Real Causes of the French Revolution
Uploaded by kDUBBZ on Jul 16, 2008
The French revolution messed up the country's ancient monarchy, proclaimed liberty and equality and fought off an angry Europe. It brought in a new age, but at the terrible price of blood and human suffering. There were many causes of the Revolution. The French Revolution appears to have been the outcome of both long term and short term factors, which arose from the social and political conditions and conflicts of the ancient rule. The long standing grievances of peasants, townsmen and bourgeoisie, the frustration’s of rising hopes among wealthy and middlish(1) bourgeoisie and peasants; the distress and breakdown of government; a real or at least seemingly real ‘feudal reaction’, the stubbornness of a privileged aristocracy; the making of radical ideas among wide sections of the people; a sharp economic and financial crisis; and the successive triggers of state bankruptcy, aristocratic revolt and popular revolution: all these factors played a part. The middle and lower class were becoming more conscious of their increased social importance and because the peasants were becoming more independent, more literate and prosperous that the old feudal freedoms and aristocratic privileges appeared all the more burdensome and intolerable for the struggling discontents of France.For more than one hundred years before the accession of Louis XVI, France was the most powerful country on the European continent. She had held this position for over 150 years, thanks to her fertile land, large population and many resources. However, the government had under gone periodic economic crisis, resulting from long wars, royal mismanagement, losses incurred in the French and Indian War and Seven Years’ War and increased debt arising from loans to the American colonies during the American Revolution. The governmental system had worked reasonably well under Louis XIV but had become impossible under his weak successors. The government was corrupt and centralized and the King’s authority had been slowly extended over the country. Under the system, there was a lot of overlapping authority and a great inefficiency in the provincial governments. The only people who could obstruct the royal government in an attempt to save the country was the Parliament of Paris. Unfortunately, its members were only concerned about their own welfare rather than the members of the country. The greatest government weakness was the lack of consistency and order. By 1788, the government was almost bankrupt. The supporters of economic, social and governmental reforms had become increasingly vocal...