What were the most important causes of the French Revolution?
The French Revolution was a period of long ending causes and it led to many long-lasting conditions in France including political, social and economic conditions. The French revolution was significant because it led to the end of the old monarchy. The important causes of the French Revolution were the old regime, economic hardships, and the American Revolution. Thus, economic hardships, the old regime and the American Revolution were the important causes of the French Revolution.
One major cause of the old regime were the taxes and laws between the three estates. As seen in Document 2, “the 3rd estate paid 50% of income in taxes while the 1st and 2nd paid less than 5%” (Doc 2). This clearly shows that the most populated estate, the third estate, paid half of their income as their taxes. Larger amounts of taxes the third estate paid versus the lower amount of taxes for the first and second estates. Another significant cause was the unequal three estates and the third estate was overpowered. The third estate had more power in laws and taxes and their relationship with the lower estates were not good. As demonstrated in Document 7, the cartoon of the “The political and social system in France” (Doc 7). This cartoon proves the relationship between the third estate and the two lower estates. The lower estates didn’t have anything to do with taxes and laws and the third estates were all in laws and taxes. The final
The primary causes of the American Revolution were because of the unjust treatment of the colonists. The French and Indian War was extremely expensive for Britain, so to pay off the debt they decided to tax the American colonies. Several taxes were created, one of them was the Stamp Act. This act required the colonists to pay taxes on every piece of paper that was used, such as legal documents, licenses, newspapers, ship’s papers, etc.
the rest hierarchy. As a result of the estate system, the First Estate, composed of the clergy, who constituted only 10% of land ownership, received the most privileges. Under Louis XV and Louis XVI, the nobility (Second Estate) held many prestigious positions in the government and industry, and were exempt (along with the First Estate) from many taxes, such as France’s main tax, the taille). Despite being given these privileges, the nobles still felt the basic need for an expansion of exemptions at the expense of the monarchy. The Third Estate was the least privileged, yet the most populous, which caused an even larger barrier between them and the First and Second Estate. Furthermore, they felt isolated and degraded from the rest of the society due to the lack of consideration that they were given. Most of the commoners faced the issue of a lacking part in society which transcended wealth, as the Bourgeoisie (middle class) was even neglected from tax exemptions such as those provided for the First and Second Estate. Regardless of being skilled artisans, industrialists and bankers they were still considered a part of the “low” class, making it quite evident to rebel against. Adding fuel to the French national crisis, the dearth of national unity and the incapability for King Louis XVI to make effective and strong decisions, caused the problem to become an extreme.
The commencement of the French Revolution arranged the country of France being at the brink of bankruptcy. Causes for this brink are easily seen. King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette, lavished money on themselves and residences such as Versailles. Queen Marie especially, over spending money and was seen as a wasteful spender. The government, found that funds were depleting due to wars in the same manner as the funding for the American Revolution. Deficit spending, a government spending more money than it takes in from tax revenues, also played a major role in the bankruptcy of France as well as the privileged classes not submitting to being taxed. The New Encyclopedia describes the French Revolution as being “a period of ideological,
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, France was the most powerful state in Europe. One of the largest causes of the revolution was political. Political is relating to the government or the public affairs of a country. Another large example is economics. Economics are associated with the wealth and resources of a country or region, especially in terms of the production and consumption of goods and services. And lastly, social. Meaning people have to live together while in a community.
The French Revolution was a movement in France that occurred in the period of 1789 until 1799 when the people complained about the decisions of the King and Queen.The monarchies had the right to do whatever they wanted because their would be no arguments after they decided something.The third estate had five reasons to revolt, best known as the five causes which gave a purpose to start the revolution. Also, in the ten years, there were four different stages or phases that diverse events happened in each. The revolution also caused two effects in France that changed how the system worked before 1799.
The first estate represented the church, the second estate represented nobility and king XVI was a part of both estates, and the third estate made up of ¨the rest¨ of the population and it included the poorest people but there were two parts of the third estate, the bourgeoisie and the non-educated which is why the lawyers, doctors, and other top educated people in the third estate represented the third estate in the General Estates meeting, “The Third Estate is the People and the People is the foundation of the State¨ this is a true statement because they basically made up everybody and half of the population. I personally think that the third estate is the foundation of the people as a whole. The inequality among the estates was another major cause of the French revolution of anger that the third estate had towards the king and pushed them closer to revolt. There were barely any opportunities for the third estate to speak up and let the king hear them out loud for once, so when they called the General Estates meeting the third estate felt like it was the only chance they had to voice how they felt. Robespierre represented the third estate, but the king still wasn't seeing eye to eye with the third estate. Later the king had cancelled the General Estates meeting because he was a disgrace to most of his supporters. The constitution that was written in France was the second stage of the French revolution and they met at the tennis court of oath to rebel against the king. After they wrote the constitution, it later became known as the National Constitutional assembly. This evidence proves that the social order that France had was pushing the third estate overboard and they felt like they had no choice but to revolt against him and get him to realize that taking their ¨life, liberty, and property¨ away was not what they deserved. The king
During this time the Clergy and the Nobility were tax-exempt. The Third Estate owned the least land and had to pay excessively high taxes. Meanwhile, the other Estates had abundant land and paid little to no taxes. Not only did the Third Estate have to pay taxes on their land but also on their produce. Therefore, the price of food was so high many couldn't afford to buy it. On top of that, King Louie wanted to raise the taxes even higher to save France from its economic struggle due to poor spending. The people of the Third Estate felt that taxes should be charged only for a limited time. They also believed that taxes should be paid equally by all the classes. The First and Second Estates refused to pay taxes so the Third Estate was automatically
The structure of French society and the hierarchy of the people was also a major contributor to the monarchy's demise. The people were divided into 3 estates with the Clergy in the 1st estate, the nobility in the 2nd and the remainder in the 3rd estate. The 3rd
Internal problems that arose because of the Old Regime were a large cause of the French Revolution. The Old Regime was made up of three estates. The first estate was made up of the clergy. They collected taxes, and were exempt from paying taxes. The first estate seemed to justify their exemption from taxation with the fact that they provided social services such as running schools, hospitals, etc. They owned 10% of the land. The second estate was the nobility. They held government jobs, and had direct contact and employment from King Louis XIV. They owned a considerable amount of land, but they had few liquid assets. The second estate was also exempt from paying taxes, and they feared that this privilege would be taken away. The third estate was everyone else. They made up 98% of the population, and suffered the most in society.
The French Revolution occurred with a various amount of events starting from the causes of overthrowing the French system, to the main events that made up the Revolution, to the final result. The French Revolution drastically changed the power system influencing the beliefs to further come of communism and Marxism.
There were many causes of the French Revolution; some were political, some were economic and some were social. The amount of powers that the king held as an absolute monarch was a political cause of the revolution. He was allowed to appoint officials, declare war, levy taxes control the press, and imprison anyone
The French Revolution was a point in history where the French had a revolution against their monarch government. King Louis XVI was the French king that was overthrown. The French were in extreme debt, almost bankrupt, and the citizens of France did not appreciate the ways Louis XVI handled their situation. They responded with a revolution. There were many important causes, leaders, and events before and after the French Revolution.
The French Revolution paved the way for liberty and equality for the country of France. In order for this to happen, France had to eliminate some major obstacles including King Louis XVI. The problems in France ultimately resulted in a rebellion. Though the American Revolution provided a model of rebellion for revolution in France, the major concepts of the Enlightenment joined with the struggle of the bourgeoisie against the nobility to fuel the revolution; the new ideas included equality, leadership, and economic struggle. The short and long term factors of the revolution along with many other different problems in France ultimately led to the French people rising up to make a change.
Members of the Third Estate were expected to pay all taxes and the rich which belonged to the second and first estates paid none. The Third Estate saw this as highly unfair and wanted financial reform. France’s economy fell apart and people began to experience food shortages; people even started to starve. Scarce food supply played an additional role in the start of the revolution.
The French Revolution was a radical social and political upheaval in France that took place from 1789 until 1799. It was partially carried forward by Napoleon Bonaparte when he later became the Emperor of France. This period in history has major historical forces that had great influence on not only the lives during that period, but also the modern world. Issues about citizenship, sovereignty, and slavery were raised by the French Revolution. These debates soon enhanced modern political Ideologies. Ideologies of liberalism, conservatism, and nationalism were beginning to appear and influence all aspects of European life after the French Revolution.