The Climate That Spurred the French Revolution

1593 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Cause of the french revolution

The people of France had been under the rule of an absolute monarch for a long time, so it took a perfect climate of political unrest and the confluence of numerous factors to start the French Revolution. The French Revolution took place in the ideal political, economic, and intellectual climate for a revolution. Short Term Causes Louis XVI had created a large amount of debt through bad tax collection practices and funding american revolution. Bad tax practices included not taxing nobles, which put all of financial burden of France on the middle and lower classes. These classes weren’t able to support the high costs of running a nation in addition to supporting a foreign war that brought no tangible benefit to France. To raise more money Louis XVI decided to sell noble titles to some upper middle class who could afford it. This provided the King with fast cash, but reduced his overall tax base because he wasn’t taxing nobility. The American Revolution was a large contributing factor to the French revolution. Ideas from the American Revolution were making their way back to France, especially the idea of essential human rights and the validation of John Locke’s theory that Government should serve the people. France’s working class was suffering because of bad harvests. The Guild system didn’t allow for farmers to row what they wanted. This caused increased economic pressure on the entire country, but because of Louis XVI’s tax structure it placed an especially large amount of pressure on the working and middle class. To deal with France’s economic impending doom Louis XVI called all of the nobles and those with significant wealth together and requested to borrow money from them. Because there was no legal way for the l... ... middle of paper ... ...ral in the french army and was given a lot of recognition for his actions by the Directory. This created a very positive public image of him within the french population and gave him the political capitol to stage a coup upon the Directory. Bonaparte named himself Emperor of France and was able to win a multitude of battles across Europe. Napoleon finally lost his power and was removed from his position by the people of France after a scathing defeat at the Battle of Waterloo. Because Napoleon was able to conquer so much of Europe, the European nations met in Vienna to redraw the borders of Europe. This conference established many of the borders that are still in place today. Soon after Napoleon lost his power Louis XVII assumed the French throne for the first time since his older brother Louis XVI had been beheaded. Thus marked the end of the French Revolution.

Show More
Related

  • French Revolution Dbq Essay

    1455 Words  | 3 Pages

    In addition to the economic issues, France also held an Estate System that led to heavy social inequality. This oppression of the Third Estate along with the financial problems that fell on the common people would lead to the French Revolution. Overall, the people of France revolted against the monarchy because of the unsuccessful estate system and the inequality it led to, because of the new enlightenment ideas that inspired them, and because of the failures of the monarchy. First, the French Revolution was a result of the failed estate system and the extreme economic and social inequality it led to.

    Read More

  • American Revolution Vs French Revolution Analysis

    735 Words  | 2 Pages

    Much like Britain and their need for money, King Louis XVI needed money due to causing France to become bankrupt with his costly

    Read More

  • The Three Most Important Causes Of The French Revolution

    1134 Words  | 3 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Why Is The French Revolution Important Today

    1348 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The French Revolution

    882 Words  | 2 Pages

    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...

    Read More

  • The End of Absolutism in Europe

    812 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...search for a way to relieve the national debt, however policies by financial ministers like Jacques Neckler and Charles Alexandre de Calonne increased the debt even more. Louis would attempt to evoke the Assembly of Notables, which consisted of nobles, and later the Estates-General, which consisted of peasants, to ease the economic burden. However, both assemblies were shocked and disgruntled with the poor economy, and revoked the power of the King, leading to the French Revolution and forever abolishing absolutism from France.

    Read More

  • The Enlightment Caused the French Revolution

    1409 Words  | 3 Pages

    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).

    Read More

  • Causes of the French Revolution

    530 Words  | 2 Pages

    The French also saw how the Americans overthrew an absolute monarch and obtained freedom (Krieger 484). The fourth underlying cause was the writings and teachings of several well known philosophers. Many people took up ideas from philosophers such as John Locke, who advocated freedom from oppression (Krieger 461).      An immediate cause of the French Revolution was the rising price of bread. The grain harvest had been low the previous year, so the price of bread rose.

    Read More

  • King Louis XIV Of France: The Rights Of Social Classes

    908 Words  | 2 Pages

    Many of the absolute monarchs limited the rights of the social classes within their societies. One of the rulers who did this, King Louis XIV of France, angered the lower class by deciding to not administer taxation fees among each social class. They didn’t think that it was fair that the much richer nobles and the church didn't have to pay the king's high taxes, but the poor did. Because Louis exempted two of the three social classes from paying, he opted to increase the tax fee to make up for the nobles and church. This took away what little money the lower class had left, and had a negative impact on the country’s people as the lower class’s rights were restricted when Louis did not uphold equal taxation. While draining the lower class’s funding, Louis’s taxation rules also made it much more difficult for the lower class to survive, as they lost the few rights and privileges they had left.

    Read More

  • Essay On The Great Fear

    850 Words  | 2 Pages

    France accumulated a large amount of debt following its involvement into the Seven Years War (1754-1763) and the American Revolution (1775-1783), alongside the already existing debts King Louis XVI inherited from his predecessors. Since the wealthiest part of the society, comprised of clergy and nobility, was exempted from taxation, the lower class had to work harder and pay more to support the country. The crops failure that happened in 1788 throughout the country in this diffic...

    Read More

  • Causes and Effects of the French Revolution

    2273 Words  | 5 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • French Revolution Research Paper

    504 Words  | 2 Pages

    Louis XVI was the king during the French Revolution and he accumulated a lot of debt for the country, under him was the estates general who did a majority of the work. “The separation of classes was the crime of the old monarchy…” The Nobles had more say than any other of the estates. All classes bumped heads, and the Bourgeoisie was confident with how they believed they should be

    Read More

  • French Revolution Research Paper

    1033 Words  | 3 Pages

    The French Revolt occurred for many reasons, some of which are still under debate today. What is clear, however, is France’s treasury was empty. Which caused heavy taxation upon its citizens — at a time when their family farm crops were failing — to fund its military hold over expanding territories in the Americas and the subsequent wars that ensued, as well as fund the Monarchy’s extravagant spending. King Louis XIV and his Queen, Marie Antoinette, spent money lavishly of frivolous pursuits and desires, while their citizens were starving. (Sailus, C.,

    Read More

  • Cause Of The French Revolution

    769 Words  | 2 Pages

    France was in a tough spot.The 7 years war had drained their resources and made them lose land. King Louis XVI had decided to start to tax the clergy and nobility. The clergy in particular because they had lots of wealth and owned a huge portion of land in France. Some Clergy did not respond well to this however some swore the oath and stiffed the relationship of the state and the

    Read More

  • The French Revolution: 1789 - 1799

    539 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

More about The Climate That Spurred the French Revolution

Open Document