Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Impact of the French Revolution in Europe
French society during the french revolution
Impact of the French Revolution in Europe
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Impact of the French Revolution in Europe
Before the revolutionary period, France was a very structured country, with its population of 28 million citizens being controlled by a hereditary absolute monarchy, it had a leadership figure and was separated by the estate system. The revolution sparked because of great unhappiness and unfairness with the estate system, monarchy and much more, however before the revolution French society was structured and innovative. An example of pre-revolutionary French society under the ancien régime was the estate system, this system separated French society into three different categories excluding the king. The categories that society was divided into were: the first estate otherwise known as, the clergy which made up 1% of the population owning 10% …show more content…
The loss of these wars led to a great deficit in the royal accounts. Therefore, the monarchy had to take out loans to ensure it could keep up its lifestyle in addition to its military services. In addition to this, the lack of uniformity in the tax system made it easy for 2nd estate nobles, to escape taxes, for example, Taille (a tax on land and income) could be escaped by the 1st and 2nd estate meaning only the poorer in society had to pay it. Furthermore, the lack of a proper accounting system made the tax collections amount inaccurate, leading to corruption within the offices of the tax collectors and the Farmers-General. Furthermore, the increase of the population into cities and towns meant that there was higher demand for basic resources from the rural parts of France, however because of bad harvests there were supply shortages of basic resources so, in turn this lead to inflation, which saw basic resource prices flare, causing famine and anger amongst the 3rd
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 political officials who held all power in government affairs.
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 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
In addition to this, the cost of running a government in general had gone up and the country needed more money. Because the king didn't have as much power to tax as he pleases, the government could make a firm and accurate taxation of the people. In France, the price of government had also gone up.
The French government did not seem to be able to manage their finances so that the economy would improve and the people would feel fairly treated. In conclusion, the ancien regime was clearly an outdated, old fashioned system which was biased towards the wealthy and did nothing to improve the French economy. Instead of making France more powerful the ancien regime heightened tensions within the country and created unrest among the peasants who began to resent the government for taxing them, the landlords for treating them badly and the King for failing to do anything to rectify the situation, resulting in discontentment which increased over the years until it came to a head in the revolution of 1789.
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.
The French Revolution started in 1787 because the country was going through financial difficulties and there was unrest between the classes of citizens in the country. The differences between the lower class citizens and higher classes, being nobles and the monarchy were great. The citizens had heard of the revolution that went on in the colonies and they also wanted freedom and independence. The real start of the French Revolution was on July 14, 1789, with the storming of the Bastille. Between 1789 1793, a constitution was written, feudalism was abolished, war had broken out, and King Louis XVI was put to death. In late 1793 and early 1794, Maximilien Robespierre became the head of the Committee of Public Safety in France. This was the new governing body in France; it could be compared to the executive branch of a government. Robespierre was a great leader, he ins...
There were a numerous amount of economic issues. The first was when King Louis XIV left the France in debt. Also known as The Sun King, Louis XIV spent money extravagantly, and especially on building and transforming the Palace of Versailles, because of how much he disliked Paris. The rooms in le château were unbelievably ornate and very costly! All of Louis XIV’s heritors ran the country right into more debt, and when Louis XVI came into throne, his financial mentor, Jacques Necker, helped him make smarter decisions when it came to spending. But, that came to an end when he made a suggestion that taxes should be distributed among each social class, and Louis XVI got offended. The French government was spending more than its revenue, also because of war. The French and Indian war against England from 1756 to 1763 and aiding the Colonists against the English Loyalists in the American Revolution really put a toll on France’s financial standing. The nobles believed that reforms would solve their country’s economic crisis, but they were wrong. People, especially the peasants and workers, were left hungry and unemployed. Bread prices also rose. Obviously, the miserable farmers could not afford it, and their children’s clothing was either worn out in shreds, or non-existent. Even a pair of socks was a treat to peasant children before the French Revolution, and economic trouble was causi...
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 social differences in France were very unreasonable. People openly argued that “social differences should not be defined by law, as they were in the old regimes order” (2). In France, much of the inequality came from the social class system. It led to angry peasants and tons of revolting. This could have been avoided if France maintained equality for all estates, as it would have been rational. In addition, the clergy and nobles were given many rights which “included top jobs in government, the army, the courts, and the Church” (109). This was very biased as they were able to get the highest jobs, not because they earned it, but because of their social stature. Meanwhile, commoners or bourgeoisie, were not granted those jobs even if they had the ability to do them. This caused much of the third estate to become mad which led to uncivilized manner in France. If the government had just given equal rights and granted jobs by merit opposed to social class rankings, there would have been less drama between the estates and everything would have been
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.
Before analysing the nature of the revolution, one must understand the social structure of pre-revolutionary France which is referred to as the Ancien Regime. Society was divided into estates and the king ruled over all of them. The king was an absolute monarch. “The adjective means that he…was not subject to the laws, since he was their originator.” The first estate consisted of the clergy, the second estate housed the aristocracy or the nobles who owned land, and the third estate was everyone else. The third estate was a very broad and diverse category as it consisted of ninety six percent of the population. Within this diverse third estate were the bourgeoisie. Georges Lefebvre divides the bourgeoisie into five groups “the bourgeois proper ‘living nobly and on his property, members of the royal administration, officiers, proprietors of venal offices, some of them ennobled, lawyers- notaries, procureurs, avocats, members of the liberal professions-doctors, scientists, writers, artists, the word of finance and commerce, shipbuilders, wholesale traders, entrepreneurs and the upper gr...
At this time in French history, the social classes played an important role in the lives of the people. The social structure of France was divided among three groups: the First Estate, the Second Estate, and the Third Estate.
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.
The French Revolution began in 1789 and ended in 1792, though certain people include Napoleon’s reign as part of the revolution, stating it ended in 1804. It was a time of confusion, disorder, and bloodshed. The commoners of France decided that they were being treated unjustly and planned to overthrow their king. The French Revolution was a long and terrible war, which promoted democracy and equality for the people of France and resulted, not only in the death of Marie Antoinette and King Louis XVI, but with France becoming a more liberal country. This essay will investigate causes of the French Revolution such as enlightenment ideas, taxation and economical problems, and the political system of the time. It will be shown that there is not a single direct cause for the occurrence of the French Revolution, but many different reasons of varying importance.