Causes of the French Revolution

Political system
1. ~before the french revolution, the ancien regime(old order) was the system of gov. and way of life.
2. ~the kind had absolute power (absolutism)
3. the kind was born into his rolde (hereditay monarch)
4. The king believed he ruled by divine right (believed he ruled because God put him in that role)
5. the King had the right to make laws & he was answerable only to God.
6. He had to be respected and obeyed, individuals had no legal rights
7. the King had a lettre de cachet which was a warrant to imprison anyone as long as the king desired and for no particular reason.
Dissatisfaction with the royal family
1. KING LOUIS XVI
  1. well-meaning man but not intelligent
  2. main hobbie was hunting
  3. partook in hobbies instead of discussing important matters with his ministers
2. QUEEN MARIE ANTOINETTE
  1. Austrian who lived in palace of Versailles
  2. had a great love of gambling and extravagance
  3. ordinary people hated her extravagance in a time of great poverty for many
  4. unfaithful to the King
Social Inequality
1. France was divided into three estates
  1. first estate-clergy
    1. church in France owned over 10% of land.
    2. only nobles could become archbishops or bishops
    3. most ordinary priests were part of the third estate and were very poor.
      1. church paid no taxes
      2. church ran the schools
      3. the clergy influenced the ordinary
      4. church attendance was compulsory
  2. Second Estate-nobles
    1. privileged positions
    2. amounted to 1,5 % of the population and 20 % of the land
    3. three different catagories
    4. PRIVILEGES
      1. could reach the highest positions in the church and became officers in the army
      2. didnt have to pay certain taxes - the taille or corvee.
      3. enjoyed a number of rights as lords of the manor (feudal rights)
  3. Third estate-peasants-bourgeoisie & urban workers
    1. largest class in france and made up more than 80% of its population
    2. their lives before the revolution was a constant battle for survival
    3. most heavily taxed group
      1. the taille- main direct tax on land or income
      2. the corvee- a state labour tax- mainly in the form of unpaid building or working
      3. gabelle- tax on salt
      4. feudal dues paid to the lord of the manor. the peasants also had free work a year, pay rent to their landlord and give a portion of their crops.
      5. the tithe- 10 % of a years earnings paid to the church
    4. middle class:
      1. members of the third estate , they were the most unhappy
      2. were businessmen, lawyers and doctors
    5. peasants :
    6. urban workers :
      1. main concern at the time of the revolution was money
      2. wages were rising slowly
        they became militant (fierce or aggressive) during the revolution
      3. everything was becoming more expensive or discontented
Economic conditions in France that made revolution likely
1. FINANCIAL CRISIS
  1. expenses exceeded income
  2. main problem was how to raise money to meet governments immediate needs
  3. France supported unnecessary wars
  4. borrowed money and took out loans
  5. peasants were heavily taxed
  6. the answer to the problem was to tax the nobility and the clergy
  7. these estates resisted tax as much as possible
  8. finance ministers tried to address this problem :
    1. necker tried to reduce court expenses and retired
    2. calonne proposed a tax on all land - dismissed
    3. brienne introduced a similar tax to calonne and resigned

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Causes of the French Revolution

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