intellectual movement in the 17th and 18th centuries Europe that emphasized on reason and individualism. Thinkers of the Enlightenment encouraged people to question the society and government. The beliefs from the Enlightment that natural rights of man inspired the French revolution. The Enlightenment stressed the basic equality from a scientific point of view, arguing that superiority are human constructs not rooted in scientific analysis. The French revolution was a series of events taken place between 1789 and 1799 in different phrases that shifted France to a unified nation and enhanced its power as a modern state. The French revolution is a culmination of enlightenment ideas that wiped out old regimes, the Enlightenment
The French Revolution was a bloody civil war that lasted from the years 1789-1799. [1] The revolution arose out of hard economic times that had befallen France. Widespread famine and hunger, due to a grain shortage, rampaged through sections of the country. The economic crisis led to an increase in taxes on the lower classes, known as the third estate, to upkeep the lavish lifestyle of the nobility. [1] All of these are the known factors that led to the rise of the French Revolution.
Contributing to the final outcome, many diverse factors played significant parts. The highly conflicted estate system combined with the unfortunate financial outcomes of a weak monarch producing an imbalanced society with constant bickering. As the manufacturing depression compiled with the enlightenment, the revolutionary action was ignited. Finally, when a financial reform did take place, due to the nobility’s refusal to corporate led to an even larger financial disaster. As all of these factors came together, the end-result was The French Revolution.
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 French Revolution was one of the larger social revolutions. It can be considered a revolution on the political, social, religious, and economic front, although the biggest causes were social. The French Revolution began on July 14, 1789, with the fall of Bastille and continued until the rise of power of Napoleon Bonaparte. The main re...
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).
...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.
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.
Revolution? The major cause of the French Revolution was the disputes between the different types of social classes in French society. The French Revolution of 1789-1799 was one of the most important events in the history of the world. The Revolution led to many changes in France, which at the time of the Revolution, was the most powerful state in Europe. The Revolution led to the development of new political forces such as democracy and nationalism. It questioned the authority of kings, priests, and nobles. The Revolution also gave new meanings and new ideas to the political ideas of the people.
The French Revolution, which occurred from 1789 to 1799, was a time where the monarchy was overthrown, a republic was formed, and limits were put on the church. The French Revolution ended with the rule of Napoleon Bonaparte in 1799. The French Revolution created France’s legislative assembly, which is still in place today. Many would argue that the Enlightment was a cause of the French Revolution, but the Enlightment was not one of the main drivers for the Revolution. The bad living conditions, France’s monarchy, and the involvement in the American Revolution and other wars caused the French Revolution.