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French Revolution And The American Revolution Essay

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In the late eighteenth century France was one of the most powerful countries in Europe. This all changed with the French Revolution which began in 1789 (Lefebvre 1). The French Revolution dramatically changed France politically and culturally. I will apply Lawrence Stone’s model to the French Revolution to examine how France’s debt, the unpopularity of the nobles and monarch, and the formation of the National Assembly led to the outbreak of the French Revolution. The preconditions of the French Revolution involve France’s massive debt, their involvement in the Seven Years’ War, and the Age of Enlightenment. In the early eighteenth century, King Louis XIV financed several wars that led to the expansion of land for France. These were costly wars, and France was left with a crippling debt by 1715 when Louis XIV died. His successors, Louis XV and Louis XVI were left to deal with the debt, and had to spend more money to retain the new expansions of land for France (Lefebvre 16, Causes 1).
France’s involvement in the American Revolution added to the massive debt and inspired the people of France. Georges Lefebvre states that “The revolt of the English colonies may in fact be considered the principal direct cause of the French Revolution” (21). Jacques Necker, the French statesman and finance minister of Louis XVI, used loans to pay for the war efforts in aiding America. France did not gain much in return from the aid they provided in the American Revolution (Lefebvre 21). This

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