French Revolution Research Paper

There were many problems leading to the French Revolution and they all had an impact. At the beginning, France was heavy in debt and high taxes were placed on the lower class. Many of the poor people in this class owned little and spent half of their income on food. The Church taxed the peasants 10% percent of their income even though they were starving and made little money. Despite this, the upper class lived lavishly, selfishly spending their money on extravagant items and openly displaying their wealth without embarrassment. These aristocrats had many privileges and paid little or no taxes. Society in this time was a hierarchy or pyramid. The king was at the top of the pyramid, then the upper class or aristocracy beneath him, then the middle class or the bourgeoisie, and

His word was law. The king depleted his treasury in a war with the Dutch and he spent money large amounts of money on extravagant things almost ruining the economy. During his reign, the deficit was twice the amount of the government revenues! The King didn’t make an effort to support or improve conditions for the middle or lower class and resulted in King Louis losing the support of the middle class. In addition to this, the King had little contact with his subjects and wasn’t interested in governing at all. During his reign, France almost went bankrupt and the money he spent came from taxing the people of France and financially taking advantage of the middle class. King Louis’s wife, Marie Antoinette, brought more problems. She lived extravagantly, like her husband, spending money on expensive items. This made people unhappy as she was spending her fortune on herself rather than the many French people who lived in poverty. She was allegedly involved in the Affair of the Diamond Necklace making Marie Antoinette an unpopular person. During this time, the royal court split into two