- #1 Social Inequality in France due to the Estates System.
- #2 Tax Burden on the Third Estate.
- #3 The Rise of the Bourgeoisie.
- #4 Ideas put forward by Enlightenment philosophers.
- #5 Financial Crisis caused due to Costly Wars.
- #7 The Rise in the Cost of Bread.
How did economic problems contribute to the French Revolution?
How did economic problems contribute to the French Revolution? How were economic problems a contributing cause of the French revolution? The year before the revolution had bad harvests and manufacturing slowed down. This led to unemployment , raised food prices, and starvation. During this economic collapse, the king still spent lots of money ...
What are the five causes of the French Revolution?
five causes of the French Revolution STUDY PLAY list the causes of French Revolution 1. financial issues 2. weak leaders 3. enlightenment ideas take hold 4. storming the Bastine 5. War of Independence in America What were the financial issues? 3 estates (classes) of the old Regime What was the first estate?
What were the chief causes of French Revolution?
What were the six causes of the French Revolution?
- Louis XVI & Marie Antoinette. France had an absolute monarchy in the 18th century – life centred around the king, who had complete power. …
- Inherited problems. …
- The Estates System & the bourgeoise. …
- Taxation & money. …
- The Enlightenment. …
- Bad luck.
What are the immediate causes of French Revolution?
The immediate causes of the revolution were the rising price of bread and the locking of the third estate out of its meeting hall. Finally, the spark was the ordering of the Swiss guards to Paris by Louis the XVI. The first underlying cause of the French Revolution was the Old Regime. The people of France were divided into three estates.
How did France contribute to the American Revolutionary War?
French involvement in the American Revolutionary War proved to be very costly to France. French money, munitions, soldiers and naval forces were essential to America's victory over Great Britain, but as a result, France gained very from the war, except for a very large increase in debt.
What are the lessons of history?
The Lessons of History (1968) ECONOMIC CAUSES. In addition to political unfairness, an economic crisis had swept over France causing financial turmoil in the nation. First of all, referring back to the political causes of the French Revolution, King Louis XVI severely taxed the Third Estate, the poorest of the three French social classes, ...
Why was the Third Estate unfair?
To the Third Estate, a fair tax system would include the wealthiest citizens pay the most money because they had the ability to afford it, while the poorest citizens could not.
What was the French Revolution?
One such all-encompassing revolution commonly cited is the French Revolution of 1789 which would lead to the destruction of the monarchy, King Louis XVI’s death, and usher in a period of European warfare that would not cease until 1815.
What were the consequences of the price controls in France?
In effect, the price controls drove down supply of many resources such as grain and sugar (thus creating shortages), and the regulators who enforced the measures were quite excessive in their methods. Executions, confiscation of property, even internment of many French citizens into slave labor. These radical measures were predominantly perpetrated by the Jacobins. These were a political faction formed in 1789 formed with the express purpose of amassing support for the revolution. One of their key arguments was for the limiting of royal power and a restructuring of France along Republican ideals. As the faction evolved, sects within the party emerged and a small minority became increasingly radical, insisting upon the separation of church and state, popular education, and universal male suffrage alongside a hardline Republican stance. The Jacobins, as an elitist group consisting generally of bourgeois members, had to seek the support of the masses of the Parisian poor (or Sans-Culottes) which included artisans, shopkeepers, and common laborers. As explained previously, the inflation of the assignat led the San-Culottes to demand price fixing, jobs, and an end to inequality. As the revolution wore on, opponents of the Jacobins in the revolutionary National Assembly were eliminated, and power within the party became increasingly consolidated under Maximilien Robespierre. It was he and other Jacobin leaders who were chiefly responsible for the Reign of Terror that would ultimately end with Robespierre’s execution in 1794. It was from the Sans-Culottes that he gained crucial support. The Parisian poor who had started the chant for Liberté, égalité, fraternité were refitted by the Jacobin leaders as weapons of violence and conflict, used to root out any action deemed counterrevolutionary. The most casual scholar of this time in French history will most likely recognize the guillotine as the infamous symbol of the revolution. It is estimated that by the time of Robespierre’s death, more than 50,000 people were killed on the grounds of suspected counter-revolutionary activity. It is important to note that only a third of that number fell victim to the guillotine.
How many assignats were in circulation in 1795?
The crisis point came in 1795 with assignats in circulation numbering around 20 billion and an almost 99% decrease in purchasing power.
What hit the poorest in France the hardest?
The ensuing inflation hit the poorest of France the hardest as it was ultimately them who held a majority of the worthless currency. Economic activity stagnated and speculation became common. Merchants and shopkeepers invested in gold and silver abroad that better served to store value than did the inflated assignats.
What caused the agricultural industry to stagnate?
Numerous factors led to a downturn and general stagnation in the agricultural industry. First, there were crises as a result of bad weather and poor crop yields. Naturally, this was not a consequence of the revolution, but the troubles caused by the shortages contributed to tension in the Sans-Culottes.
What percentage of France's population was directly or indirectly dependent on agriculture?
At the beginning of the revolution in 1789, France was a predominantly rural country with 55% of its people directly or indirectly dependent upon agriculture.
How did the chaos of the time affect the private sector?
More generally, the chaos of the time caused by war, taxes, blockades, government interference, and other factors made the environment increasingly hostile to profitable industrial ventures.
What were the causes of the French Revolution?
The Causes of the French Revolution: Social, Economical, Political. There is something unique about the Revolution. Much more than a change of the political regime, it turned the French society upside-down in all its dimensions. Since the beginning of the Revolution, the contemporaries tried to understand what happened, ...
Why was the French monarchy in trouble?
The French monarchy was financially in trouble since the end of the reign of Louis XIV, the Sun-King, in 1715. The wars against many powerful European countries had left the country in a great debt that was even increased by the expenses of the crown.
Why were the deputies elected in the Assembly of 1789?
It explains why the deputies elected in the Assembly of 1789 went much further than what they were asked: to solve a financial problem. In the summer 1789, the privileges of the church and the nobility were abolished and human rights were proclaimed.
Why were nobles important?
The most important are that they would not pay taxes and they were given top-jobs in the army, the administration and the royal courtyard. The nobles usually felt superior to the commoners and would let them know it. The duke of Orléans, cousin of the king. Painted by Callet, sourced from Wikipedia.
How were the monks and clergy financed?
Both were financed by a religious tax imposed on the commoners. The clergy did not pay taxes while the church was the main landowner of the country.
What did the contemporaries try to understand?
Since the beginning of the Revolution, the contemporaries tried to understand what happened, which actors and movements were to praise or to blame.
How was the society divided?
The society was strongly divided by the status of the individuals and groups. There were 3 orders in the society. On top, the nobility. The king could give to someone a title of nobility but this status was usually acquired by birth. The nobles had all kind of privileges.
What Caused the French Revolution?
The spark that ignited the French Revolution (1789-1799), one of the most important events in modern global history, was actually government debt, accumulated during the course of two wars, and the desire of King Louis XVI to increase taxes to pay off that debt.
Social Causes of the French Revolution
The social causes of the French Revolution stand out because of the primary role they played in pushing the actual revolution forward.
Economic Causes of the French Revolution
Although France's economy grew dramatically in the 18th century, largely as a result of trade, problems emerged as the end of the century approached.
Environmental Causes of the French Revolution
Many of the reasons for the French Revolution were preventable if a variety of changes to the social and economic system had been made earlier, however, natural forces were not something that the government could control.
Political Causes of the French Revolution
The political system utilized in France was an absolute monarchy, meaning that the king or queen had absolute power and authority. This system was developed under the powerful and long-lived Louis XIV.
What were the causes of the French Revolution?
The three main causes of French revolution are as follows: 1. Political Cause 2. Social Cause 3. Economic Cause. 1. Political Cause : During the eighteen the Century France was the centre of autocratic monarchy. The French Monarchs had unlimited power and they declared themselves as the “Representative of God”.
Why did France become poor during the French Revolution?
The economic condition of France became poor due to the foreign wars of Louis XIV, the seven years War of Louis XV and other expensive wars. During the reign period of Louis XVI, the royal treasury became empty as extravagant expenses of his queen Marie Antoinette.
How did the clergy exploit the common people?
They exploited the common people in various ways. The higher clergy lived in the midst of scandalous luxury and extravagance. The common people had a strong hatred towards the higher clergy. On the other hand, the lower clergy served the people in true sense of the term and they lived a very miserable life.
What was the French Revolution called?
Thus, the common people became rebellious. The lower Clergies and the provincial nobles also joined their hands with the common people along with the bourgeoisie. So the French Revolution is also known as the ‘Bourgeoisie Revolution’ .
What were the social conditions in France in the 18th century?
The Social condition of France during the eighteenth century was very miserable. The then French Society was divided into three classes— the Clergy, Nobles and Common People. The Clergy belonged to the First Estate. The Clergy was subdivided into two groups i.e. the higher clergy and the lower clergy.
Why did Louis XV go bankrupt?
Louis XV fought the Seven Years War against England which brought nothing for France. France became bankrupt due to over expenditure in wars and luxury. He realised it later on. Before his death he cried-‘After me the Deluge’.
What did the French monarchs do?
The French Monarchs engaged themselves in luxurious and extravagance at the royal court of Versailles. They enjoyed unlimited power. By the Letter de Catchet, they arrested any person at any time and imprisoned them. They paid no attention towards their subjects.
What were the main causes of the French Revolution?
Even so there are three other important factors to the revolution, Political, Social, and Cultural. All four of these causes together are what really caused the French Revolution. Before the French Revolution France was in a major economic crisis. There was a royal debt; the French government kept spending more money than it was receiving by taxes.
What was the problem in France in 1786?
By 1786 the government realised the problem they were in, but they were already far into it by then. At this time there was immense poverty in France, even though some people in France were very rich a large amount of them were poor.
What was the way people lived and breathed before the French Revolution?
Before the French Revolution the whole way that a person lived and breathed depended on their social status. The higher classes and the church had to pay little or no taxes, they got special treatment in court or they had their own courts and they overall had many privileges.
What made the French people angry?
One major thing that made the French people angry was his use of ‘sealed letters ,’ known as ‘lettres de cahcet’ to the French. These letters were letters of execution or imprisonment. The king would sign his name on the paper and send the letters to his ministers, who could fill in any name that they wanted.
Was France a monarchy?
People at the time were not happy with the fact that France was a complete monarchy. The king had power over everything, whatever he said had to be done was done whenever he wanted it to be done. Many claimed that King Louis XVI abused his power and that he was a tyrant.
