By 1789, France was on the brink of revolution, due to the problems caused by the Estate Structure, Money, Bad Harvests, the Estates General and the National Assembly. This all resolves around the huge differences between the classes of people during the 18th century, while the Clergy and Nobles were enjoying a life of privilege and money, the peasants and bourgeoisie were suffering from hunger and unemployment. The longest cause, and possibly the mot important, was the Estate Structure. There was a huge gap in wealth and rights. The majority of the first and second estates where very rich as the typical salary of a village priest was 750 livres a year, while a Paris parish priest would earn 10,000 livres a year and the Marquis de …show more content…
In August 1788, King Louis called he 1100 deputies for the first time since 1614, in order to have them approve the new taxes. They represented all three states, 550 deputies to represent the 130,000 clergy in the first estate and the 400, 000 nobles in the second estate, and 550 deputies to represent the 28 million peasants and bourgeoisie in the third estate; not that this pleased the educated bourgeoisie who thought there should be the same ratio between the amount of
Even though the Third Estate made up the majority of the population, they only got one vote. As seen in the chart based off of the three estates in France during 1789, 97%of the citizens created the Third Estate (Doc 2). One vote for 97% of the population was unequal, and no one’s voice was heard separately. The Third Estate had only one vote, the First and Second Estate were able to pass anything that pleased them. According to the English Bill of Rights written by the English Parliament, “That the pretended power of suspending of the laws or the execution of law is regal authority without consent of Parliament is illegal…” (Doc 8) The English had the same issue and solved it earlier. France should have inferred that the issues would appear and used the English’s struggles and solutions for their own good. The First and Second Estates did everything in their power for the Third Estate to have very minimal
In the late 17th Century, the French Revolution began. The French Revolution was a rebellion of the third estate against the inequality and injustice of the social classes. The high economic gap and social inequality led to reforms such as the drafting of the Declaration of Rights for Men and the Tennis Court of Oath. One of the main factors that led to the French Revolution is the economic gaps between the rich and the poor.
During the 18th century, the flow of Enlightenment ideas helped spark many political movements. The French Revolution refers to a period in which citizens call for reforms due to the political, economic and social differences between them and the monarchy. The absence of political representation and empathy from the nobility, the financial crisis and the desire for equality between all the classes inspired the people of France to start a revolution. In France, the third estate had almost no political representation while the first and second estate had totally power over everything that happened.
But once these ideas and complaints were brought to the estates generals they could not agree. The third estate decided that if the first and second estate wouldn’t listen they would form their own national assembly where each member only got one vote. On June, 10th, 1789 they formed the national assembly, king louis the king of France at the time tried to stop them by closing the cahiers de Doleances meeting room this caused the national assembly to meet in the indoor tennis court where they decided to work until they had created a new constitution for France that would enable better and equal treatment for all.
the French revolution began in 1789 and ended in 1799. Louis XVI was King of France in 1789. Louis was a kind man, but he was raised to be a king and had little knowledge of common people. There was a story in France that when Louis' wife, Marie Antoinette, heard that the people had no bread, she said, "Let them eat cake." Marie Antoinette never said that, but it shows how little she knew (and some say cared) about life for the common people of France.
The establishment of the National Assembly that integrated different classes of people into one government signifies the growing public voice in political arena as citizens urged an end to hunger and unfair taxation system. Ever since King XVI summoned the Estates General to tackle the problems of food shortage and economic crisis, the Third Estate, who represented every French except the clergies and the nobles, has been constantly demanding for more voting rights to make people’s hardship known to the king and the other two estates. They thus assembled lists of grievances from citizens throughout France which called for a limit to
The French Revolution is one of the most interesting and complex times in our history. As said in the historical context, “The French Revolution of 1789 had many long-range causes. Political, Social, and economic conditions in France contributed to the discontent felt by many French people-especially those of the third estate.”. Politics one a major favorite considering at the time France was an absolute Monarchy which meant the king had complete power and authority over everything. This could become a problem with the different opinions of others.
The French Revolution was a period of social and political upheaval between the years of 1789 and 1799. The revolution contributed to the decline of the monarchy as well as the power of the church. The bourgeoisie rose up against the unpopular luxuries the aristocracy and clergymen enjoyed. After both the French and Indian war and the American Revolution many lower class Frenchman were struggling economically and resented the aristocracy and the upper-class for their continued life of luxury despite the problems much of the nation was facing. In both the French and American revolutions the ideals were brought about by the first Enlightenment and the general feeling of inequality felt by the non-aristocracy. The Enlightenment contributed to
The French Society was divided into 3 classes, the Clergy, Nobles and Common People. The clergy was divided into 2 subgroups the higher clergy which was considered to be the top. They managed the churches, monasteries and educational institutions of France. They did not pay any tax to the monarch. The higher clergy lived in luxury. The lower clergy was considered the miserable. The nobility didnt pay any tax to the king. The nobility was also divided into two subgroups, which was court nobles and provincial nobles. The court nobles lived in luxury. They did not pay any heed towards the problems of the common people of their areas. The provincial nobles paid their attention towards the problems of the people. But they did not enjoy the same privileges as the Court nobles enjoyed. The farmers, cobblers, sweepers and other lower classes belonged to this class. The condition of the farmers was very miserable. All of them had to pay taxes. The doctors, lawyers, teachers, businessmen, writers and philosophers belonged to this class. They had the wealth and social status. The common people became rebellious. The third cause of the French Revolution was the economic
The kingdom of France was ruled by an Ancient Régime of the Monarchy, the clergy and the nobility for centuries and centuries. During the XVIII there was a lot of inequality between the moneyed and powerful clergy and the commoners. All the inequality of the time caused the French Revolution, a period in which the people gave an end the absolute monarchy and took control of the Government. There were two main reasons the French Revolution started; the Enlightenment Ideas and the social inequality of the moment. The commoners outraged and fought against Louis XVI and the absolute monarchy of the moment.
The French revolution which is also referred to as the Revolution of 1789 was a period characterized by both social and political upheaval that span close to a decade in France. It was during this period that the country’s political landscape was redesigned and it involved
The French Revolution was a bloody civil war that lasted from the years 1789-1799. [1] The revolution arose out of hard economic times that had befallen France. Widespread famine and hunger, due to a grain shortage, rampaged through sections of the country. The economic crisis led to an increase in taxes on the lower classes, known as the third estate, to upkeep the lavish lifestyle of the nobility. [1] All of these are the known factors that led to the rise of the French Revolution.
The French Revolution was a time of political and social rebellion in France. It began in 1789 because of the inequalities that existed
However, there was another important factor during these times. France suffered from harsh economic problems. Poor farm harvests by farmers hurt the economy, and trade rules from the Middle Ages still survived, making trade difficult. However, the most serious problem was the problem facing the government during this time. The French government borrowed much money to pay for the wars of Louis XIV. Louis still borrowed money to fight wars and to keep French power alive in Europe. These costs greatly increased the national debt, which was, at the time, already too high.<br><br>When King Louis XVI came into power, he realized that these problems existed. At first he did not know what to do, until he found a man by the name of Robert Turgot. He eased the financial crisis of France, but he had difficulties when he tried to introduce a major reform, that of taxing the nobles. He had such difficulties because the king could not tax the nobles unless the Parliament approved of the new tax laws. The people in the courts that voted on these laws were the nobles, called nobles of the robe, and therefore rejected Turgot's reform. After Turgot was rejected, the king fired him from his office. This led Louis XVI to summon the Estates General in 1789. The Estates General was the place where representatives from each social class could be represented. Here, many issues would be discussed, and at this time in
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.