Many challenges were put towards the church in 1789 during the outbreak of the French revolution, it was a turning point that ultimately changed and shaped the church. France had a population of approximately 28 million, almost entirely catholic and the church had immense power. Before the revolution the country was divided into 3 groups or estates, which divided many people. This all changed very quickly and so did the church, as it faced persecution and massive challenges, which later reformed the Catholic church establishing its place presently.
Prior to the beginning of the French revolution, the Catholic church was enormously powerful and very controlling, as it divided society apart and into estates. The first estate was the clergy, the second was the nobility and they accounted for only 500 000 of the country's population. Whilst the third estate was made up of the rest of society, all of which had to pay hefty taxes. As one of the three estates, the church had considerable political power that did not match their number of
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The third estate had revolted and came together forming a group known as the national assembly, they pledged to make new laws, were everyone was treated with fairness. Tensions arose from the inequality of wealth enjoyed by the clergy. Many bishops and abbots lived in great luxury, taking income from their land and property even though most parish priests were poorly paid and overworked. Nobles held the most powerful positions in the church, the government and so on. But in a matter of months, the church had given up its tithe, property was at the disposal of the state and was soon seized and sold off. The government restricted the churches political power and the church was stripped of all its property. By 1794, Frances churches and religious orders were closed down and religious worship
DBQ Practice The French Revolution was caused by many problems within France. During the 18th century, France participated in wars such as the American Revolution and the 7 years war. With France participating in those 2 wars, they became bankrupt. France had to somehow make money so they decided to start heavily taxing the 3rd estate and made them work harder for their own food and wealth.
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? In the years before the revolution citizens were rigidly constrained by the estates of the realm. These social strata had been in place since the medieval ages. The people were divided into three groups; clergy, nobility and everyone else. The clergy
During this time in France the church was very powerful politically and economically, the church did not really want to educate many people, especially poor people (Gildea 225). Life for nobles and clergy were very different from the farmers in the 1700’s. Nobles did not have to work. They basically had nice things and lived in big houses and ate a lot of good food. Noble's daily meals consisted of a variety of meats, and sides of cheese and wine (Gildea 119). Bread and anything grown in the ground was considered peasant food and was not eaten by the nobles at all. This is the way life had been and it slowly began to change in the 1700’s.
The French Revolution was a time of period where social and political was a disruption in France that lasted from 1789 until 1799. This time of period affected Social Structure of France prior to the French Revolution. The factors that caused this revolution was due to having a bad government system, weak superiority, and inequality of the classes of people in France during the war. In this research, I will define and explain how Social Structure contributed to the French Revolution Resentment of royal authoritarianism. The three estates that social structure consists of are first estate which are the clergies, second estate known as the Nobleman, and third estate which are the Bourgeoisie, peasants, and workers. The Revolution did not omit sharp distinctions among the social groups, neither did it alter the distribution of wealth. This caused them to divide into these three groups called as estates.
The church and the state had to contend with the growing influence of the Enlightenment and the need to strike a new balance with religion, a more utilitarian balance determined in large part by its own political rationalism. Power was held within the monarchy and the church. The monarchy of France and the Catholic Church were allies that were unbreakable. The King was the master of the temporal realm, while the Church under his protection ruled the spiritual realm. Kings derived their authority from God and stood immediately below him in rank. The monarchy had the support of the church and the church had the support of the monarchy. Power was based on morality and the church thrived on positive morality and the monarchy was proof of this morality. The balance between these two powers in France was equivalent to one another. The whole system
Was this Violent Period During the French Revolution Necessary? Robespierre, the most famous French Revolutionary, believes that the citizens of France should extinguish the threats inside and outside of France or meet one’s death. Began in 1789, the French Revolution began as an attempt to form a new government in France. This gruesome period, that lasted about ten to eleven months, was the Reign of Terror.
During the Great Terror of the French Revolution, chaos erupted everywhere. King Louis XVI had been overthrown and was replaced with the National Convention, causing a large wave of mass paranoia between the people. Such paranoia included being against the National Convention and the Revolution as a whole and the consequence was getting guillotined. Many leaders that tried to step up and take charge were ultimately forced off of power and an example of this was Robespierre, where he was guillotined for being suspected as a rebel even though he was the one the executions. This mass paranoia eventually led to the Dechristianization of France, where Deism was picked up as Frances unofficial religion.
The third estate’s citizens had the lowest income in France, yet they were the ones who were supporting the government. The burden of the countries taxes was nearly impossible for the third estate to carry. One peasant woman said that the taxes were “crushing” her and her fellow third estate members. (Document 2).The first and second estate made up the wealthiest portion of France, yet they paid next to nothing in taxes. This obviously and rightfully angered members of the third estate. Why should the only people who can afford to pay taxes be exempt from them? This kind of inequality resulted in violence from the third estate. As a form of rebellion, peasants attacked tax collectors whom they owed money. They also burned land registers and court records. This example, along with the formation of the National Assembly show that the first actions of the revolution were a result of not giving the third estate the voice that it’s members felt it
One of the other ways in which the Revolution affected the rise of modernity was by asserting the importance of the middle class and masses. Before the revolution, France was made up of three estates: The First Estate was the Church, which made up 1-2% of the population, the Second Estate was the nobility which made up less than 2% of the population and the Third Estate was the commoners, which made up approximately 96% of the population. Whereas the First and Second estates enjoyed luxury, extensive privileges and great wealth, the Third Estate were the heavily taxed and poorly treated bourgeoisie, peasants and city workers. One of the reasons the revolution originated was the discontent among the lower and middle classes in France. Those in the Third Estate grew tired of the unjust laws and taxes they were forced to
The French Revolution occurred from 1789 to 1799. A major issue during this time period in France was social classes, which included the First, Second, and Third Estate. The First and Second Estate had freedom, rights, and equality while the Third Estate had almost nothing. Third Estate got no recognition for their work, while the French Church had problems with voting, and salaries. The Third Estate formed the National Assembly to write The Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen and The Civil Constitution of the Clergy. They wrote them to help fix the problems that caused the revolution. The causes of the French revolution are the French Church, the inequality of the Estates, and the minimal freedom and rights that the Third Estate has.
By the late 1500s, Christian denominations had been popping up all over Europe. This was in response to the reports of indulgences (selling of freedom from purgatory), clerical immorality, abuse of money, along with many other bad actions that were rampant among the Church. It was these problems that Luther and others rebelled and created their own religions. With the rising of these Reformation movements, the Church needed to make some reforms itself. These reforms took the form of educating the clergy, opening monasteries, the Inquisition, and the organizing of councils. In fact, even though Protestant attacks brought these reforms, many of these reforms were needed anyway. The problems in the Church were so bad that the Church would not
to get all the power of France. It should also be said that not all the nobles
The French Revolution was a period of time from 1789 to 1799 in France where there was political instability. It officially began on the 14th of July, 1789, when the Bastille, which was a symbol of the King’s harsh policies, was stormed. The King, Louis XVI, the Queen, Marie-Antoinette and about 40,000 people were all brutally murdered. But there was also a positive side, the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen was formally adopted on August 1789 and feudalism was abolished. This essay will address the issues of the three estates system, food shortages and the fiscal crisis. It will also be argued that the most significant cause of the French Revolution was the social inequality that stemmed from the three estates system.
The loss of one of its great powers caused the Catholic Church great distress. Pope Pius VI, who ruled during the Revolution, died and in 1799, Pope Pius VII was elected. Pius VII inherited many problems, including the division between France and Rome.
The French Revolution last from 1789 to 1799. This war had many causes that began the revolution. Its causes ranged from the American Revolution, the economic crisis in France, social injustices to the immediate causes like the fall of Bastille, the Convening of he Estate-General, and the Great Fear. As a result of this revolution there many effects , immediate and long term. The immediate effects were the declaration of rights of man, abolishing of olds reign, execution of king and queen, the reign of terror, and war and forming of the citizen-army. The long term effects were the rise of Napoleon, spread of revolutionary ideas, growth of nationalism, and the conservative reaction.