In discussing how Revolutions begin, French historian Alexis de Tocqueville once stated, “...the most critical moment for bad governments is the one which witnesses their first steps toward reform.”1 There is no greater example of this than the French Revolution. Although the French Monarchy survived for many years, many within the government knew that the structure was growing bankrupt, and knew that the only solution to this would come through reforms which would pay their debts off in a way that would not burden their taxpayers, the Third estate. Ironically, while these reforms could have indeed helped the Third Estate, these individuals chose to revolt. Why? By addressing the causes of France’s debt and the reforms that could have averted this crisis effectively, this paper will show that the third estate in the end expected something more from these reforms than just less taxes and an economically stable government – they wanted to be equal with the higher estates of France.
In considering the factors that lead to France’s debt crisis, the most significant of these factors could be categorized into three categories: war, domestic aid, and class privileges. In regards to war, the most novice historian can attribute a lot of France’s debts to the money they put into fighting both of the major wars in the American continent: the French and Indian War and the American Revolution. In these wars, a lot of money was spent to ship the soldiers and their artillery to the Americas in order to fight for their allies – both native and colonial. On top of these wars, however, was the costly loss they made fighting against their rivals England, Austria, and Prussia in the Seven Years' War, which according to historian Jeremy Popkin, w...
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...ocqueville, Alexis. The Old Regime and the Revolution. France: Harper, 1856 http://books.google.com/books?id=N50aibeL8BAC&pg=PA214&vq="most critical moment for bad governments"&source=gbs_search_r&cad=1_1 (accessed February 19, 2014).
Popkin, Jeremy D. A Short History of the French Revolution. Boston: Prentice Hall, 2010
Jones, P.M. Reform and Revolution in France. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995 https://learningsuite.byu.edu/plugins/Upload/fileDownload.php?fileId=fda0dcad-67u3-R1GT-PpJj-6taca6e6cca9 (accessed February 19, 2014).
Hodson, Christopher “1789: How It All Started.” Lecture, History 294 from Brigham Young University, Provo, UT, February 19, 2014
Seyes, abbe Emmanuel. What is the Third Estate? France: 1789 https://learningsuite.byu.edu/plugins/Upload/fileDownload.php?fileId=66341143-Xd9H-zr85-ju68-Nq235e586f02 (accessed February 19, 2014).
Bibliography D. M. G. Sutherland, France 1789-1815 Revolution and Counterrevolution (London 1985). Tom Holmberg, “Napoleon and the French Revolution”, 1998, www.napoleonbonaparte.nl/html/body_nap_and_revolution.html. www.chesco.com/artman/napoleonbonaparte.html (Quotes by Napoleon Bonaparte). George Orwell, Animal Farm, Middlesex, England 1945. Colin Jones, The Longman Companion to the French Revolution, (New York, 1988).
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.
Some people like Emmanuel Sieyès, middle-class writer who was taken by the Enlightenment ideas, believed that all of French Society lay on the backs of the third estate. On the contrary, Robespierre, the monarch at the time, believed that the third estate did not have the power to do anything important to society. The third estate had to pay taxes like the Gabelle and Taille while the first and seconds estates did not have to pay any taxes to the king. Also, the third estates had less of a representation in voting. The first and second estate could outvote the third estate every time and this was a huge inequality. The condition of the third estate was horrible but a good portion of this third estate was the bourgeoisie. The bourgeoisie had some wealth and social class, so they influenced the rest of the third estate about their rights, while also inspiring some lower clergies and provincial nobles and thus led to a group of rebellious people to fight the monarchy. This fight for political representation and political rights was only one cause of the French Revolution. Another causes lies in the French Monarchs: Louis XlV, Louis XV, and Louis XVl. When Louis XlV was ruling, the monarchy had unlimited power and was known as a
Ed. John Hardman. French Revolution Documents 1792–95, vol. 2. “Père Duchesne, no. 313”. New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1973.
New York: Barnes & Noble, 1969. Print. The. Kreis, Steven. A. A. "Lecture 12: The French Revolution - Moderate Stage, 1789-1792.
Madelin, Louis. The French revolution by Louis Madelin. Ann Arbor, Michigan: University Of Michigan Library, 1916. Print.
Marking a significant beginning stage of the economic downturn was the Seven Years’ War, a battle that saw few positive achievements, but several losses both in terms of land and money, which had been acquired through loans that would establish France’s first significant debt. The reign of Louis XVI would further this debt, while also creating a greater divide between the estates of France by placing the heavy burden of repaying much of the new debt on the poorest class of France, the Third Estate. Participation in another war, only ten years prior to the French Revolution would create even more debt for France as they entered the American War of Independence, again with funding from loans that would need to be paid soon thereafter. Throughout this period of debt creation within France, society worsened in many ways due to the inability of the nation, from royalty to the Third Estate, to evolve economically, socially and agriculturally. With this overall sense of decline throughout France, a nearly unanimous desire amongst France’s Third Estate, the most populous, was to pa...
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 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).
France was about to collapse due to imbalance, bankruptcy, and a new way of thinking. In France, feudalism was still practiced where the nobles and clergy had exceptional benefits over the commoners and lower class. For example, the nobles and clergy did not have to pay taxes; they owned most of the land, and they had the most political power in France. However, the ...
his eyes and read about this tragedy, they are most certainly welcome. The revolution begins quietly in the fiscal crisis of Louis XVI's reign. The government was running deeply into bankruptcy, and at the urging of his. financial advisors, he called the Estates General. The governing body had not been called for almost two centuries, and now its workings seem outdated.
Nardo, Don. A. The French Revolution. San Diego, California: Greenhaven Press, Inc., 1999. Print.
Both the First and Second Estates had huge privileges which allowed them to lead a much more carefree life than those in the Third Estate. The First estate had financial privileges, such as being exempt from taxes such as the taille (the main French direct tax). Instead of paying taxes, the First Estate made an annual payment to the crown, known as a don gratuit or ‘free gift’. It was always much less than they would have paid in normal taxation and was under 5% of clerical income.