The French Revolution started July 14, 1789 in France and endured till Nov 9, 1799. The French Revolution lead to the abolishment of a monarchy and turned it into a republic. The fundamental causes of the French Revolution were social imbalance, political injustice, and economic instability. Socially, France had an unequal distribution upon the 3 estates. Politically, the monarchy was over thrown and turned into a republic.
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.
The high taxes, high prices on goods, and unequal distribution of wealth in France were reasons why the French Revolution started. There were three estates in France; the first estate was the clergy, the second estate were the nobles, and the third estate was made up of of three groups; average French workers, Bourgeoisie, and peasants. The French Revolution led to many wars; Louis XVI was a very weak leader, and he was executed. Napoleon Bonaparte became emperor, and the revolution came to an end. The main causes of the French Revolution were the difficult life of the peasants; the issues between the three estates; and the unfairness of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen.
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.
Lands held by the commoners are taxed very heavily.” Overall, the commoners strongly distrusted the king and felt that his doings were
There were many causes of the French Revolution. People were unhappy with the current political, social, and economic condition and sought after change. Enlightenment philosophers brought new ideas and views of government. The Revolution affected mostly the middle class and higher estates. There was a great social aspect that caused the French Revolution.
The Enlightenment was an intellectual movement that reached its peak in the mid-1700s when many philosophers began reevaluating their past ways of thinking. One of the most powerful countries at the time was France. Even though the rest of the world praised their robust trading system and culture, they still faced significant problems within the government such as high taxes towards only certain groups of the population. These effects led to the revolution where thousands of poorer French citizens fought for radical change in the feudal system. Modern Enlightenment ideas in Europe had a huge influence on the French Revolution, especially leading up to it.
There were also many new ideas that were being developed and shared with the public. There were many roots of this event. The French Revolution was caused by the mistreatment of the third estate, the American Revolution, and by the Enlightenment. One of the elements that contributed to the commencement of the French Revolution was the mistreatment of the third estate. Life was rough for everyone
In a diagram from 1789, it shows that the First and Second Estates made up only a small percentage of the population, yet they owned ten times that amount in land, and paid no taxes. Meanwhile, the majority of the population, made up by the Third Estate, were taxed profusely and owned little land in comparison (Doc 2). The inequality between the estates and the extent to which the Third Estate was abused because of their social status was clear . This is portrayed in an illustration where the Third Estate was trampled by the taxes forced upon them by their social superiors (Doc 7). They were in no state to pay taxes or tithes to the church, and this mandatory tariff left little money for their own needs.
The Causes and Effects of The French Revolution “Man is born free, and everywhere he is in shackles.” -Jean Jacques Rousseau Imagine being a peasant of the third estate in the French Revolution era. How would you feel being taxed a lot more than the others estates, just because of some “title”? Or being treated unfair because you couldn’t read well, or you weren’t wealthy enough? Well, that’s what life was like for the peasants.
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
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.
Many different things caused the French Revolution of 1789-1799, ranging from social injustices to an economic crisis. In France during this time, the middle class and peasantry were combined into a single estate, causing many people in the middle class to become angry about their lack of rights. The French state was deeply in debt because of King Louis XVI’s extravagant spending, and it relied on the peasants to pay all of the taxes. This led to the frustration of peasants at the unjust taxes, many of whom could not afford to pay their dues. Finally, the Enlightenment, a time where many new ideas about human rights surfaced, had a great impact on the French people and their idea of government.
A failing government in great debt and famine spread across the populous created a very unstable France in the late 1700s. Left in a horrible position, The French Revolution began. It commenced with the formation of the National Assembly and the creation of the Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizens; a system of rights for every person that was made integral to the new constitution. Liberty, property, and fraternity were rights that the French revolution would do an exceptionally poor job of protecting.
Also, France was in a debt from aiding the American Colonies during the Revolutionary War versus Britain. France did this because they have been enemies of Britain for hundreds of years and want to make Britain lose. By the end of the revolutionary war, France spent 1.3 billion Francs and was 3.35 million Francs in debt. This will cost an economic depression in France causing the citizens to be bitter. In addition to the economic depression in France, France had a couple years of an atrocious harvest.
