While he removed Protestants from France and lowered the chances of him being questioned or challenged, he also got rid of valuable assets that brought money to France. In contrast, King Louis increased the size of the French military to pursue his aggressive foreign policy which caused him to be involved in many wars. Table of Approximate Size of the French Military (Doc. 3 - Snape shows the approximate size of the French military, gaining 370,000 troops in 20 years. Maintaining such a large military costs lots of money, which severely causes taxes to rise.
Economically, heavy taxes fell on the three estates. Firstly, France endured social imbalance during the French Revolution. Many people during this time were very poor and there was an increased bread price on the people of the third estate (Doc 1). Representing the fact that the third estate were treated unfairly then
Shortly after the Seven Year War ended, King Louis agreed to help the American colonists in the American War. That sent the country into over 240 million Euros in debt. (Doc E) France was in an economic depression and Louis only spent more. The third estate struggled to feed their family for the price of bread skyrocketed. On top of that, the taxation system was corrupt.
King Louis XIV enormous debt caused chaos and financial distress to his kingdom. In Memoir of Problems Faced upon Taking the Throne, written by King Louis XIV, it states, “ Everywhere was disorder . . . The finances were entirely exhausted, so much so that we could hardly find the ways and means. Much of the most necessary and most privileged expenses of my house and my own privy purse were in debt beyond all that was fitting, or maintained [through loans], to be a further subsequent burden.” (Doc.5)
Due to the high prices of bread, many problems occurred. People that couldn’t afford for bread would die of starvation over time and there were many riots over bread. In addition to high prices on bread, King Louis XVI also raised taxes on the commoners. This made the commoners extremely upset because they were paying far more taxes than the clergy and nobility. As mentioned in document 3,“Lands held by the nobility are taxed very little.
France was already in a financial debt crisis and he attempted to solve this by recklessly forcing increased tax rates on the Third Estate. Meanwhile, he and his wife Marie Antoinette continued spending money on themselves. A famous scholar named Montesquieu said, “To be great, one has to stand with people, not above them” (Doc 5). This quote expresses that, a remarkable ruler, must consider the input of others which closely resembles a democracy. It aligns with the ideas of the Enlightenment
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.
As the nation’s economic condition worsened, the First and Second Estates continued to live lavishly, oblivious to the hardships of the world, while the Third Estate received the brunt of it all. King Louis XVI was incompetent, and he did nothing to alleviate their difficulties. Wars, the king’s court life, and Marie Antoinette’s deficit spending all contributed to the increasing debt of the nation; furthermore, half of the royal budget went to interest, so both the commoners and king’s budget exceeded what they could afford. To make matters worse, peasants had fees and services owed back all the way from feudal times. So as the Third Estate fell into destitution and royal spending increased, the price of goods rose.
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
As the French had about Twenty-five million people, 100,000 were clergy, 400,000 were the nobleman, and the rest was known as the third estate. The third estate was left to starve, while Louis XVi and Marie Antoinette lived a luxury lifestyle. The only food they could afford for a limited time was bread, but then the prices got so high, that the rich can only afford it.
In the third estate were the bourgeoisie, the urban lower class, and the peasants. These people made up 98% of the population. The people were poor and starving, and the country was in debt. Until people fought against the monarchy. The French Revolution began on May 5, 1789, when people finally had enough of being tired of having no food, high taxes, and just being miserable, so
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.
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.
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,
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.
