French+Revolution

Rafiq, Adham

Self-made Prompt:

Assess the social, political, and economic causes of the French Revolution (1789–1799).

Outline:

Social Causes:
 * Clergy's exemption from the //taille//
 * Nobility's exemption from majority of taxes caused irritation of lower peoples
 * Bourgeoisie's exclusion from privileges of the nobles (known to be a major cause because resentment was from all #|classes but nobility
 * Unclear class divides created confusion in distinction between nobility from bourgeosie
 * Feudalism

Political Causes:
 * Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were highly unpopular, and led lavish lifestyles, such as the Palace of Versailles
 * The Parliament of Paris had the ability the king's actions, somewhat limiting a divine-right absolute monarchy
 * The Enlightenment created a climate that exaggerated class anger and challenged the Old Regime (i.e. Jean-Jacques Rousseau in __the Social Contract__) . It also created political awareness and individual thinking which brewed unorthodox and radical political stances
 * The American Revolution (1775-1783) demonstrated that a determined group of "common folk" could defeat the King and set up a desired form of government.
 * The indecisiveness of Louis XVI as head of state and absolute monarch to make final decisions caused fear of the country's direction
 * Appointment of multiple foreigners in political offices caused distrust in the government

Economic Causes: Because of these factors, it caused the #|national debt to amount around 1500 million livres
 * The price of bread, which was the staple of meals for the Third Estate, shot up, causing malnutrition in the lesser segments of the population.
 * Due to
 * idiotic military maneuvers in the American Revolutionary War (which France got nothing in return for a supplement of troops
 * taxation on the Third Estate
 * Multiple poor farming harvests in previous years hurt agricultural economy
 * Louis XIV's love of war deepened France's debt greatly
 * Since 80% of population lived in the countryside, on lands owned by wealthy. Under seigneuralism, peasants rented their lands from wealthy lords and had to pay them significant taxes to have the right to grow crops.
 * Cost of running Palace of Versailles, Louis XVI's personal court