Louis Xvi: The Most Important Cause Of The French Revolution
The French Revolution of 1789 took place under the reign of Louis XVI. It is one of the most well known and studied events in history due to its great importance and impact it left on the world . Multiple complex factors led to the French Revolution as a result; the three significant causes are: Ideological being the most important followed by Political, and Economical.
The new ideology which arose from the age of Enlightenment (late 17th century to late 18th) century was the most important cause of the French Revolution which changed the way the common french men thought (public opinion) contributing to the building of revolutionary ideas which sparked the demand for change in the way France was governed. The “philosophes” french word for …show more content…
philosophers were the intellectuals of the 18th century Enlightenment. Their writings contributed to the revolutionary ideas and criticism of the Ancien Regime. They aimed to create a more effective system of government eventually refusing to accept old knowledge and ideas such as the Divine Right Theory (right to rule came from God) and Absolutist Monarchy (one ruler, supreme authority, social hierarchy ). Enlightenment intellectuals preferred to use logic, reason, experimentation and observation to reach conclusions. These ideas provoked people to speak out against the government. A known expression was “Liberty! Equality! Fraternity!”. This was an important motto during the Enlightenment which signifies the influence of Philosophers like Baron de Montesquieu, Jean-Jacques Rousseau and John Locke on the common french people (majorly Third Estate) who turned into revolutionaries wanting a new government for the people, by the people based on ideals such as liberty and equality. This showcases the importance of ideology and how it changed the mindset of people, allowing the common french people to question the society and to speak out against the government wanting a more humane and torture free governing system. The Enlightenment ideas and ideals had a long term impact on the french revolution which later lead to the creation of the Declaration and Rights of Man and Citizen of 1789 which was created by the National Assembly based on the ideals of liberty and equality as the foundation; showing the importance of ideology. The great marxist Eric Hobsbawm (1917-2012) stated“… Nevertheless, a striking consensus of general ideas among a fairly coherent social group gave the revolutionary movement effective unity. The group was the bourgeoisie; its ideas were those of classic liberalism.” Here the lines of Eric Hobsbawm strengthens the point of how the general idea of liberalism among the Bourgeoisie (middle class men, the merchants, businessmen, lawyers and bankers) strengthens the revolutionary movement as there is consensus. This supports the fact the demand for bringing change is more effective as a group of people agree upon ideas of the 18th century intellectuals. This directly strengthens the point, ideology consisting of ideas such as democracy civil/human rights and liberalism caused the French revolution as people agreed upon them (united) and took action. The enlightenment allowed the french to have an ideological context for the revolution and to speak out against the government thats why its the most important cause of the revolution. As Albert Einstein said, “The world we have created is a product of our thinking; it cannot be changed without changing our thinking.” When put in context suggests the centuries of accepting the divine right absolute monarchy, and place in society (social class inheritance) can only be changed by changing the thinking, thats what the Philosophers of the Enlightenment did making it the most significant cause.
In the long run politics was the second major contributor to the outbreak of the revolution in 1789. Abuse of power, government inefficiency (unable to enforce policy), no control and poor leadership of Louis XVI led to the downfall of the government of France and the rise of the revolutionaries causing the French Revolution. Louis XIV (1642-1715) also known as the Sun God believed his right to rule came from God. To enhance his own power he found ways to exclude his rivals and dilute the power of the nobles. Louis XIV made decisions on the basis of random choice , did not consult the parlements (powerful high court). Louis XV (1715-1774) left France in a mess as well, he had been largely irresponsible, fought the Seven Years War (1756-1763) against England which was nothing more than a large expense and took advantage of the prosperity of France at the time to enjoy kingship. By the time Louis XVI came to throne, the nation was severely in debt and without any particular mechanism for repaying it. France was modernizing but remained traditional in terms of the political system of governing which made the government inefficient. For instance, the National Government of France was expanding in terms of more military mobilization (due to the involvement in wars) leading to a higher requirement of a larger national bureaucracy (to collect revenues, organise and supply the army). In expansion new offices and departments were opened but the traditional ones were still kept creating chaos making the french policy and governing system inefficient. As historian Sylvia Neely puts it, the Ancien Régime was like “a large palace to which rooms and wings were added over the years, without any overall plan”. So the government was inefficient and couldn’t enforce policy due to the complex situation. Louis XVI was not very good at making use of his political power. He did not make the best decisions. He could not enforce any policies. His power was absolute in name only. The fall of the Bastille in 1789 is a great example of Louis XVI losing control though it was lightly guarded as his army was not able to suppress the raging crowd. It is a symbolic event as the Bastille was historically a symbol of royal absolutism. Was a powerful representation of the capabilities of the common man. The stealing of weapons and capture of the gunpowder supplies adds on to the failure of control. The event is significant as it showcases the Parisians (people of Paris) who attacked the Bastille losing faith in Louis XVI, meaning losing faith in his absolute power eventually leading to the revolution. The royal government became even more unpopular as the King was abusing his power by the use of sealed letters (lettres de cachet) which was a warrant to imprison or exile someone for as long as the King wanted. Around 14,000 sealed letters were issued against people who disagreed with the government. As a member of the Third Estate Sealed Letters would be frightening to an individual and is an attack on the liberty of citizens as stated in the “List of grievances of the Third Estate of Bar-sur-Seine, 1789.” These actions; use and abuse of power further encourages the french public to revolt against the system which is impacting and threatening their daily lives. Overall the multiple political causes lead to the people losing faith in the King who took bad decisions and showed poor leadership, the french started to question Louis XVI right as an absolute monarch.
The political instability closely connects and causes the economic instability in France during the reign of Louis XVI.
It is an important cause of the revolution as it directly impacted the lives of the french commoners. For instance France had a financial crisis, the national treasury was empty because of mismanagement and involvement in foreign wars. Louis XIV’s imperial wars, Louis XV’s Seven Years War, and Louis XVI spending on the American Revolution resulted in an explosion of national debt. In the Seven Years’ War, France surrendered all of its colonies in continental North America. It also left the nation with a national debt of around 2.3 billion livres.(money, economy down). The cost for the national government to function increased but the state revenue stayed the same as only the Third Estate was paying the taxes therefore putting a lot of pressure on them and creating an imbalance in the flow of income. This impacted the lives of the common french people especially the peasants and working class who were poor and had to pay taxes (direct to the government) and indirect (paid to people whenever they bought certain goods) as they could barely survive and provide basic needs to their families and themselves. On top of that there was a food crisis. In 1788, a hailstorm destroyed all harvests as it was followed with a long cold drought. The bad harvests made bread scarce (low supply) making it expensive as well as hyperinflation took place at the same time, value of the currency was worth only half the amount printed on it, this was a time period of absolute poverty. According to Sylvia Neely’s “A Concise History of the French Revolution,” workers spent half their daily wages on bread but after the continuous bad harvests of 1788 and 1789, the price of bread took up to 88 percent of their wages. As a result famine and poverty impacted the lives of the common french workers negatively making them angry towards the monarchy system and demanding for change.
When the common man gets hungry, rioting and violence is a consequence. Hungary San Culottes raided shops and food stores to get the food signifying the importance of the economic causes of the French Revolution.
To conclude the French Revolution of 1789 was caused by complex factors combined together but ideological is the most important cause followed by the political and then the economical.
The new ideology which arose from the age of Enlightenment (late 17th century to late 18th) century was the most important cause of the French Revolution which changed the way the common french men thought (public opinion) contributing to the building of revolutionary ideas which sparked the demand for change in the way France was governed. The “philosophes” french word for …show more content…
philosophers were the intellectuals of the 18th century Enlightenment. Their writings contributed to the revolutionary ideas and criticism of the Ancien Regime. They aimed to create a more effective system of government eventually refusing to accept old knowledge and ideas such as the Divine Right Theory (right to rule came from God) and Absolutist Monarchy (one ruler, supreme authority, social hierarchy ). Enlightenment intellectuals preferred to use logic, reason, experimentation and observation to reach conclusions. These ideas provoked people to speak out against the government. A known expression was “Liberty! Equality! Fraternity!”. This was an important motto during the Enlightenment which signifies the influence of Philosophers like Baron de Montesquieu, Jean-Jacques Rousseau and John Locke on the common french people (majorly Third Estate) who turned into revolutionaries wanting a new government for the people, by the people based on ideals such as liberty and equality. This showcases the importance of ideology and how it changed the mindset of people, allowing the common french people to question the society and to speak out against the government wanting a more humane and torture free governing system. The Enlightenment ideas and ideals had a long term impact on the french revolution which later lead to the creation of the Declaration and Rights of Man and Citizen of 1789 which was created by the National Assembly based on the ideals of liberty and equality as the foundation; showing the importance of ideology. The great marxist Eric Hobsbawm (1917-2012) stated“… Nevertheless, a striking consensus of general ideas among a fairly coherent social group gave the revolutionary movement effective unity. The group was the bourgeoisie; its ideas were those of classic liberalism.” Here the lines of Eric Hobsbawm strengthens the point of how the general idea of liberalism among the Bourgeoisie (middle class men, the merchants, businessmen, lawyers and bankers) strengthens the revolutionary movement as there is consensus. This supports the fact the demand for bringing change is more effective as a group of people agree upon ideas of the 18th century intellectuals. This directly strengthens the point, ideology consisting of ideas such as democracy civil/human rights and liberalism caused the French revolution as people agreed upon them (united) and took action. The enlightenment allowed the french to have an ideological context for the revolution and to speak out against the government thats why its the most important cause of the revolution. As Albert Einstein said, “The world we have created is a product of our thinking; it cannot be changed without changing our thinking.” When put in context suggests the centuries of accepting the divine right absolute monarchy, and place in society (social class inheritance) can only be changed by changing the thinking, thats what the Philosophers of the Enlightenment did making it the most significant cause.
In the long run politics was the second major contributor to the outbreak of the revolution in 1789. Abuse of power, government inefficiency (unable to enforce policy), no control and poor leadership of Louis XVI led to the downfall of the government of France and the rise of the revolutionaries causing the French Revolution. Louis XIV (1642-1715) also known as the Sun God believed his right to rule came from God. To enhance his own power he found ways to exclude his rivals and dilute the power of the nobles. Louis XIV made decisions on the basis of random choice , did not consult the parlements (powerful high court). Louis XV (1715-1774) left France in a mess as well, he had been largely irresponsible, fought the Seven Years War (1756-1763) against England which was nothing more than a large expense and took advantage of the prosperity of France at the time to enjoy kingship. By the time Louis XVI came to throne, the nation was severely in debt and without any particular mechanism for repaying it. France was modernizing but remained traditional in terms of the political system of governing which made the government inefficient. For instance, the National Government of France was expanding in terms of more military mobilization (due to the involvement in wars) leading to a higher requirement of a larger national bureaucracy (to collect revenues, organise and supply the army). In expansion new offices and departments were opened but the traditional ones were still kept creating chaos making the french policy and governing system inefficient. As historian Sylvia Neely puts it, the Ancien Régime was like “a large palace to which rooms and wings were added over the years, without any overall plan”. So the government was inefficient and couldn’t enforce policy due to the complex situation. Louis XVI was not very good at making use of his political power. He did not make the best decisions. He could not enforce any policies. His power was absolute in name only. The fall of the Bastille in 1789 is a great example of Louis XVI losing control though it was lightly guarded as his army was not able to suppress the raging crowd. It is a symbolic event as the Bastille was historically a symbol of royal absolutism. Was a powerful representation of the capabilities of the common man. The stealing of weapons and capture of the gunpowder supplies adds on to the failure of control. The event is significant as it showcases the Parisians (people of Paris) who attacked the Bastille losing faith in Louis XVI, meaning losing faith in his absolute power eventually leading to the revolution. The royal government became even more unpopular as the King was abusing his power by the use of sealed letters (lettres de cachet) which was a warrant to imprison or exile someone for as long as the King wanted. Around 14,000 sealed letters were issued against people who disagreed with the government. As a member of the Third Estate Sealed Letters would be frightening to an individual and is an attack on the liberty of citizens as stated in the “List of grievances of the Third Estate of Bar-sur-Seine, 1789.” These actions; use and abuse of power further encourages the french public to revolt against the system which is impacting and threatening their daily lives. Overall the multiple political causes lead to the people losing faith in the King who took bad decisions and showed poor leadership, the french started to question Louis XVI right as an absolute monarch.
The political instability closely connects and causes the economic instability in France during the reign of Louis XVI.
It is an important cause of the revolution as it directly impacted the lives of the french commoners. For instance France had a financial crisis, the national treasury was empty because of mismanagement and involvement in foreign wars. Louis XIV’s imperial wars, Louis XV’s Seven Years War, and Louis XVI spending on the American Revolution resulted in an explosion of national debt. In the Seven Years’ War, France surrendered all of its colonies in continental North America. It also left the nation with a national debt of around 2.3 billion livres.(money, economy down). The cost for the national government to function increased but the state revenue stayed the same as only the Third Estate was paying the taxes therefore putting a lot of pressure on them and creating an imbalance in the flow of income. This impacted the lives of the common french people especially the peasants and working class who were poor and had to pay taxes (direct to the government) and indirect (paid to people whenever they bought certain goods) as they could barely survive and provide basic needs to their families and themselves. On top of that there was a food crisis. In 1788, a hailstorm destroyed all harvests as it was followed with a long cold drought. The bad harvests made bread scarce (low supply) making it expensive as well as hyperinflation took place at the same time, value of the currency was worth only half the amount printed on it, this was a time period of absolute poverty. According to Sylvia Neely’s “A Concise History of the French Revolution,” workers spent half their daily wages on bread but after the continuous bad harvests of 1788 and 1789, the price of bread took up to 88 percent of their wages. As a result famine and poverty impacted the lives of the common french workers negatively making them angry towards the monarchy system and demanding for change.
When the common man gets hungry, rioting and violence is a consequence. Hungary San Culottes raided shops and food stores to get the food signifying the importance of the economic causes of the French Revolution.
To conclude the French Revolution of 1789 was caused by complex factors combined together but ideological is the most important cause followed by the political and then the economical.