France and Russia: Poverty and Revolution

803 Words2 Pages

“Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité” , is coined as the motto for the French people during the French Revolution. “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity”, was a driving force for the French during the French Revolution, but things were not the way the French people wished leading up to the French Revolution. My Historical Eye character William, a poor laborer of England, moved to Russia in the mid-1500s. After spending a great amount of time working in Russia, William has moved to France. In the year 1788, a year before the French Revolution was fully underway, William is embarking on a new journey in France, he and many other Europeans have already had to deal with many economic issues and problems with political power. William began his young adult life working in Russia, as a laborer. During the time William was in Russia, “Ivan the Terrible” took crown in 1533 and ruled until 1584. His time in Russia was after the Black Death and other various famines. The urban poor were hit very hard. The price of bread rose drastically, resulting in many being unable to eat because they could not afford the simplest of meals. By the 1700s, the just price system came into effect, making lives a bit easier for peasants. The just price became a wide spread, but it was too late for William and many other peasants. With the inability to gain food and money, William would depart from Russia to France. In the early 1600s, Russia also faced other problems, which made many Russian workers and citizens leaving Russia in order to start a new life. This is one of the major reasons why William would have left Russia. When William left Russia in the late 1600s or early 1700s, he worked as ship worker. Russia worked with many shipmasters because trade was a majo... ... middle of paper ... ...b. 2014. . Accessibility: 5 Reliability: 5 Note: This is accessible when one has internet access. The website is very easy to use and it is very reliable. Smith, Jillian R. "Shipbuilding and the English International Timber Trade." DigitalCommons @University of Nebraska - Lincoln (2009): 89-92. Accessibility: 5 Reliability: 5 Note: This is accessible when one has internet access. This article was accessed through a database. The database site was very easy to use and it is reliable. Weber, Eugen. Peasants into Frenchmen: The Modernization of Rural France, 1870-1914. Stanford, CA: Stanford UP, 1976. Print. Accessibility: 5 Reliability: 5 Note: I had not heard of this author, but the publisher is very well know, which established credibility. I received a copy of this source through the Xavier Library

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