The French Revolution went through a series of phases that lasted from 1787 through 1799. It was a time of great change. The most important causes of the revolution were politics, social inequality and economic difficulties. These major causes were what brought crisis to the French Revolution. There was political conflicts between the people and the rulers. France was an absolute monarch which the French Monarchs had unlimited power and had no motive to reform society. Instead of having a balanced system of multiple branches of authority the king of France believed he held the power to all of them. This carried a demand of change with the idea of Enlightenment. The idea of Enlightenment empathized …show more content…
Groups of people were divided by social statues into three categories. This was a large group of officials called the Estates General. The First State was made up clergymen, the Second Estate of nobles, and the Third Estate of commoners. The First Estate occupied the top position in society. They were exempt from paying taxes as well as the Second Estate. The Third Estate included a much greater variety of people and these members had to pay taxes. They had the least power in society. These ranks influenced the people to go into revolution for the unfairness of the tax systems. The economy’s condition also formed another flare-up for the French Revolution. Due to the foreign wars France had large sums of money spent on troops and supplies. After the American victory in 1783, France had spent more than a billion dollars on the military. Taxes were raised and the burden fell upon the classes that were least able to afford it. This caused great resentment between the people. The government survived by borrowing money. In addition there was an attempt to reform the tax laws so the wealthy would pay taxes as well but this attempt failed. Later in 1787 and 1788 there were storms that destroyed most of the nations harvest which further damaged the economy. Leading to soaring prices and high unemployment. Rampages, stealing and breaking into storehouses was another effect of the falling