Taxes During The French Revolution

The French Revolution began just as any other. France was spiraling into bankruptcy, mostly due to extravagant military spending in the American Revolution and the Seven Years’ War, much to the frustration of the French people. Taxes were raised to support France in the New World, while New World battles were paid for in debt. Taxes could not be raised high enough to erase the massive debt that was engulfing the country. The clergy and nobility were apparently unfazed by the debt, with the commoners carrying the massive taxes. The immature King Louis XVI did his part to increase both the national debt and his belly; he was known for overeating and showing his wife Marie Antoinette in gifts such as the château of Saint-Cloud in 1784. The debt