Zoe Clark
Ms. Berry
MEH ICAP, Period 6
20 November 2015
How Urban Poverty Led to the French Revolution
18th century France was believed to be the most advanced country by the rest of Europe due to its populous condition and trade production. Despite what other Europeans thought, France was actually in very poor condition. Due to its “bad harvests, high prices, high taxes, and disturbing questions raised by the Enlightenment ideas of Locke, Rousseau and Voltaire,” the French would soon be in a state of chaotic rebellion. However, smaller reasons still helped to further aid the French Revolution along its impending path, including urban poverty. Urban poverty, which was greatly affected by rapid population growth and taxes, played a small yet
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Throughout the 18th century, its population increased 8 to 10 million, making its total population nearly 31 million. In comparison to the previous century, it increased by almost 9 million. This sudden change occurred because of a decline in disease, food shortage and mortality. Most French citizens lived in the countryside, with the exception of large cities like Paris, Lyons, Bordeaux and Marseilles. Although mortality rates did experience a decline in the cities, those who lived on the countryside had a lower life expectancy due to their exposure to contaminated air and water. Because of the high concentration of people in rural areas after the population boom, at least 90 percent of peasants lived with only enough pay to feed themselves and their families. This issue continued to grow with the unexpected population change. In addition, there was a shortage of jobs which put many lower class citizens at a disadvantage in finding work with which they could support their families. Because peasants were so desperate for work, they were easily led into the revolutionary forces. They had the strongest feelings of irritation toward the upper classes due to their insensitivity toward the lower classes. (Cencer, page 1) (Halsall, page …show more content…
Peasants, who, again formed the vast majority of the population, owned 40% of France’s total land. However, they were also the most heavily taxed. They “alone [paid] the taille” as well as a bulk of taxes despite them being aimed toward the nobles. Taxes consumed most of a lower class citizens income, which left them with only enough to life in discomfort. Most could afford only to feed their families. In some places, taxes consumed up to one third of the total income. Laborers were not considered a priority in France as they were in other countries, which was a key aspect in the heavy taxes put upon peasants. In other European countries such as England, the lower class earned a greater respect. Those who were born well into their society admired the intense labor which provided them with many resources. Because of this awareness, the peasants in England did not take as hard of a hit from taxes as the French. On top of taxes in France, it was demanded that they pay rent as well. Peasants, as the group who took part in the most labor but received the least pay, had to supply the country with practically all of its financial needs. Even so, the higher classes all supported the taxes because their lives were essentially unaffected by the peasants’ suffering. (Sée, pages
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
Feudalist France was a rich, powerful, and respected nation for hundreds of years- until it appeared to collapse like house of cards in the breeze. The catalyst for this change could be attributed to several causes, but ultimately it was the actions of one group that furthered the revolution most. Maturity enabled the bourgeoisie to dispute their position in society, seeing their lack of political voice as an irrefutable issue. Furthermore, they put their goals of change into effect by shifting France’s sovereignty. In short, the bourgeoisie were most influential in furthering the French Revolution because of their drive for political participation.
Dissatisfaction of the poor was one of the reasons french revolution entered the radical stage. The people were angry. They were starving to death and so were their
France’s working class was suffering because of bad harvests. The Guild system didn’t allow for farmers to row what they wanted. This caused increased economic pressure on the entire country, but because of Louis XVI’s tax structure it placed an especially large amount of pressure on the working and middle class.
The peasants, such as me, did not like being under the rule of Louis XVI and his spouse Marie Antoinette. We were already deprived of money to begin with, yet we still lost half of what we had due to taxes. We were expected to pay feudal dues to the nobles, tithes to the church, and royal taxes to the king’s agent. Also, aside from taxes in money, we owed the corvée. The corvée was a certain form of tax that was paid by work rather than money. We were expected to do this for a certain number of days out of every year. During the rule of the Old Regime, peasants’ rights were depleted and our power was oppressed.
Before the revolution, life in France was still observing feudal rights. The monarch, nobles, and the clergy lived a life on the back of the people. It was a very dark time for the peasants with no light in sight. The large mass of peasants grew poorer and living in famine. Crime was the way of life for the peasants because food resources began to become scarce. Leading up to the revolution, the beginning of a middle class began develop. This new class would be the leading force for the revolution in France. After the revolution the French Revolution failed to establish a representative government or a constitutional monarchy. Before the revolution, France began with an absolute monarchy. They completely abolished the monarchy by cutting off the king’s and queen’s head and ended up with Napoleon Bonaparte. The French revolution did give the people a taste of liberty, equality, and power, but that was short lived. The co...
Throughout France in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries majority of the population consisted of peasants who lived in rural areas across an estimated thirty thousand different villages. The lives of these peasants consisted of hard physical labour that usually took place on farms that they rented from a seigneur . “Life was a struggle to grow enough to feed families and meet obligations. Crop yields were relatively low, and the average villager did not own enough land to live comfortably on what it could produce” . This paper will cover peasant revolts in France during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, as well as their suppressions. Two different kinds of revolts will be looked at, tax revolts and religious revolts. The two kinds of revolts will then be compared and analysed.
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 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 thesis of this study is how society was during the French Revolution from 1789 to 1799. The French Revolution during this time went through significant changes from the beginning when society was run by the wealthy class and being undemocratic and changed to being a democratic state. From 1789 to 1799, the French Revolution was a “cataclysmic political and social upheaval.” French society was going through a hard period in France.
In eighteenth century France, King Louis XVI’s subjects were split into three very different classes, or estates—the First Estate, the Second Estate, and lastly, the Third Estate, who made up the greater part of the French population. The First Estate consisted of clergymen, who protected tradition and preserved the status quo, while the Second Estate consisted of nobles, who regulated guilds and contributed very little in terms of taxpaying. The last estate was the Third Estate, whose members were those that lacked any real unity as the kingdom’s commoners, and they made up the ninety-seven percent of the French population (Popkin 11). It was this Third Estate who had to shoulder the burden of paying the majority of the taxes in France, and it was because of this injustice that caused them to desire reforms in social equality and the tax system (Chang).
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).
First it is important to understand the French economy during the eighteenth and nineteenth century. The working class people were struggling with their need to get by in life and feed their family and the internal call to make a choice and gain equality. The problem was that the proletariats did not have much of a choice at the time because if they did not work then they did not survive. The struggling class had to agree to what all the owners said and “whatever their status, the peasants continued to pay to their lord feudal dues on such land as they held on his estates." 2 It was clear that a social change was needed since the workers were being so abused and getting no reward for their efforts.
Prior to the Industrial Revolution, society and economics were largely determined by land and agriculture. Growth was slow and people relied on traditional means to survive. The majority of societies were farmers who raised crops and animals for a living. However, in the eighteenth century, the population exploded and grew at a significant rate. The four primary factors behind this growth are: a decline in death rate, an increase in the birth rate, the virtual elimination of plagues, and an increase in the availability of food [[i]]. This burst of population created an excessive amount of workers, who were not needed in the agriculture society. The need for workers in agriculture decreased due to the advances in technology and tools. A large number of people as well as perspective farmers had to find jobs elsewhere. This is one of the important factors in the shift of the population from rural areas to the more urban cities.
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 ...