The French Revolution

This meant fair representation, but it also meant that the nobles were upset with their decline of power and the commoners wanted more of their new-found power. All of these ideas seem to be good ones, but ones that would, and did harm his position. One evidently bad move was to heavily tax everyone. The peasants were already heavily taxed, so they were then brought to famine, the nobles were never taxed before and consequently disgruntled and the middle class just did not like it. If Louis XVI were alive today he would probably be a good politician-too bad the people were not ready for him in 1789.

First, the increase of loans and assistance in the American Revolution put the French economy at a low. Installing increased taxation left the peasantry even more impoverished than ever and insulted the nobility, who refused to assist in the debt reduction effort. By implementing a strong bookkeeping and debt management plan, the king could have prevented a terrible financial ruin. In Necker’s interest to sort out financial difficulties, many loans were established, so that when Calonne gained control, there were no available funds to support government interests. Calonne also took out loans, mainly to pay off older debts, but eventually leading to a formidable financial reputation.

A central bank was nowhere to be found, there was no paper currency and in general, taxes were becoming greater for the peasants. In this economically challenged society what could have been done to change all of these economic problems from the beginning? One of the major problems that the government should have dealt with long ago is the use of the funds that they did have. Under rulers in the past such as Louis the XIV, poor economic decisions were made. Louis the XIV did not invest wisely, he used major funds in trade and exploration causes that were not gaining the French anything, but they continued to invest in.

Meanwhile, the first two estates were given a free pass despite their great wealth (Doc... ... middle of paper ... ...in great debt after the French and Indian War and corruption of the monarch and nobility. This led to a crisis over taxation, and the king started abusing his power by specifically only taxing the third estate, the poorest segment of the population. Matters slowly became worse with the economic depression. Decreased economic activity and the agricultural revolution caused many people to loose jobs and go hungry. People were already angry about taxes, and the lack of food and work only aroused the people even more.

The start of the French Revolution was due to a build-up of inequalities, bankruptcy, and the influence of The Enlightenment and the American Revolution. The First and Second Estates, which was made up of the rich nobles, did not have to pay taxes, and had special privileges. In contrast, the Third Estate was made up of the townspeople who worked hard every day, and paid heavy taxes. This inequality angered the townspeople. The king before Louis XVI was Louis XIV.

To deal with France’s economic impending doom Louis XVI called all of the nobles and those with significant wealth together and requested to borrow money from them. Because there was no legal way for the l... ... middle of paper ... ...ral in the french army and was given a lot of recognition for his actions by the Directory. This created a very positive public image of him within the french population and gave him the political capitol to stage a coup upon the Directory. Bonaparte named himself Emperor of France and was able to win a multitude of battles across Europe. Napoleon finally lost his power and was removed from his position by the people of France after a scathing defeat at the Battle of Waterloo.

The French Revolution was a time of great social, political and economic tumult in the closing years of the Eighteenth Century. The motivators pushing French citizenry toward revolution are varied in scope and origin. They range from immediate economic woes to an antiquarian class structure. Modern historians still debate the value of the changes that the revolution brought to modern society. The middle class made gains that would never be rescinded, but do revolutions always end in tyranny?

The paper discusses the effects of wars and other Napoleonic activities on the entire Europe. Napoleon controlled most of France and started to expand his empire from there. Britain and France, the most important and vast parts of Europe at the time, had very tough situations, which affected the trade relations and economies of both terrritories. Apart from Britain, Napoleon’s war against Russia resulted in a great disaster for the common citizens as well as Napoleon himself. The paper focuses on different wars fought by Napoleon and their corresponding effects on Europe’s different parts.

The French Revolution The French Revolution was one of the most violent and chaotic events in history. It took place in France from 1789 to 1795. The end result was a good one, with France’s government being transformed from an oppressive monarchy, to a nationalist state that stood for freedom, equality, and unalienable rights. The process, however, is the interesting part. Historians have debated many years over the causes of the French Revolution.

By the late 1780’s, France was in the middle of the French Revolution, thanks to weak leadership, the call for change across France’s social classes, and radical thinkers willing to make a stand. By the time the late 1780’s dawned, France’s financial situation was bleak. Louis XIV amassed large amounts of debt through his costly wars and building the lavish palace of Versailles. After his death, France continued to fight costly wars; the most recent being the American Revolution, where they supplied 2.5 billion livres to the American cause. At the time, France was divided into three estates: the clergy (1st estate), the nobles (2nd estate), and the peasants (3rd estate).