However, the method that King Louis XVI decided to use to try to get France out of its debt was, in a sense, British. This is because King Louis’s system was to tax his subjects very heavily and he taxed almost everything, which completely infuriated the French population. They began to feel just like the colonists had after the continuous British taxation. Unfortunately for King Louis, the French population learned from the struggles of the colonists and from their fight with the British. The American Revolution steered the French toward, and inspired them, to start a Revolution against their controlling Monarchy.
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.
King George III realized that they were losing control of the colonies, so he and parliament vowed to punish boston. In the spring of 1774, parliament passed the Coercive Acts, which were very harsh laws intended to punish the people of massachusetts. Then the Quebec act was passed later on, which angered the colonists furthermore. Colonists called the new laws, the Intolerable Acts. They were going to fight for the control of America, so the British soldiers were trying to destroy the artillery and ammunition of the colonists.
King Louis XVI of England needed to raise more money for his growing army and empire. After he failed to raise taxes, he called a meeting of the Estates Generals. That meeting ended up becoming a protest against the horrible conditions in France. The people of France were displeased with their living conditions and argued that France is the wealthiest country in Europe so they should be living comfortably. Austria and Prussia also form an alliance in which they decide to impose war on France.
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
King George the third or George William Fredrick, was born on June fourth 1738 and died January ninth 1820. His term asking of Britain lasted from 1760 to 1820. As a result of his 60 year term he became the longest reining male president. As the king of Britain and the disputed monarch of the thirteen colonies George’s influence on the world was unimaginable.
The French Revolution was caused by the French government’s inability to unite their people as one nation and address the people’s demand for reformation of unjust taxation and citizen equality causing uprisings and revolts among middle and lower class people. The French government was already unstable after their assistance in the United States with their fight for independence, which put France in tremendous debt. Since the nobles and the clergymen were favored by the government, taxes were forced upon the Third Estate resulting in even more unrest. All citizens were not equal under the law, and the government was too occupied by their financial situation to focus on fixing the inequality and lack of representation among their own citizens.
However, Americans were able to succeed because of their quick increase in population and economy. One of France’s financial problems came from the money they loaned America during the war. Arthur Young traveled throughout France and saw that “lands held by the nobility are taxed very little [and] lands held by commoners are taxed heavily” (Doc B). This comes back to the idea of inequality and how the government supported a class system in France that negativly affects the third estate. Because commoners’ land was taxed so much, they were unable to feed themselves.
France's issues were much more ingrained. The country was bankrupt, and only supported on taxes of the 3rd estate. Clergy and nobility (though the richest) were exempt from paying. Those taxes were also extremely high, and especially a burden for the poorest of the poor. Other problems like famine contributed to the growing rage of the 3rd estate.
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,
In 1789, France was precariously balanced on the edge of chaos. King Louis XVI was ruling monarch of France. King Louis’ youth depicted him as reckless, thoughtless, and unwise. A series of bad financial and political decisions, lead to his unpopularity among the people of France. King Louis was young, distracted and misguided.
They are the men who, greedy for land and riches, managed to provoke the French into attacking us, despite all peaceful intentions and actions taken by our parliament. The blood of all those men, our brothers, husbands, and children, who died in that war is on their hands, more so than on the French themselves! The French may have fired the first shots, but it was their governor who first sold the land, out of greed and contempt for the laws set forth by our King. It is their people who must pay for the lives of those men, and if not in blood, than in the blood money they have stolen from us
Revolution is an event that changes the life and politics of a certain person. Revolution can be both insignificant and radical. American revolutionary war was one of the best examples of radical revolution. The revolutionary war affected to American society in terms of politically, economically, and socially. The war was motivated by high taxation, such as Stamps Act, that British offered to Colonial people and unequal treatment that Colonial people went through.
History of the American Revolution There have been many revolutions throughout history. A revolution in the 13 colonies of Britain resulted in the formation of a new country. From 1754-1776 the British government produced unfair taxes and attacks that angered the colonists and led to a war that would create a country. The Declaration of Independence was a result of the unjustified taxes, attempted seizing of weapons, and violence between British troops and the colonists.
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.
