Causes of the French Revolution
Liberty, equality, fraternity and death. These were all outcomes of the French Revolution, but what were the causes? From the extravagant lifestyle of Louis XVI and his wife, to the corruption from inside of the government, there were many causes of the French Revolution. When people think about France they picture the Eiffel Tower or the Arc de Triomphe, but what they fail to remember is the history of France and what happened to the nation to get it to where it is today. The French Revolution was the main turning point in the history of the country. The major factors that lead to the French Revolution were the unstable tax system, the enormous debt, social inequality and famine. However, the most important …show more content…
There was social inequality and great amounts of segregation between the classes and estates. At that point in time, few people owned enough land to support a family and most were forced to take on extra work. The fundamental issue of poverty was worsened by social inequality as all peasants were liable to pay taxes, from which the nobility were exempt from paying. Furthermore, the clergy only numbered about 100,000 and yet they owned ten percent of the land. The Church was both very rich and powerful while the upper levels of the clergy had considerable influence over government policy. As weeks passed, dislike towards the nobility grew especially strong. The peasants were also very angry at the upper classes because they always got special treatment, while the peasants were treated poorly. This made them very angry, which caused the peasants to stir. The social inequality was a major cause of the French …show more content…
There was great scarcity of food in the 1780s. A series of crop failures caused a lack of grain, which, in turn, raised the price of bread. Since the bread was the main source of food for poor peasants, this led to starvation. As time passed, many people moved into French cities in search of work. The cities became overpopulated with the hungry, and the impoverished. The poor were so desperate, they started to riot. This was the start of the violent outbreaks that lead up to the French Revolution. Because the peasants were desperate for food because of the famine, they did anything to feed their families. The starvation that came from the famine was a great cause of the French
Liberty, equality, fraternity and death. These were all outcomes of the French Revolution, but what were the causes? From the extravagant lifestyle of Louis XVI and his wife, to the corruption from inside of the government, there were many causes of the French Revolution. When people think about France they picture the Eiffel Tower or the Arc de Triomphe, but what they fail to remember is the history of France and what happened to the nation to get it to where it is today. The French Revolution was the main turning point in the history of the country. The major factors that lead to the French Revolution were the unstable tax system, the enormous debt, social inequality and famine. However, the most important …show more content…
There was social inequality and great amounts of segregation between the classes and estates. At that point in time, few people owned enough land to support a family and most were forced to take on extra work. The fundamental issue of poverty was worsened by social inequality as all peasants were liable to pay taxes, from which the nobility were exempt from paying. Furthermore, the clergy only numbered about 100,000 and yet they owned ten percent of the land. The Church was both very rich and powerful while the upper levels of the clergy had considerable influence over government policy. As weeks passed, dislike towards the nobility grew especially strong. The peasants were also very angry at the upper classes because they always got special treatment, while the peasants were treated poorly. This made them very angry, which caused the peasants to stir. The social inequality was a major cause of the French …show more content…
There was great scarcity of food in the 1780s. A series of crop failures caused a lack of grain, which, in turn, raised the price of bread. Since the bread was the main source of food for poor peasants, this led to starvation. As time passed, many people moved into French cities in search of work. The cities became overpopulated with the hungry, and the impoverished. The poor were so desperate, they started to riot. This was the start of the violent outbreaks that lead up to the French Revolution. Because the peasants were desperate for food because of the famine, they did anything to feed their families. The starvation that came from the famine was a great cause of the French