The storming of Bastille on July 14th, 1789 officially marked the outbreak of the French Revolution. It was regarded as a symbol of new ideas and most importantly, a new society. What started as a revolt became the Revolution that shaped modern-day France. The Revolution was the consequence of both long-term and short-term events caused by Louis XVI, and other reasons such as the Enlightenment, L’ancien Regime and the deregulation of bread prices.
The outbreak of the revolution was caused by Louis XVI’s incompetence when he took over the throne in 1774. Louis XVI was an absolute monarch (meaning that he had total power); He believed that his “power to make laws only belongs to him” and that his power had been given to him by God. However, he was poorly equipped to reign as he was unaware of the needs of others. Louis “wished to do good” but was preoccupied with his son’s health as he was dying of tuberculosis. This gave the public an impression that he had no
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In the two years prior to the Revolution (1788-1789), France suffered many harvest failures and harsh weather; this triggered a shortage of grain, consequently increasing the price of bread. This lead to a food deficiency as well as mass unemployment for the people (especially the 3rd estate) who couldn’t afford it. The price of bread increased 25% during August 1788 and July 1789. In August 1788, the 3rd estate only needed to spend 50% of their wages to buy bread. However, in July 1789, it rose to 75%. 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