Before The French Revolution

During the late 1840s, France had suffered commercial decline. France had begun construction on a large scale rail network, but failed to budget their construction properly, leaving the construction unfinished, and it’s backers bankrupt. This cascaded further than the initial investors, as smelters who relied on the railways to buy their metal lost a major purchaser. The resulting economic fallout lead to unemployment across several industries. The lack of work for the majority of the populace led many to poverty. At the time, bread prices began rising prices, further straining the economic situation of the working class.

Napoleon tried to address France’s financial problems, even the revolutionary governments saw how the awful system for taxing led to such great economic problems

On the twentieth of august 1786 Charles Alexandre de Calonne, comptroller-general of the royal finances, informed King Louis XVI that the state was on the verge of a financial meltdown. Whilst not having exact details to the financial figures to show the full extent of the problem, it is never the less recognized that France was in serious financial difficulty. What then did Calonne propose to sort this financial mess out? How was he to convince the King and the Notables that France was in financial danger and to give backing to his solutions? This essay will

In the 1789, France had many problems in the society and it was on the brink of collapsing. The issues eventually led to the need to change the government was run. The first issue was the social hierarchy, it had three estates: the clergy at the top with 1% of the population, the nobles at the second estate making up about 2% of the population, and the middle class, peasants and city workers at the third estate making up 97% of the population. The problem was the taxes, people in the third estate were the only one paying taxes to the government when the first and second estates who owned about 35% of the land and was rich didn’t pay, so how was that fair? The second issue was the economic crisis.

During the 1700s France's economy attained great wealth, however, the wealth was unevenly distributed among the classes. Nobles and Clergy used their elevated status to manipulate the political system in order to detain them from paying taxes. As a result, the lower class was forced to pay an obscene amount of taxes, which caused great suffering for the people who were part of that class. In addition to those absurdly high taxes, France had major debt due to all the wars they took part in, along with the lavish spending of Louis XIV.Furthermore, the countryside was experiencing a drought which led to bad harvests, therefore, bread shortages, causing the lower class to starve.French Revolution was primarily caused by the strong hatred the common people had against the upper class, the unlimited power of the

The wars in France were one of the main causes to which economic distress arose. France did not just simply acquire a substantial debt suddenly which led to economic distress but gradually over time the financial situation in France worsened due to events such as the Seven Years’ War 1756–1763, American Revolution 1775–1783 and The Nine Years’ War (1688-1697) which would lead to long term negative financial implications for France. Louis XIV had extended France’s power into Central Europe and North America. This power came about through wars which landed France with a self-inflicted debt which would cripple its economy. When Louis XIV died in 1715 the state of the economy was dire and the subsequent fiscal decisions by Louis XV and Louis XVI aggravated the situation. France was in a constant state of war and debt and the immunity of taxes on the nobility and clergy deprived France of funds that it so desperately needed. France’s status as superpower was at threat as Russia, Prussia and above all Great Britain where becoming increasingly powerful, Frances strong desire to retain this power explains the ill-advised and catastrophic foreign policies it had adopted.

In June 1789 the French revolution had begun. For the next five years there would be bloodshed throughout France, the country was going through a radical change, the change in sovereignty and the failure of the constitutional monarchy being two examples of this. But to what extent was all this caused by economic distress? Before being able to answer the question, one would have to establish the definition of 'economic distress' it could be defined as the misery people (especially the peasantry) faced due to low income and tax inflation or the misery that the entire country was in due to the enormous debts, which had accumulated due to the wars, which were fought.

Either as a cause or an effect the money and industry is often a matter of high importance especially in political and social issues. The fact that there is a relationship between economic factors and the revolution cannot be underestimated, however the argument as to whether it is the preeminent reason for the revolution can be argued. Although the monetary issues can be seen in the fall of power in the monarchy, war, social inequality or even in the status of religious figures, the situation remains that all the events leading up to the 14th July 1789 were inextricably linked. Furthermore one could argue that whether other factors caused the economic problems, which in turn caused the revolution? This is where ‘The french revolution is thus...related to but not defined by as specific situation’, and actually was as much a result of the economy, as was a result of the politics surrounding the economy and the effect it had on the third

In the 1700’s France was very close to be in bankrupt. There was a climate of social unfairness because taxes and laws were different in each province, and the country was immersed in big debts which were left by Louis XIV and Louis XV when they died. In 1789, France was in the worst economic and social situation. The social structure of France was a key factor that could be considered as an indirect cause of the French Revolution. French society was divided into legal categories known as the three orders or states. The discontent among the lower and middle classes was one the reason the revolution originated.

The main financial problem in 1792 for France, was the national debt. While many believe that the building and upkeep of the Versailles Palace, it was not the leading factor in France’s debt. The actual main focus point of the debt were the efforts to maintain France’s position in relation to the other European countries, especially France’s rival of Britain. Another reason for the high amount of debt, is the various wars that France participated in. By sending aid to the American colonies during the American Revolution, they lost a lot of revenue. The disastrous results of The Seven Years’ War also did not help the debt and raised fear that the monarchy was not able to handle the challenges they faced. They were further humiliated during Frederick the Great’s reign in Prussia, and lost their colonial possessions in both India and North America to the British (Popkin 4-5).

As Napoleon was attending school in France, dramatic changes were beginning to occur with the absolute monarchy of France. Like many wars, the French Revolution had its immediate origins in the government’s financial difficulties. The new Louis XVI (1774–1792) was young and couldn't make a decision on political reforms and the state of the finances. He is reported to have said, “What I should like most is to be loved.” (McKay 619). The eager-to-please monarch Louis wavered on political reform and what to do about the economy and proved unable to defeat the rising storm of opposition. The Monarch's bad money management led to royal bankruptcy, and the government had no choice but to raise taxes (McKay 629). Because of the money problem, the country went deeper into

In “Lasting Economic Structures: Successes, Failures, and Revolutionary Political Economy,” Jeff Horn researches the impact of the economy during the French Revolution. Historians investigated consumption, production, labor, and technology of the political economy during the Revolution. Guy Lemarchand, a historian, intensively approached the political economic history before and after the Revolution. Therefore, Horn researched the economic policies from 1789 to 1799 to conclude that they influenced the outcome of the Revolution.

Due to the rapidly expanding population, the economy of France declined. For instance, war debts, loans, extravagant kings, and too many tax exemptions were all reasons that the economy fell. Crop failures, and food shortages occurred throughout the the 1780’s. Bread production was also scarce, which resulted in extremely high prices. This affected the peasants, because they were heavily taxed and could not afford food.

To begin with, the dynamical social and economic conditions that always change under any circumstances immediately affect French Revolution. According to Adcock (2014, p. 23), ordinary citizens were directly concerned about society. In other words, society who usually known as Third Estate gave so much attention towards social and economic condition to achieve a better life. This statement was also legitimized by “[w]e wish to substitute in our country … all the virtues and miracles of the republic for all the vices and absurdities of the monarchy” (Robespierre Republic ex. 1). As in 1789, France economy laid on peasants and artisans (Soboul 1974, p. 27). At the same time, there were many developments of overseas trade and big

The French Revolution was a turning point for Europe from which there was no return. It set the mold for revolutions of the Age and showed just how deeply ingrained and powerful the ideals of the Age could be in the Western World. The French Revolution finds its causes in the now cliched concept that when the masses are displeased, the king is in trouble. However it is crucial to understand that the French Revolution established this cliche for the West. The simplest way to chart out the atmosphere of France at the time, a look at the PICSET categories of France offers the clearest depiction.