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the economic causes of the french revolution
the economic causes of the french revolution
the economic causes of the french revolution
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Introduction
The French Revolution was nothing less than any revolution before or anyone after it: radical change in the institution that was known as the ordinary lifestyle. What began as a dispute between the people and the monarchy quickly turned into a violent and demandingly rapid movement to change the government that was more representative of the people of France. With many examples around them, the French people had many examples and inspiration that motivated them to revolt. The British had lived with some governmental relief knowing that the Monarchy had not all the power with Parliament making some of the major decisions. Across the Atlantic, the Americans had already begun and ended their revolution, becoming a nation independent of Great Britain. Furthermore, these two examples were only recent endeavors made by the citizens of their nation: The creation of British Parliament would happen within an English revolution. The Enlightenment would strike the world in the Eighteenth Century with new ideas and ways of thinking, ways that influenced the American and French Revolutions. All of this would soon affect the French enough to rebel against the monarchy and take over the government.
At the conclusion of the French Revolution, King Louis XVI and absolutist monarchy would be found headless, Republicanism would be found instilled into the government of France, and, soon after, the French people would be under not a king but an emperor, Napoleon Bonaparte. While some would argue that there was not any significant progress accounting that going from a king to an emperor is no different, change within the financial system of France remains to stand noteworthy, putting into context the substantial situation the country w...
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...he only reason) create change in their country.
Bibliography
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Felix, J. (2006). The financial origins of the french revolution. In P. Campbell (Ed.), The Origins of the French Revolution: Problems in FocusNew York, NY: Palgrave MacMillan.
Goldstone, J. A. (2011). The social origins of the french revolution revisited. In T. Kaiser & D. Van Kley (Eds.), From Deficit to Deluge: The Origins of the French RevolutionStanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
Jones, P. M. (2003). The french revolution, 1787-1804. (2nd ed.). Harlow, England: Pearson.
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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. In addition to the economic issues, France also held an Estate System that led to heavy
the French Revolution. Hunt, Lynn & Censer, Jack. University Park, Pennsylvania: The Pennsylvania State University Press (2001)
Cobban, Alfred . "Historians and the Causes of the French Revolution." Aspects of the French Revolution. New York: George Braziller, 1968.
Beginning in mid-1789, and lasting until late-1799, the French Revolution vastly changed the nation of France throughout its ten years. From the storming of the Bastille, the ousting of the royal family, the Reign of Terror, and all the way to the Napoleonic period, France changed vastly during this time. But, for the better part of the last 200 years, the effects that the French Revolution had on the nation, have been vigorously debated by historian and other experts. Aspects of debate have focused around how much change the revolution really caused, and the type of change, as well as whether the changes that it brought about should be looked at as positive or negative. Furthermore, many debate whether the Revolutions excesses and shortcomings can be justified by the gains that the revolution brought throughout the country. Over time, historians’ views on these questions have changed continually, leading many to question the different interpretations and theories behind the Revolutions effectiveness at shaping France and the rest of the world.
On the twentieth of august 1786 Charles Alexandre de Calonne, comptroller-general of the royal finances, informed King Louis XVI that the state was on the verge of a financial meltdown. Whilst not having exact details to the financial figures to show the full extent of the problem, it is never the less recognized that France was in serious financial difficulty. What then did Calonne propose to sort this financial mess out? How was he to convince the King and the Notables that France was in financial danger and to give backing to his solutions? This essay will attempt to answer such questions by examining the financial crisis France was in and by looking at Calonne’s proposals in which to solve it. We shall also examine his failure to convince the Notables and the steps to his acrimonious dismissal.
The essential cause of the French revolution was the collision between a powerful, rising bourgeoisie and an entrenched aristocracy defending its privileges”. This statement is very accurate, to some extent. Although the collision between the two groups was probably the main cause of the revolution, there were two other things that also contributed to the insanity during the French revolution – the debt that France was in as well as the famine. Therefore, it was the juxtaposing of the bourgeoisie and the aristocracy as well as the debt and famine France was in that influenced the French Revolution.
In June 1789 the French revolution had begun. For the next five years there would be bloodshed throughout France, the country was going through a radical change, the change in sovereignty and the failure of the constitutional monarchy being two examples of this. But to what extent was all this caused by economic distress? Before being able to answer the question, one would have to establish the definition of 'economic distress' it could be defined as the misery people (especially the peasantry) faced due to low income and tax inflation or the misery that the entire country was in due to the enormous debts, which had accumulated due to the wars, which were fought. The economic situation was only one of the elements that caused the people to question the monarchy in pre-revolutionary France. France was in great debt and almost bankrupt but this did not stop them from fighting wars. The debt -- an economic problem -- turned into a social one, when the peasants were taxed heavily in order to pay for the debt, this caused them to question greatly their position in society and the effectiveness of their monarchy. Drought and other natural disasters ruined crop production, causing food prices to rise dramatically. With taxes rising and prices too, peasants were living in famine and in poor living conditions. The enlightenment was able to inspire revolutionary thoughts within the people. People began to abandon their beliefs in divine right and focused more on the thoughts of equality and society being run for the benefit of all. The economic situation only made people realize other problems concerning politics and society. A revolution (The complete overthrow o...
The French Revolution was a bloody civil war that lasted from the years 1789-1799. [1] The revolution arose out of hard economic times that had befallen France. Widespread famine and hunger, due to a grain shortage, rampaged through sections of the country. The economic crisis led to an increase in taxes on the lower classes, known as the third estate, to upkeep the lavish lifestyle of the nobility. [1] All of these are the known factors that led to the rise of the French Revolution.
During the eighteenth century, France was one of the most richest and prosperous countries in Europe, but many of the peasants were not happy with the way France was being ruled. On July 14, 1789, peasants and soldiers stormed the Bastille and initiated the French Revolution. This essay will analyze the main causes of the French Revolution, specifically, the ineffectiveness of King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, the dissatisfaction of the Third Estate, and the Enlightenment. It will also be argued that the most significant factor that caused the French Revolution is the ineffective leadership of King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette.
The main cause of the French Revolution involved the differences between the three different social classes in France (Soboul, 1977). This class structure left over from the ancien regime, the Middle Ages, consisted of three orders known as estates. The First Estate, the clergy, made up less than 1 percent of the population but owned about 20 percent of the land. The Second Estate, the nobles occupied about 4 percent of the population and also owned 20 percent of the land. The Third Estate, the working middle class, made up 95 percent of the population and paid all the taxes needed to pay off the debts that Louis XIV had left behind because he had spent his country‘s money to aid the American revolution as to embarrass the British. It is ...
Governments have always struggled to keep currency in stability throughout history. Governments have an almost impossible task of managing the raising of taxes and borrowing capitals. Usually the result is perpetually turned to printing paper money to finance their increasing expenses. The subsequent inflations will damage the social construct, ruin economy’s, bring about revolution and, will bring dictatorship in them to their fall. The political economy of the French Revolution is a catastrophic sample of this process. With the many calamities in the world's history this one gained the attention of historians and writers as the French Revolution took its place in world history infamy. While attempting to study problems of the
...search for a way to relieve the national debt, however policies by financial ministers like Jacques Neckler and Charles Alexandre de Calonne increased the debt even more. Louis would attempt to evoke the Assembly of Notables, which consisted of nobles, and later the Estates-General, which consisted of peasants, to ease the economic burden. However, both assemblies were shocked and disgruntled with the poor economy, and revoked the power of the King, leading to the French Revolution and forever abolishing absolutism from France.
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).
Sparknotes editors. “Sparknote on The French Revolution (1789-1999)”. Sparknotes.com. Sparknotes LLC. 2005. Web. 1 Oct. 2013.
From the 1830s, the power of capitalism in both France and Britain got success in their countries. The capitalist regime increasingly got consolidated and developed. In the 1830s, the French July Revolution broke out, and the big b...