Overpopulation And The French Revolution

Just about any country that one can name has some history of civil unrest, class issues, rioting in the streets, and outright warfare. These patterns of behavior are common denominators for most civilization in the world. The names, faces, and places may change, but the motivations are generally the same, because of the need for change and the willingness to do whatever is necessary to achieve it. In contrast to the United States, which was in the process of freeing itself from British colonial rule, France was working to free itself from royal absolutism. This period is historically known as the French Revolution. Many scholars do not agree on the chronology of the French Revolution; some scholars suggest that the Revolution took place between 1789 to 1799 while others feel that it did not end until Napoleon lost power in 1815. To better understand the history of the French Revolution it is necessary to discuss the causes, major events, significant figures, and the outcomes associated with these political developments. Without this uprising, that changed the face of the entire country and influenced local political life in many countries in Europe, in all likelihood the France we know today would never have existed.

Throughout history, humanity has always yearned for better. When a leader, as an individual or an entire government, ceases to fuel their nation’s drive for better, the citizens take it into their own hands. From this sovereignty of the people, the idea of revolution is born. This idea has become prominent many times. One can analyze a country like France. Due to the government’s selfish actions, the third estate revolted. In countries like Brazil, Venezuela, and Mexico, the citizens were tired of strict rule from a power that is an ocean away. This caused the people in Latin America to revolt against their leader, Spain. Although the French and Latin American Revolutions both were inspired by the American Revolution and Enlightenment ideas, the French Revolution was vastly unsuccessful compared to the Latin American Revolution which brought freedom to many countries.

There were many causes and events leading up to the French Revolution in 1789. Before the Revolution, France had been involved in many expensive wars, especially the American War of Independence, causing financial difficulties and debts which were increased through the expensive upkeep of the Royal Family and their courts. At this time the Age of Enlightenment was occurring and new ideas, challenging the Ancien Regime and the Absolute right to rule, were emerging. The monarch of the time, King Louis XVI, was a weak monarch who was incapable of making decisions and sticking to them. King Louis XIV was also incapable of using his powers in a way to spark fear and gain control of those under his power. As a

An increase in prices, a lack of capital, and billions of national debt naturally led to the revolution inevitable. France’s economical climate was greatly influenced by Britain’s control of the commercial market. In addition to adverse economical conditions, France had no central bank, no paper currency, and no means of obtaining more money, as their tax system really taxed the poor. Similar to the Russians, the French people realized that King Louis XVI was harming the country, and the three levels of class systems could not come to terms. Moreover, just like Bolsheviks were fighting with Anti-Bolsheviks, conflict between radical Jacobins and liberal Girondins and the significant Reign of Terror played a key role in leading to and sustaining the revolution.

Some of the social and political causes where how it opens for social and political demands over against France, who had no choice but to increase taxes and increase revenues through reforms. As well as having the French Revolution limit the political rights of women the right to vote, fun for office, or to participate in government. It caused short term economic loss because due to these causes it allowed the government to increase taxes for wars and soldiers, which led to the French Revolution, having to execute Louis XVI.

France before the French Revolution was incredibly unstable and was facing multiple problems in the society. Louis XVI ruled France with absolutism, this caused political problems to arise. For example, in document one it states “He controlled the expression of thought by strict censorship…” Louis XVI appointed military officials, made the laws, and had power over society. Citizens of France found it unfair that Louis could control the government and the way of life in

During The French Revolution, many citizens (mostly the 3rd estate) were not treated the way they should have been. The French Revolution was the cause of the rebellions and difficult economic situations that many citizens had to endure. During the reign of King Louis XIV and Queen Marie Antoinette, many citizens (especially the 3rd estate) were livid about how poor they were being treated.

When the time hit France during the French Revolution there were many rough times for people during the 25 years they were fighting. During the French Revolution the people were living in harsh conditions. People were going poor they couldn’t afford things, the middle class was getting robbed of paying taxes, and the working class couldn’t start the French Revolution.

After a of strong democratic ideals, equality throughout the country and enlightenment, France fell into a political, social and economic turmoil. The year of 1787 mark the beginning of the French upheaval causing the most significant and important landmark in human history. Through harsh monarchies, poverty spreading through the nation and pushing for Enlightenment ideals, France was in true hardship. What was the main causes of this? Due to unfair treatment within the Estates, with a monarch who ruled with absolute power and an economic downfall due to large amounts of debt, the people of France rebelled, causing the French Revolution.

Children wore ragged clothes and suffered tremendously (document 1). There was a lack of bread due to the fact that it was more than the people can afford (document 1). Finally, there was a tax on the land and it’s produce in France (document 1). This financial instability played a major part in the fabrication of the French Revolution. Social status was also a main factor for the occurrence of the Revolution.

At this point, many people were upset on how unequal life was. The oppressed knew if a king had all the power to do anything he wanted, the people would would constantly be governed unfairly. In revolting against the king the people wanted to the power in the hands of the people by overthrowing the monarchy. Many members of the middle class, part of the third estate,(specifically the bourgeoisie) were not happy with the special privileges held by the nobles. (textbook pg. 5-6) Educated people were drawn to the ideas of the enlightenment. With the exposure to these new ideas, individuals were upset with the monarchy and its system. They became interested in the ideas that spoke of balance of power. This was a very important factor for the revolution. These new ideas propelled people to think about the amount of power the government should have, what rights should be given to the individual, and whether or not their current government uses its power fairly. The French people began to see that they were being abused by their

Voting was also a problem during this period. King Louis XVI was not making the voting fair to all citizens. He was favoring the “rich”

The third estate, the class with the largest population in France during this era, was treated extremely poorly. The third estate was heavily taxed and barely had any land amongst themselves. They were forced to live together in a small amount of space. On top of that they were starving. They were hungry and so poor that they could barely afford the most basic of food, bread. The lords and nobles had no respect/compassion for the third estate. They completely disregarded the fact that those in the third estate were humans and treated them with no sympathy. Property tax was so heavy that no one could afford to pay (Document 1). This poor treatment and lack of compassion and basic decency from the first and second estate towards the third gave the initial momentum to the wheels of the revolution, long before it actually begun (Document

Throughout history, there have been dozens of times when people were extremely upset with the government that was ruling over them. However, these angry citizens only revolt a fraction of the time, due to fear of the government. Two examples of when people stood up for their rights and revolted are the French Revolution and the Haitian Revolution. These revolts are loosely connected, as many say that the Haitian Revolution was inspired by the French Revolution. The French Revolution started in 1789 and continued all the way until 1814. The people in France had discontent with the classes, as 98% of the French population was living in serious poverty. The French people

Revolutions are a common occurrence throughout world history. With the amount of revolutions in history, there are those that get lost and those that are the most remembered or well known. One of the well known revolutions is the French Revolution which occurred in the years 1789 to 1799. Before the French Revolution, France was ruled by an absolute monarchy, this meaning that one ruler had the supreme authority and that said authority was not restricted by any written laws, legislature, or customs, a definition given by wikipedia.com and the feudal system, which was a system that said a peasant or worker would receive a piece of land in return for serving under a king, a definition given by vocabulary.com. Those who opposed the, then