More handpicked essays just for you.
Enlightenment ideas causing french revolution
Enlightenment ideas french revolution
The influence of the Enlightenment on the French Revolution
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
bourgeoisie, who were wealthier commoners who resented the higher classes due to the burdens of taxation they faced. At the very bottom of the social class ladder were peasants. Peasants were laborers who could barely afford basic necessities and like the bourgeoisie were heavily taxed. As one can see from this description of the social structures that were in place during the ancien regime, just why so many people were unhappy with it. The majority of the people were being heavily taxed and were granted few rights, while the rich minority continued to stay rich. The social structure of France during this period of time was clearly an issue to the vast majority of subjects. However the social structure of the nation wasn’t the only …show more content…
As hinted at towards the end of the last quote, one of the main driving factors for the Revolution and end of the ancien regime in France according to Behrens, were relations between French and Britain. Between 1689 and the Revolution, almost half of that time was spent in wars with Britain. He says that “they overburdened the economy and reduced the system of taxation to chaos…The recurrent partial bankruptcies and the continual attempts to increase taxation were among the most potent causes for discontent…The success in the last war, which was fought to win the Americans their freedom, undermined the old ideals of absolutism and privilege and promoted the new ideas of liberty and equality for which the Americans stood” (Behrens, p. 162) 12. So, as a result of discontent with the social and political structure of the nation, a new ideology in The Enlightenment, combined with continual taxation increases, served as the reasoning for change. That change came in the form of the Revolution in …show more content…
The convocation, called for by King Louis XIV, was composed of the three estates, the clergy, nobility, and commoners. This was the first time the Estates General had assembled since 1614. It is here that the Revolution started because the point of Louis XIV calling the assembly was to discuss the levying of new taxes and reform with the three estates. Louis XIV started off the assembly by making a speech in which he declared himself “the peoples greatest friend”. After the kings speech, other speeches followed including ones by "Barentin, the Keeper of the Seals, and Necker, the Minister of Finances, concerning the economic situation in the kingdom. The budget deficit was 56 million. Necker claimed that new taxes would be enough to make up for the deficit” (Chateau de Versailles, p. 1)13. With that being said, the commoners of the third estate, who were the majority of deputies present, realized that nothing was going to change, they were going to continue to be heavily taxed, and they were done with it. One thing became evidently clear from the first assembly of the Estates General in over one hundred years and that was that the commoners needed to take things into their own hands, and that is exactly what they did. On May, 5th 1789 the Revolution had
During the french revolution many events shaped the country into the place it would become. Uprisings and battle for control would keep the country on its toes for many years before eventually it would stop. People were questioning everything and revelling against authority left and right. Blood would paint the streets before eventually it was quelled. Some of the most crucial events were the execution of Louis XVI, The Reign of Terror and the rise of Napoleon.
In all of the documents listed, liberty and equality are described with regards to the French Revolution. These concepts are shown to have evolved over the course of the revolution, and this is proven by the documents chosen. Liberty and equality were emphasized as either major or minor ideas in the documents, and although some were only alluded to, it is evident that the ideas of liberty and equality changed during the years of the French Revolution. Also, some of the terms used connoted different things at the end of the Revolution than the original Revolutionaries of 1789, which demonstrates the transformation of the use of words which were symbolic at that time.
They say knowledge is power. This was the case for 1789 France, where the “Enlightened” peasants, after years of autocratic dominance from the First, Second Estate and the King, decisively fought and won a revolution for civil liberties and rights, an event which would not have happened had the peasants and lower classes not been literate. But, their literacy did not come immediately. It took at least a century for the peasants to be numerously literate, and even then they were still not as educated as the privileged, wealthy nobility. In addition, different regions in France had access to different rates of schooling, which had a profound effect on how the local peasantry responded to their rulers and events. The levels of literacy in Old
The Revolution brought to its end an era where the French Catholic church was allowed to do as it wanted with little to no oversight. Ever since its establishment in France the church had amassed wealth and power by becoming the singular religion of the nation, however discontent grew and masses rose against the institution of the church. The revolution split the country in two, on one side those who supported the church as it always had been and on the other side those who supported the church as it had been redesigned by the new constitution.
The French Revolution started in 1787 because the country was going through financial difficulties and there was unrest between the classes of citizens in the country. The differences between the lower class citizens and higher classes, being nobles and the monarchy were great. The citizens had heard of the revolution that went on in the colonies and they also wanted freedom and independence. The real start of the French Revolution was on July 14, 1789, with the storming of the Bastille. Between 1789 1793, a constitution was written, feudalism was abolished, war had broken out, and King Louis XVI was put to death. In late 1793 and early 1794, Maximilien Robespierre became the head of the Committee of Public Safety in France. This was the new governing body in France; it could be compared to the executive branch of a government. Robespierre was a great leader, he ins...
The French revolution started because of an ongoing “fiscal mismanagement contributed to a French society that was ripe for revolt” (Sparknotes). King Louis XVI was falling into a finical crisis, due to extravagant living. So, in panic, he called financial advisers. After a while, each of them was dismissed from their job. Louis XVI was growing desperate, so he called the Estates-General. This assembly was made to represent three Estates, “the First comprised of the clergy, the Second comprised of the nobility and the Third comprised of the middle and lower classes” (EyeWitness). The Third Estate broke off, and became the National Assembly. People who were part of the National Assembly demanded a new constitution, because the first one became a dead letter right after it was established. The Assembly members took an oath called the Tennis
Way back in the late 1789, a country went through a great change. France had always a monarchical country, as well as the rest of Europe and Great Britain. Despite the long history of being that, the people wanted a change. France had some great kings, but they also had some not so great ones, which I believe may had led them to their decision to revolt. There were many factors that caused them to be upsetted by bad kings, such as higher taxes, loss of land, mistreatment, or just corruptness (not all of the bad kings had these qualities)but, the thing that upsetted them the most, was the feudal system. People of higher classes were growing and the peasants just wanted to be free, they wanted their own land, and not have to work off someone else’s. Anyways, back to the revolt, this was no little revolt, this revolt turned into a revolution. The revolutionaries had good intentions, at first, to make a constitution, (they were inspired by the American revolution) but that didn’t go as planned, and it all went south. Later on, they planned to get rid of the King, and they did, beheading King Louis XVI, but after that, a thirst for blood continued, seeking out the people they despised, the Aristocrats.
The French Revolution began in 1789,1 when France was divided by regions and religions. The one thing that the French people had in common was that they shared the belief that they should serve the king. The revolution changed this, and at the end of the revolution in 1799, the people saw each other as citizens rather than subjects of the king.2 France had been experiencing economic hardship, and the people became discontented because of food shortages. Ideas of reform spread after the Enlightenment, and the people wanted a constitution.3 The French Revolution greatly increased nationalism in France. Before the revolution, there was little nationalism in France. It is evident that nationalism was created when one looks at the formation of the
However beforehand it was, “a standoff between Louis XVI and the parliaments” (Source ). To call for the assembly to intervene meant King Louis was losing his absolute power over France because the people were creating a solution to lessen the financial burden. Ultimately any decision would result in loss of more political power because “King Louis XVI needed more money but had failed to raise more taxes” especially since most of the population already struggling to cope with high pre-existing taxes (Source ). France was in a state of bankruptcy due to their participation in the American Revolution and the monarchy’s unwillingness to give up some aspects of their luxurious lives while most civilians were working and starving to death. After many years under a tyrannical government, the National Assembly formed through the Tennis Court Oath. The reformers declared it was the time for action making an oath to not disband until their constitution was
Prior to the French Revolution, the Ancien Régime was in power; following the Revolution, King Louis XVIII ruled. Towards the end of the Ancien Régime, King Louis XVI and wife, Marie Antoinette, were the monarchs of France. Under their reign, many people began to get angry about their irresponsible spending and lack of good leadership of France. These monarchs spent 160 percent of their annual income every year, and as a result, had to call upon other kings as well as the Estates General for money. Shamefully, this was the first time a king had needed to ask the Estates General for financial help since 1614. The people’s anger about this outrageous spending continued to build up until it finally burst, and was one of the first, and biggest, factors leading up to the French Revolution.
...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 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 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.
The social differences in France were very unreasonable. People openly argued that “social differences should not be defined by law, as they were in the old regimes order” (2). In France, much of the inequality came from the social class system. It led to angry peasants and tons of revolting. This could have been avoided if France maintained equality for all estates, as it would have been rational. In addition, the clergy and nobles were given many rights which “included top jobs in government, the army, the courts, and the Church” (109). This was very biased as they were able to get the highest jobs, not because they earned it, but because of their social stature. Meanwhile, commoners or bourgeoisie, were not granted those jobs even if they had the ability to do them. This caused much of the third estate to become mad which led to uncivilized manner in France. If the government had just given equal rights and granted jobs by merit opposed to social class rankings, there would have been less drama between the estates and everything would have been
Each social class in France has its own reasons for wanting a change in government. The aristocracy was upset by the king’s power, while the Bourgeoisie was upset by the privileges of the aristocracy. The peasants and urban workers were upset by their burdensome existence. The rigid, unjust social structure meant that citizens were looking for change because “all social classes.had become uncomfortable and unhappy with the status quo.” (Nardo, 13)