What Caused the French Revolution?

1672 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Immediate causes of the french revolution

The Causes of the French Revolution

My Take on the Causes

What really caused the French Revolution? Well no one seems to be able to agree on a definitive answer, but really the answer is simple. The main causes for the French Revolution? Finances, Law, and the Dividing of the Population.

Law and the French Revolution

The French government was a complete monarchy. At the time France had thirteen different regions. Each of these thirteen regions made up their own rules. What did that mean? France didn't have a unified law system, basically a government, to make up the rules; everyone made their own through Parliament. The Parliament had the jurisdiction to make laws in their own region. Each individual Parliament had between 50 to 130 members made up of judges and “legal elites” in that region. This was the only government in France. The Parliament were the ones set prices on foods, and held trials including murders and thefts. Even though they served as the government of the region, they were hated by everybody, including the king. The King had people called intendents who “curbed the power of nobility” who were hated even more than Parliament.

Before the Revolution, a constitution was trying to be made. The National Constituent Assembly abolished feudalism in the August Decrees (made in August of 1789), however it had already almost been abolished by successful peasant revolts. On August 26, 1789 the Assembly published the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen, which made principles, instead of a constitution, with legal effect. The National Constituent Assembly also drafted a new constitution, along as served as a legislature. Finally, a unified legislative chamber was established to make all the ...

... middle of paper ...

... be divided into three parties: the bourgeoisie, the sans culottes, and the peasants.

-The Bourgeoisie were comprised of merchants, doctors, lawyers, etc. and were the middle class of France. They had high incomes, sometimes even higher than that of the nobles. However, this did not give them any sort of status or power. They were blocked by the aristocracy in an attempt to keep the social system the same that they were used to.

-The Sans Culottes were workers who worked in cities like Paris. They didn't make nearly as much money as the bourgeoisie, and suffered the most when food prices went up and their wages did not. They were also the primary radical revolutionaries.

- The peasants, or “everybody else”, were the poorest out of everybody and worked for the nobles. They spent their lives only trying to survive, and were weighed down with tithes and taxes.

Show More
Related

  • Differences Between The French Revolution And The English Civil War

    1155 Words  | 3 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Essay On Social Classes In Romeo And Juliet

    545 Words  | 2 Pages

    Nobility were at the top of the social classes. These men were rich and powerful, and they have large households. The real growth in society was in the merchant class. Within the nobility class there was a distinction between old families and new. A person becomes a member of nobility by birth, or by a grant from the queen or king. It took a crime such as treason for a nobleman to lose his place in this social class. Many died during the War of the Roses, a series of civil wars fought during the 15th century. Being a member of the nobility class often brought debt ...

    Read More

  • French Pre-Revolutionary Government

    789 Words  | 2 Pages

    Although there were still clear boundaries between rich and poor, this no longer played a practical role in the political system. However in France the rigid system which dictated the social and economic standing of all the country's citizens, from the King to the poorest peasant, was still very prominent. The King was second only to God, while the clergy and nobles, many of them very wealthy, paid no taxes and the peasants lived in poverty serving the landlords and carrying the weight of the rest of France through the heavy taxes they were forced t... ... middle of paper ... ... restricted the growth of industry and trade and the increase in food prices led to riots among the lower classes.

    Read More

  • Dbq French Revolution

    539 Words  | 2 Pages

    Before the revolution the social structure was three estates consisting of religious leaders at the top, nobles in the middle, and commoners at the bottom. The third estate had two groups, the poor, and the wealthy but not highborn. These wealthier commoners are referred to as bourgeoisie. Of course there was social inequality existing in the system, such as how only the third estate was obligated to pay taxes so high that they could not support themselves, they were also liable to paying tithes to the church, but that money was pocketed by the clergy. Another example of inequality before the Revolution was hunger. Bread at the time was the main source of food for the citizens of France, it was the king’s job to distribute it to his subjects. In order to make sure food is suitably rationed, the markets followed regulated prices and number they could sell per family. But the order fell apart and the regulation was destroyed allowing bread to be either too expensive, poor in quality, or out of stock. The richer citizens hoarded all the bread creating a starvation period among the poorer

    Read More

  • The French Revolution

    882 Words  | 2 Pages

    The French Revolution evokes many different emotions and controversial issues in that some believe it was worth the cost and some don't. There is no doubt that the French Revolution did have major significance in history. Not only did the French gain their independence, but an industrial revolution also took place. One of the main issues of the Revolution was it's human costs. Two writers, the first, Peter Kropotkin who was a Russian prince, and the other Simon Schama, a history professor, both had very opposing views on whether the wars fought by France during the Revolution were worth it's human costs. Krapotkin believed that the French Revolution was the main turning point for not only France but for most other countries as well. On the other hand, Schama viewed the French Revolution as unproductive and excessively violent.

    Read More

  • French Revolution Dbq Essay

    1455 Words  | 3 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • The Three Most Important Causes Of The French Revolution

    1134 Words  | 3 Pages

    The French Revolution started during 1789, it allowed for the people to have a better government that actually protected the natural rights of the people. This toke a nearly a decade of rioting and violence for the Third Estate to have their way and get the rights they deserved. From all the causes like the famine of wheat, long debts because of wars, the heavy taxes, and their rights not being protected, some causes stood out more than the others. It is noted that these reasons had to play a major role in order for the French Revolution to occur. The three most important causes of the French revolution are the ideas that came from the Enlightenment, the Old Regime not being an efficient class system, and the heavy taxation.

    Read More

  • Industrial, French, and American Revolutions: Common Social Revolutions?

    750 Words  | 2 Pages

    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 reason behind the revolution was the unfair treatment of classes in France.

    Read More

  • Cause of the French Revolution

    384 Words  | 1 Pages

    Cause of the French Revolution The essential cause of the French revolution was the collision between a powerful, rising bourgeoisie and an entrenched aristocracy defending its privileges”. This statement is very accurate, to some extent. Although the collision between the two groups was probably the main cause of the revolution, there were two other things that also contributed to the insanity during the French revolution – the debt that France was in as well as the famine. Therefore, it was the juxtaposing of the bourgeoisie and the aristocracy as well as the debt and famine France was in that influenced the French Revolution. Many people were making a case for a new concept of society, in which commoners, especially the educated middle classes (bourgeoisie), had.

    Read More

  • Causes of the French Revolution

    530 Words  | 2 Pages

    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).

    Read More

  • The French Revolution: Avoidable Or Inevitable?

    945 Words  | 2 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • A Brief Summary of the Nicaraguan Revolution

    1926 Words  | 4 Pages

    One cause of both Revolutions was that people from all social classes were discontented. Each social class in France had its own reasons for wanting a change in government. The aristocracy was upset by the king’s power while the Bourgeoisie was upset by the privileges of the aristocracy. The peasants and urban workers were upset by their burdensome existence. The rigid, unjust social structure meant that citizens were looking for change because “all social classes…had become uncomfortable and unhappy with the status quo.” (Nardo, 13) Many believed that a more just system was long overdue in France.

    Read More

  • Causes and Effects of the French Revolution

    2273 Words  | 5 Pages

    Together, Louis XIV and the bureaucracy worked to preserve royal authority and to maintain the social structure of the Old Regime. 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. Each social group had a varied type of people within their structure, which presented the different views of the people. The First Estate is the Church.

    Read More

  • The French Revolution: 1789 - 1799

    539 Words  | 2 Pages

    The bad living conditions of France and its depressed economy was one of the primary drivers for the French Revolution. The people of France were so poor that they had no shoes to wear and no food to eat. The poverty of France breaks its economy at its root. The economy got so bad that “By December 1788, there was a nationwide revolt against food shortages and rising prices, which continued to spread till the summer of 1789, when there was another bad harvest”(Todd 528). One ...

    Read More

  • The Industrial Revolution And The Development Of Sociology

    1014 Words  | 3 Pages

    At the start of the revolution, in 1789, France’s class system changed dramatically (Giddens, 2014). Aristocrats lost wealth and status, while those who were at the bottom of the social ladder, rose in positions. The rise of sociology involved the unorthodox views regarding society and man which were once relevant during the Enlightenment (Nisbet, 2014). Medievalism in France during the eighteenth century was still prevalent in its “legal structures, powerful guilds, in its communes, in the Church, in universities, and in the patriarchal family” (Nisbet, 2014). Philosophers of that time’s had an objective to attempt to eliminate the natural law theory of society (Nisbet, 2014). The preferred outcome was a coherent order in which the mobility of individuals would be unrestricted by the autonomous state (French Revolution). According to Karl Marx, economic status is extremely important for social change. The peasants felt the excess decadence of the ancient regime was at the expense of their basic standards of living, thus fuelling Marx’s idea of class based revolutions and the transition of society (Katz, 2014). This can be observed, for example, in novels such as Les Liaisons Dangereuses, a novel that had a role for mobilizing the attitudes of the

    Read More

More about What Caused the French Revolution?

Open Document