preview

The Events That Led To The French Revolution

Decent Essays

The French Revolution is undoubtedly one of the most prominent events to occur in French history. Occurring the in the late 18th century, the French Revolution transitioned France from a nation of intense debt to the abolishment of a monarchy, and rise of Napoleon Bonaparte. Following the Seven Years War and American Revolution, France was in significant debt due to the cost of wars and existence of prior debt, and as a result, they turned to higher taxation to reach a solution. However, this increased taxation was not imposed on the wealthy, but rather on the poor. This sparked a lot of controversy, and in conjunction with other major revolutions, eventually led to the French Revolution. France prior to the Revolution was relatively peaceful, but consisted of a Third Estate in destitution. These actions eventually progressed into revolting and rioting, sparking a revolution. Therefore, the French Revolution caused a transition from peace to war due to the imposition of higher taxes on the Third Estate, …show more content…

King Louis XVI, his wife Mary Antoinette, and the Roman Catholic Church were all major sources of power abuse. Mary Antoinette used the funds of France to serve her own purposes, and lead to significant debt. King Louis XVI approved the levying of taxes against the Third Estate, despite their extremely poor economic state, causing revolts. The Roman Catholic Church and the Pope also exercised their power and superiority over the Third Estate and limited the working class’ power for unequal representation. The First and Second Estates also utilized social discrimination to their advantage. They lived lavish lifestyles without taxes, and forced the suffering upon the poor. The actions of these people and groups led to an increase in protest and disapproval, and led to the French Revolution. Therefore, the abuse of power played a major role in France’s change from peace to

Get Access