The later 18th century was a time of crisis for the old regimes of Europe and their economic systems and political agitation sometimes breaking out into revolts. English Industrial Revolution vaulted Britain to the fore. France was the most powerful and the most typical of the old aristocratic absolute monarchies of Europe. (lower taxes off backs of lower classes).
Major inequities, inflation and lack of food, very minimal reforms, rising aspirations of middle classes -bourgeoise. Among 23 million Frenchmen, there were 400,000 who formed the nobility -and army officers and clergy.
French Revolution extraordinarily important:
occurred in the most powerful, largest and populous states of Europe
2. It alone, of all the revolutions, was a mass social revolution and immeasurably more radical than any other (including the American). For instance, Tom Paine who was revolutionary in America was seen as a moderate when he went to France.
French Revolution was ecumenical--its armies set out to revolutionize the world.
It became a landmark in all the countries it touched: Belguin, Austria, Spain, Prussia, Italy and Russia
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France had to declare bankruptcy after the American Revolution--war and debt helped bring down the monarchy. King, in 1787, called the Estates General, an assembly of noblemen buried since 1614. Thus the Revolution becan with an aristocratic attempt to recapture the state. "Men born and live free and equal under the law." Not democratic, but constitutional. The King was not King of France, but King of the French!!
1789--Fall of the Bastille--a state prison--symbol of royal authority, oppression and privilege; July 14 even today is a national holiday in France "Bastille Day."
Tom Paine, Declaration of the Right sof Men and Citizens (1789), a manifesto against the hierarchical society of noble privilege, but not in favor of democracy, does provide for social distinctions. A belief in constitutionalism. Sovereignty resides essentially in the nation. (In the US, in "we the people). "The People " identified with the nation was a radical concept.
Aided by bad harvests of 1788 and 1789, so that a riotous people stood behind the Third Estate.
Jacobins= radical revolutionaries
San culottes=urban masses of laboring poor
Feudalism abolished in 1793
Events:
-1791 moderate bourgeoisie victorious (Metric system, emancipation of Jews)
war breaks out with Britain and other monarchies
-4 Jacobins..."Alon les enfates de la patrie...Le Marseilles, "Egalite, liberte, fraternite (ended by rise of Napoleon. Regin of Terror, including escaping King Louis XVI, Danton, then Robespierre, 17,000 to guillotine -"Tale of Two Cities" by Dickens.
Clearly there never was just one French Revolution, but rather a series of revolutions. These occurred while the French struggled to create a new political and social system – one that would follow principles radically different to that of the ‘ancient’ regime. There were five regimes during the French Revolution between 1787 and 1800. However, despite this fragmented revolution, the same fundamental principles guided most of the revolutionaries involved. These principles included equality under law, centralisation of government, elimination of feudal rights, religious freedom and careers open to talent, not birth.
All those dissatisfied with the new reform wanted the grand catholic army to overthrow the new French government. The sans-culottes stood for virtue and were the most loyal to the new French state. They believed that if you ran from the draft, you were considered an enemy. They destroyed prisons because they believed they were secretly sheltering conspirators.
The social condition in France before the French Revolution was very poor. The society was divided into three estates: first estate, second estate, and third Estate. The first and the second estates were made up of the Clergy
The Third estate, the lowest estate, had risen up to the top to become a National Assembly. Some of main goals of this insurgency were to get rid of monarchy and to have a political say for the Third estate. Many events like the Storming of Bastille, Bread March, and Napoleon’s reign all happened during the French Revolution. After the King Louis and Queen Marie’s death, France was in great danger on all sides. The National Convention created C.O.P.S or the Committee of Public Safety. This was to deal with the threats to France. Later on Napoleon Bonaparte came and dictated France. He made many good decisions to take France to the top like reuniting the church to the peasants and creating the Napoleonic Code. The start of Napoleon’s fall happened when he was trying to invade Russia but was defeated by his own ignorance and stubbornness. After he came back with only 40,000 soldiers out of 600,000 he was abdicated to King Louis XVII. Though the France went back to feudalism, they did pack a punch to the other monarchs of different countries which they formed an alliance with each
These leaders taught the French people more about what type of government would be the best option for them. One of the most radical, and extreme leaders was Maximilien Robespierre. The duration of his dictatorship was known as "Reign of Terror." He demanded a republic and soon after his demands the monarchy was overthrown. He also felt that a constitutional government would have to wait until all the enemies of the revolution had been eliminated.
The French Revolution evokes many different emotions and controversial issues in that some believe it was worth the cost and some don't. There is no doubt that the French Revolution did have major significance in history. Not only did the French gain their independence, but an industrial revolution also took place. One of the main issues of the Revolution was it's human costs. Two writers, the first, Peter Kropotkin who was a Russian prince, and the other Simon Schama, a history professor, both had very opposing views on whether the wars fought by France during the Revolution were worth it's human costs. Krapotkin believed that the French Revolution was the main turning point for not only France but for most other countries as well. On the other hand, Schama viewed the French Revolution as unproductive and excessively violent.
...iven the third estate reasons to rebel and take actions for change. In France the economic failures are one of the main causes of the French revolution, unfair taxing and bankruptcy has gotten the people of France irritated by the government. Gradually the privileges of the nobility were eliminated by the revolution. Many groups of people had help make the revolution successful such as the National Convention, they have passes many statements and documents to mark their every steps of successful during the French revolution. Over time many things happened and changed prior to during and after the French Revolution. The French Revolution was a large change and reform of the Ancein Regime. It has dramatically change France politically, economically, and socially. Without the French Revolution, France wouldn't have evolved in such way to become a equal and just nation.
The French Revolution was a period of political upheaval that occurred in France during the latter half of the 18th century. This revolution marked an end to the system of feudalism and the monarchy in France and a rise to democracy and new Enlightenment ideas. By 1789, when the revolution began, France was in a deep financial crisis due to the debt they had obtained over many years of reckless spending and France was nearly bankrupt. These financial issues fell almost completely on the bottom social class or the Third Estate which made up a majority of the country. Because of this financial trouble, the common people were heavily taxed, leaving many of them in poverty.
Liberté, égalité, fraternité, this was the motto of the French Revolution. It was coined by Pierre Leroux in 1838. The years 1779-1789 saw everything from the first constitution of France being drawn up, to the “Reign of Terror” in which the symbolic guillotine proved to be both the judge and the executioner. The Revolution initially started in an attempt to make the king answer to the people, in an attempt to overthrow the absolutist role and in an attempt to gain equality in all areas including taxation. The financial crisis was a burden to heavy to bear for the Third Estate. The people grew hungry which swiftly turned to rage. The lack of results led to the end of the monarchy and the execution of both King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette. However, despite the bloodshed, the ideals that the French were fighting for were alive in their hearts. Liberty is the freedom to think or act without being constrained by necessity or force. In France, people were seeking liberty from the tyrannical rule of the monarch in which the Queen was using taxes to endow herself in riches. The second ideal, equality, consists of rights, treatment, quantity, or value equal to all others in a specific group. This meant getting rid of the hierarchical system and ensuring that nor the Church or nobles were exempt from taxation. The last ideal, brotherhood, means a group of people with feelings of friendship and mutual support between them. The French lacked this during the Revolution. Civil disobedience was present and very few showed camaraderie towards one another. Ten years of hardship, striving towards one common goal, sacrificing thousands of lives the French achieved what they set out to do. With great willpower and with the help of a benefac...
The first underlying cause of the French Revolution was the Old Regime. The people of France were divided into three estates. The first estate was composed of the highest church officials. They held about ten percent of all the land in France. They paid no direct taxes to the royal government. The second estate was made up of nobles. They were only two percent of France’s population, but owned twenty percent of the land. They paid no taxes (Krieger 483). The third estate accounted for ninety-eight percent of France’s population. The third estate was divided into three groups; the middle class, known as the bourgeoisie, the urban lower classes, and the peasant farmers. The third estate lost about half their income in taxes. They paid feudal dues, royal taxes, and also owed the corvee, a form of tax paid with work (Krieger 484).
In order to understand the causes of the French Revolution we must first understand the separations within the French society at the time. The population was divided into 3 states, the Clergy and the Nobility which were the first and second Estates, both of whom did not have to pay taxes and were given privileges such as high positions in the army and civil service. The Third Estate consisted of everyone else, the pheasants, farmers, landless labourers, serfs and the emerging middle class called the bourgeois. 80% of the population was rural and were very highly taxed by the king, like the rest of the ...
with the concept that their Revolution was a fight for liberty, justice and the good of all Frenchmen everywhere. Their glorification of the Bastille with its. depictions in painting and sculpture and how the Revolution was the beginning of a new age pales in some of the events during this period. In fact, the storming of the Bastille was merely a hole in the dike, and more would follow. The National Guard, the Paris Commune, the September Massacre, are all words that. the French would prefer us not to hear.
The French Revolution started in 1789 and ended in the 1790’s. During this time citizen rampaged through France displaying their disapproval in the French monarch as well as the feudal system. Like the American Revolution the French Revolution was fuel by Enlightenment ideals such as popular sovereignty and absolute rights. As the 18th century drew to a close, France’s costly involvement in the American Revolution and King Louis XVI’s extravagant spending had left the country on the brink of bankruptcy. Two decades of poor cereal harvests, drought, cattle disease and skyrocketing bread prices had stirred unrest among peasants. However, one of the biggest problems of the French Revolution was King Louis XVI.
The French Revolution was a significant milestone in European history, remembered by many in historical and literary works. The situation in France, mostly under the leadership of Louis XVI, had a negative influence in France, thus creating a perfect climate for the French Revolution. France was plagued by both debt, and poor decision making. prior to 1789. France was poverty-stricken and burdened with some of the highest debts. On the financial side, Louis XVI was aided by: Finance Minister Anne Robert Jauques Turgot, and Interior Minister Chretien Guillaume de Lamoignon de Malesherbes (*The economic origins of the French revolution, pg. 4). Louis introduced some of the most oppressive taxes and instituted financial reforms. Greater reforms were prevented by the opposition of the upper classes and court. This opposition was so strong that Turgot was forced to resign and was replaced by Jauques Necker. Lengthy wars, the support to the American Revolution and the gross amount of taxes paid and the lavish spending of the court contributed to the huge national debt. The government’s financial problems were made worse after 1740 by the renewal of costly wars (the French revolution, pg. 9). The war of the Austrian Succession (1740-1748) and the Seven Year’s War (1756-1763) were European wars over the domination of central Europe and colonial and commercial wars between France and Great Britain (*Aspects of the French Revolution pg. ). At their end, in 1763 France had lost almost all of it’s colonial empire in America and India. In 1778 the French launched an attack against Britain in the American Revolution. They were hoping to weaken old rivalries and regain lost colonies. The hopes of the French were not realized and their participation in the war increased an already heavy national debt. After Louis XVI granted financial aid (1778-81) to the American colonies revolting against Great Britain, Necker proposed drastic taxes on the nobility. Necker was forced to resign in 1781 (Louis XVI and M. Antoinette ..pg 37) because of the discontentment of the people. Charles Alexandre deCalonne replaced him in 1783 and borrowed money for the court until the borrowing limit was reached (* Canadian Encyclopedia ref: france, revolution ). The anger of the French people against taxes, debt and lavish spending on the Court resulted in the recall of Necker in 1788, who still could not prevent bankruptcy of the government. During the next couple of years the financial crisis steadily worsened, because the government was bankrupt.
The bad living conditions of France and its depressed economy was one of the primary drivers for the French Revolution. The people of France were so poor that they had no shoes to wear and no food to eat. The poverty of France breaks its economy at its root. The economy got so bad that “By December 1788, there was a nationwide revolt against food shortages and rising prices, which continued to spread till the summer of 1789, when there was another bad harvest”(Todd 528). One ...