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The french revolutions
French revolution introduction
French revolution 1776
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More handpicked essays just for you.
The french revolutions
French revolution introduction
French revolution 1776
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Economically, heavy taxes fell on the three estates. Firstly, France endured social imbalance during the French Revolution. Many people during this time were very poor and there was an increased bread price on the people of the third estate (Doc 1). Representing the fact that the third estate were treated unfairly then
In France, the 1st and 2nd estates would conspire together to maintain dominance, leaving the 3rd estate with only one vote and no power.
Although there were probably many factors that contributed to the start of the French Revolution, the three most important causes were taxes, the American revolution, and the spreading of the philosophes’ ideas. A very prominent cause of the French Revolution was the unfair amount of taxes for the Third Estate. According to Arthur Young, who traveled across France while it was still under the Old Regime, wrote about this in his book, Travels in France. An excerpt from his journal reads “Lands held by the nobility are taxed very little.
After many years of unhappiness with the monarchy, the French citizens started a rebellion. This rebellion, called the French Revolution, had several causes, most of which related to a society that favored the rich. The quality of life for members of the third estate in France was very low. Those who were poor were very poor.
This document demonstrates the ideological nature of the Estates during the French Revolution. The Third Estate’s members aimed to overthrow the current social and political system and were driven by ideological beliefs. The document highlights the need for justice and equality by outlining a number of complaints against the advantages held by the nobility and clergy. It emphasizes the need for a more fair society by demanding the end of feudal rights and privileges. This source reveals the Third Estate’s complaints were based on more expensive ideological ideas of justice and equality, indicating their dedication to revolutionary principles.
The third estate, which makes up 98% of the population, is unhappy with the dramatic advantages that the first 2 estates receive. Getting rid of nobility helps all citizens have equal opportunity. Doc B “Jan 21,1793 Trial, conviction, and execution of Louis XVI for treason“. The execution of King Louis not only served as a symbol, but also showed that the French population want a honest leader in a democratic nation. “ February 1794, All slavery abolished in French colonies.”
Taxes, which is still a commonly disagreed topic, were a major reason the people of France revolted. The members of the first estate were paying only a fraction of what the members of the third and event the second were. Arthur Young, a man who travelled through France from 1787 to 1789, made the observation that land owned by nobility and people of the upper class was taxed very little compared to the land owned by common citizens (Doc. 1). This injustice took a great toll on members of the third estate and
As the French had about Twenty-five million people, 100,000 were clergy, 400,000 were the nobleman, and the rest was known as the third estate. The third estate was left to starve, while Louis XVi and Marie Antoinette lived a luxury lifestyle. The only food they could afford for a limited time was bread, but then the prices got so high, that the rich can only afford it.
Historian Henri Lefebvre argued that the Aristocratic Revolution of 1717 to 1788 was the most important cause of the French Revolution. He states that “the French Revolution was started and led to victory by the aristocracy”. The situation was so confusing that it could not be fully reported according to the fiscal administration. The budget of the Old regime roughly consisted of a 126 million livres deficit and the government could have solved this crisis by cutting down spending or raising taxes, though many thought taxes were already too high despite the richest of society; bourgeoisie, nobility and clergy paid the least tax. The nobility controlled the majority of France’s estates and held high-ranking positions in the army and government “The nobility constituted a vast social and political network, a source of power and influence that pervaded every level of French society”.
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,
However, because the clergy and the nobility both opposed paying taxes, the Third Estate would continue bearing the brunt of the crisis. With this in mind, the Third Estate resisted the injustice and by deciding to make their own National Assembly that truly did represent the people and gave itself control over taxes. In a short time, some members from the other estates joined them in their act of resistance. This was a prominent tipping point from which France tumbled faster and faster into the
Third Estate is a political pamphlet written in January 1789, shortly before the outbreak of the French Revolution, by the French thinker and clergyman Abbé Emmanuel Joseph Sieyès . The pamphlet was Sieyès' response to finance minister Jacques Necker's invitation for writers to state how they thought the Estates-General should be organized. In the pamphlet, Sieyès argues that the third estate the common people of France constituted a complete nation within itself and had no need of the "dead weight" of the two other orders, the first and second estates of the clergy and aristocracy. Sieyès stated that the people wanted genuine representatives in the Estates-General, equal representation to the other two orders taken together, and votes taken
While 97% of the population were hungry, broke and unemployed, Louis XVI and his family continued to indulge in their luxurious lifestyle. Louis XVI’s inability to deal with the economic slump and food deficiency that France was facing had led to France being on the verge of bankruptcy. This was an important factor that fueled the rising anger of the 3rd estate causing them to commence the Revolution in
During the time of the French Revolution there was an over-abundance of government tension between the aristocratic upper class and the people who made up the rest of France’s population. The political unease of the middle and lower class brought about the reconstruction of the French government. The transition to their new government set up, and the reasons behind it, are easily visible by looking at the history of the general estate, the national assembly, and the declaration of the right of man and citizen. From the time it was summoned in 1789 the estates general groups fought among themselves. The fact that two out of the three estates were made up of clergy, the first estate, and nobility, the second estate, meant the general population did not really have a say and could always be outnumbered two to three.
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.