Revolution Another Cause Of The French Revolution example essay topic

Why was there a French Revolution? Between, 1789! V 1799, many events occurred in France that caused an outbreak within the people thus leading to a revolution. This culminated in the France becoming a democratic government. This essay will argue that the resentment of absolute government, financial difficulties, the famine, rise of philosophes and the ongoing feud between the estates are all the major causes of why there was a revolution in France. Firstly before going into the topic, the word!

SS revolution!" must be defined.! SSA revolution is a relatively sudden and absolutely huge change. This may be a change in the social or political institutions over a relatively short period of time, or a major change in its culture or economy. !" In eighteenth-century France, as we have seen, the philosophes came forward and gave their views, which were taken seriously by the public. The views of the philosophes contrasted from teaching maths to teaching about how the world was created. France was in desperate need for help with the country in deep financial trouble and much controversy over the monarchy yet the philosophes were anything but revolutionaries, as they never tried to force one.

This is because they did not intend to create harm but to give the people French new ideas on topics. The enlightenment was an intellectual establishment. Diderot's Encyclopedia, banned in the 1750's, was reprinted in a less expensive format with government approval in the 1770's. Among the younger generation, the great cultural hero was Rousseau whose Confessions caused a sensation within the public and changed their minds to free thinking by writing books that were very appealing to the people. These books taught people of different ideas. From this, we can see the beliefs of the philosophes were a main factor in the cause of the French revolution.

Eighteenth century France was an absolute monarchy, mainly because of the effort of Louis XIV. The French king had absolute control over all aspects of French political, social, and economic structures. The Estates General, which was a representative institution in that it was composed of representatives from each of the Three Estates, was the only voice the people of France had ever had. The king could do whatever he wanted without being asked as the punishments were severe if anyone complained. An example is the change of the royal palace from Louvre to Versailles.

The amount of money used was as much as an airport. The Estates Generals were not part of the government, and had only been created to exist as an advisory for the king. If the king was interested in the opinions of the people, all he had to do go to the Estates General and ask for their vote on any issue he put forth. The last time the Estates General had been in meeting was in 1614, therefore it is evident that by the late 1700's, that the king was no longer interested in the influence of the French people.

This sort of ignorance to the people was a major factor in why there was a revolution in France The famine killed many people during the late 18th century and was caused by the other underlining factors such as financial trouble and arguments between the estates. Different crop failures in the 1780's caused these shortages, which of course led to high prices for bread and other food substances. With the prices going up people grew angry with the government and waged for a revolution. There were poor conditions in the countryside which made residents to move into Paris, and the city was overcrowded and filled with the hungry and disaffected people who desperately needed more food to live. The peasants, who were the worst of the lot, suffered from the economic and agricultural problems. With all this added up, there was no other way to fix these problems but to have a revolution Another cause of the French Revolution was in the financial difficulties of the government.

King Louis XV and King Louis XVI both led extremely extravagant lives. They spent lots of the government's money on luxuries even though the government had some financial problems. This was hated by the people as there was little money spent on them. The government's main job back then was to protect their country and manage wars. In the Seven Years War against England, France spent large sums of money on the war effort but they still lost the war. Also inefficient methods of government led to major financial difficulties.

The Nobility paid no tax so the money had to be raised in a different way so the French government had to borrow heavily which just increased the debt. The government continued to spend far more than it received in taxes and by the 1780's, only 20 percent of the entire national budget was available for the productive functions of the state. The government went completely bankrupt and this was yet another reason why there was a revolution in France. Probably, the main cause of the Revolution was the rigid social structure of French society during the ancien regime. French society was divided into three Estates with the 1st and 2nd estates the higher class. This social structure was based on custom and tradition, but more importantly it was also based on inequalities.

A major factor in causing the revolution was the meeting of the estates general in May 5 1789. The meeting was for all the estates to list their grievances and for everyone to vote on them. The third estate believed that all the estates should come together and vote in a group however, this was not taken well by the other estates. This shows the inequality between the three states.

By the third estate declaring itself a! SS national assembly!" on June 17 1789, this was a culmination of all the events and therefore the pivotal point in the cause of the revolution. As has been argued, there were many causes for the French revolution. Resentment of absolute government, financial difficulties, the famine, rise of philosophes and the ongoing feud between the estates which all culminated in France having a revolution and becoming a democratic government.

Bibliography

"h web accessed on 19/4/05, 17/4/05, Title The French Revolution: The Moderate Stage, 1789-1792; author! V Steven Kreis"h web accessed on 12/4/05, Title - Causes and Effects of the French Revolution, author unknown"h web accessed on 16/4/05; Title - The Causes of the French Revolution; author - unknown"h web accessed on 19/4/05, 17/4/05, Title The French Revolution: The Radical Stage, 1792-1794, author! V Steven Kreis"h web accessed on 17/4/05, 18/4/05; Title! V The French Revolution; Author - David W. Keller"h Encyclopedia Americana volume 12; accessed on 15/4/05, Published in New York, Published in 1970; Title! V French Revolution; Author - Unknown.