Lindsey W., 12th Grade: Causes of the French Revolution
The
French Revolution started in 1785 and lasted for several years. Although France
went through this hard time, they were still one of the wealthiest countries in
Europe at the time. The question of how this entire revolution took place is
still a prevalent question even in today’s society. While some might think it
is solely because of one issue rather than another, the three main issues that
caused the French Revolution were debt, taxation, and famine.
The French government constantly thought they had everything figured out for years before all the debt the country’s citizens accumulated came crashing down. During the Enlightenment period, people started thinking they were all equal which they perceived as being able to buy the same things as the rich. However, many of these people were poor and could not pay for the goods they wanted, or they could not pay for the payment of the good. This is evident from the statistic that from a few years before the revolution, France had about 8 billion livres in debt, but just before the revolution started, they had 12 million. This caused the citizens and the government of France to be angry with the overall situation which partly led to the Revolution ("Causes of the French Revolution").
Taxation in France was an issue that was very unsettling to all of its people. France was one of the most popular trading nations in Europe at the time so their revenue was generated by some tariffs, but mainly internal taxes. Some of these taxes included taxes on salt. Taxes were also implemented at barriers to different parts of the country which enabled France from becoming one unified market. Peasants also had to pay a tenth of their income to the church, pay a five percent property tax, a land tax, and a tax for the number of people they had in their family. All of these different taxes and payments drained the little amount of money people already had. Taxation was yet another cause for the unrest in the country and ultimately led to the Revolution ("Causes of the French Revolution").
Famine was the final straw for the French people. In the 1780’s, a majority of the French people were without food yet the nobles and members of the church were feasting every night. There were two reasons for this: one reason was a series of crop failures which was caused by a shortage of grain which was used to make bread, the most common food for peasants. The other reason was a conspiracy theory which was that the nobles planned the shortages of food. This two year period of food shortages and starvation was the last thing the people of France were going to stand for before the Revolution went into full swing ("Causes of the French Revolution").
The French Revolution was a huge part of history that consequently changed Europe and even affected the United States. It is still an event students study today, and the mistakes the French made are lessons governments all over the world can still learn from. Between problems with taxation, debt, and food supply it is no surprise that the people of France had enough of their government. Though the Revolution took a nasty turn or two with the use of the guillotine and other aggressive attempts towards the Kings and Queens of France, it is not even a question that France turned out to be a better country because of the Revolution they went through ("Causes of the French Revolution").
Works Cited
"Causes of the French Revolution". 30 December 2013. Retrieved from Wikipedia :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Causes_of_the_French_Revolution. Etowah High School. Web. 19 Novemebr 2013.
The French government constantly thought they had everything figured out for years before all the debt the country’s citizens accumulated came crashing down. During the Enlightenment period, people started thinking they were all equal which they perceived as being able to buy the same things as the rich. However, many of these people were poor and could not pay for the goods they wanted, or they could not pay for the payment of the good. This is evident from the statistic that from a few years before the revolution, France had about 8 billion livres in debt, but just before the revolution started, they had 12 million. This caused the citizens and the government of France to be angry with the overall situation which partly led to the Revolution ("Causes of the French Revolution").
Taxation in France was an issue that was very unsettling to all of its people. France was one of the most popular trading nations in Europe at the time so their revenue was generated by some tariffs, but mainly internal taxes. Some of these taxes included taxes on salt. Taxes were also implemented at barriers to different parts of the country which enabled France from becoming one unified market. Peasants also had to pay a tenth of their income to the church, pay a five percent property tax, a land tax, and a tax for the number of people they had in their family. All of these different taxes and payments drained the little amount of money people already had. Taxation was yet another cause for the unrest in the country and ultimately led to the Revolution ("Causes of the French Revolution").
Famine was the final straw for the French people. In the 1780’s, a majority of the French people were without food yet the nobles and members of the church were feasting every night. There were two reasons for this: one reason was a series of crop failures which was caused by a shortage of grain which was used to make bread, the most common food for peasants. The other reason was a conspiracy theory which was that the nobles planned the shortages of food. This two year period of food shortages and starvation was the last thing the people of France were going to stand for before the Revolution went into full swing ("Causes of the French Revolution").
The French Revolution was a huge part of history that consequently changed Europe and even affected the United States. It is still an event students study today, and the mistakes the French made are lessons governments all over the world can still learn from. Between problems with taxation, debt, and food supply it is no surprise that the people of France had enough of their government. Though the Revolution took a nasty turn or two with the use of the guillotine and other aggressive attempts towards the Kings and Queens of France, it is not even a question that France turned out to be a better country because of the Revolution they went through ("Causes of the French Revolution").
Works Cited
"Causes of the French Revolution". 30 December 2013. Retrieved from Wikipedia :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Causes_of_the_French_Revolution. Etowah High School. Web. 19 Novemebr 2013.