Palina Hornaya Chapters 9 and 10: The French Revolution and Napoleonic Europe Theme: France, although it was one of the most advanced countries in Europe, quickly fell due to the Enlightenment ideas and people’s critical perspective of their government and society. When Napoleon Bonaparte came to power, he ended the revolution through reforms, and created a French Empire. His political unity and great military skills led to more modern and enlightened reforms in Europe. Subtheme: BACKGROUNDS 1.
King Louis XIV enormous debt caused chaos and financial distress to his kingdom. In Memoir of Problems Faced upon Taking the Throne, written by King Louis XIV, it states, “ Everywhere was disorder . . . The finances were entirely exhausted, so much so that we could hardly find the ways and means. Much of the most necessary and most privileged expenses of my house and my own privy purse were in debt beyond all that was fitting, or maintained [through loans], to be a further subsequent burden.” (Doc.5)
As a result due to bank power, the Commercial Law was established to help charter businesses and create limited liability for investor’s. Developers were legally allowed to buy land from the unwilling. It also didn’t allow employees who were hurt in the workplace to lay blame onto their employers. These things enabled investors who were close to banks to succeed and increase their wealthy. There were many people who believed that this would lead to a collapse in the economy for those with unequal privileges, and despite the large boom in the economy the first few years, there was the panic of 1819.
The French Revolution was a drastic time for the people of France. In 1789, the majority of people were living in poverty and dealing with terrible conditions. People were split into three estates: the first, second, and third, the first being the wealthiest. Political, economic, and social situations were what contributed to people’s desire for change. The three main, or biggest causes of the French Revolution, were taxes, inequality, and lack of reform.
The French Revolution was one of the most significant wars that changed France’s history. The Revolution started in 1789 and ended in 1799 and was mainly initiated by the conditions affecting the Third Estate. Louis XVI was predominately the king during this time period but little did he know that an uprising among the peasants was happening. The French Revolution was caused by the Enlightenment ideas because of the American Revolution, the knowledge of rights, and the questioning of France’s government. The American Revolution was basically the “fire” that ignited the change the Third Estate wanted to see in their country.
The French Revolution was caused by the French government’s inability to unite their people as one nation and address the people’s demand for reformation of unjust taxation and citizen equality causing uprisings and revolts among middle and lower class people. The French government was already unstable after their assistance in the United States with their fight for independence, which put France in tremendous debt. Since the nobles and the clergymen were favored by the government, taxes were forced upon the Third Estate resulting in even more unrest. All citizens were not equal under the law, and the government was too occupied by their financial situation to focus on fixing the inequality and lack of representation among their own citizens.
After the revolutionary war, the colonial people of the United States were in severe debt. According to the textbook Enduring Vision by Paul S. Boyer, et al. “The Massachusetts legislature, dominated by commercially minded elites, voted early in 1786 to pay off its revolutionary debt in three years” (Boyer, et al.). Many of the people, unable to pay within this timeframe were asked to pay their debts in “hard currency” (Boyer, et al.). With these high stakes, and with the inability to pay their debts, revolts broke out in protest of the common tax hikes of the period.
I say this because over time the French started losing money because of the revolt and the european war. Which lead to their downfall and the loss of their
DBQ Essay The American Revolution was a rebellion from citizens in Britain that was inspired from many events, including the creation of the United States of America. A revolution is a forcible overthrow of a government to acquire a new system. The American Revolution was sparked from a variety of occurrences ranging from speeches to letters to documents, therefore causing the revolution to become the most significant yet. There were many influential people/concepts that added ignition to the revolution, including Abigail Adams, Leon F. Litwack, and the article from Northwest Ordinance.
In reading David Mason’s A Concise History of Modern Europe, I have learned of various important people, events, and ideals during the time of the French Revolution and, more specifically, the Napoleonic Era. Similar to the Industrial Revolution in Britain, an increase in agricultural productivity and industrial production proved essential to the country’s rise in success. This however would not be able to save France from the wall of debt that had accumulated over the years due to inefficient tax collection, financial aid to American colonies, and inflation. In short, Louis XVI attempted to resolve this problem with an assembly of the three estates but backfired with one of the three separating themselves leading to the liberal French Revolution
During the Eighteenth Century, France had an absolute monarchy with Louis XVI as king and Marie Antoinette as queen. In that time period, French society was based upon a system of Estates where the clergy made up the First Estate; the nobility comprised the Second Estate, and everyone else including professionals, peasants, and the bourgeoisie made up the Third Estate. The Third Estate was immensely unhappy with the old regime, the Estates General, and Louis XVI’s leadership. France was also in the midst of a fiscal crisis due to the American Revolution, Louis XVI’s lavish lifestyle, the Seven Years War, and the tax exemption of the First and Second Estate. Following the surge of new ideas and impactful philosophers from the Enlightenment,
This completely challenged Frances current system of an absolute monarchy. France also suffered through several years of poor harvests further increasing the gap between the rich and the poor. The years before the French Revolution would trouble both financially and socially, influenced by many more factors than the decisions of King Louis
King Louis XVI, who was the ruler at the time, was a main contributor to these problems that led France to its downfall. The country had a massive lack of resources and food, which led King Louis XVI to borrow more money than he could afford, thus putting the country in immense debt. Despite the very visible crisis overthrowing the country, the king was incapable of accepting his mistakes and refused to change his ways. He maintained the unjust voting system, known as the Estates-General, and worsened the taxing system in order to pay off his debts. The people, especially those of the Third Estate, were clearly angry and dissatisfied with the state of the country, which led them seek out a movement for what was right.
With the help of Napoleons’ National Banks France’s economy didn’t suffer as bad as it was. Through out the Revolution many successful events did happen but the major
The French government faced a financial and societal crisis by 1789 after at least fifty years of economic prosperity. Reluctant to the idea of reforms for this government proved detrimental, resulting in the French Revolution. If not for the influences from the Enlightenment philosophes and the French Revolution, this country could have collapsed. Spending was out of control. As French leaders began recognizing the accruing debt was only taking them further backwards, they finally were opening up to change.
