The French Revolution was the result of a massive powder keg of anger in the French lower class that had been building for centuries since the establishment of Ancien Régime in the late 1400’s.
Notably, there were two main long term causes that fueled the powder that would lead to the French revolution. These were extreme income inequality and the corruption of the French government. With regards to income inequality, an absolute monarchy built a strict class system that made it impossible to move up the social ladder through merit.
In addition to being damned to living and dying as serfs, the monarchy was responsible for a lot of corruption. The church and noble classes had ended up relying on poor to pay for things the palace of Versailles or funding their wars. This made it even more impossible for a peasant to ever save up money to build up their own livelihood. Another way the French crown would raise money is to sell lands and titles to other aristocrats. This created a lot of corruption as the nobles viewed this as a way to make quick money and usually at the expense of both the crown and the commoners. As more members of the ruling class spent more time on scheming their way to the top, the …show more content…
The American revolution took a massive toll on both the institution of monarchy and the French economy. The French government had lent a tremendous sum of money to the American colonies to fund their war of independence. This is also not including the price tag of their using their own navy and field armies in North America. However, the colonies were unable to honor their debts and the French were strapped for cash. Yet, the most dangerous effect of the American Revolution is that the French commoners realized that it was possible to establish a secular republic without the need for a king or a state run/state funded
Notably, there were two main long term causes that fueled the powder that would lead to the French revolution. These were extreme income inequality and the corruption of the French government. With regards to income inequality, an absolute monarchy built a strict class system that made it impossible to move up the social ladder through merit.
In addition to being damned to living and dying as serfs, the monarchy was responsible for a lot of corruption. The church and noble classes had ended up relying on poor to pay for things the palace of Versailles or funding their wars. This made it even more impossible for a peasant to ever save up money to build up their own livelihood. Another way the French crown would raise money is to sell lands and titles to other aristocrats. This created a lot of corruption as the nobles viewed this as a way to make quick money and usually at the expense of both the crown and the commoners. As more members of the ruling class spent more time on scheming their way to the top, the …show more content…
The American revolution took a massive toll on both the institution of monarchy and the French economy. The French government had lent a tremendous sum of money to the American colonies to fund their war of independence. This is also not including the price tag of their using their own navy and field armies in North America. However, the colonies were unable to honor their debts and the French were strapped for cash. Yet, the most dangerous effect of the American Revolution is that the French commoners realized that it was possible to establish a secular republic without the need for a king or a state run/state funded