The French Revolution: Unprepared Monarchy
World History
One of the bloodiest revolutions in history was that of the French. There were multiple reasons that caused the people of France to overthrow their monarchy. The French Revolution was the product of the rule of an unprepared monarch, a massive gap between the upper and lower class, and the new way of thinking in France. A key factor that caused the French Revolution was the rule of an unprepared monarch. The monarchs who held power leading up to and during the French Revolution were King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. King Louis XVI was not at all prepared for the throne, nor was he ever meant for the throne. He had an older brother, Louis duc de Bourgogne, who died of tuberculosis when he was nine. When his grandfather passed …show more content…
There were three main classes, or estates, in French society. The First Estate was the nobility, the Second Estate was the clergy, and the Third Estate were the remainder of the French people. Each class had a third of the representation in the Assembly of Notables. This may sound equal and fair, but when one looks at the split of the population between the Estates, this is clearly not the case. Together, the upper two Estates, the nobility and the clergy, only took up three percent of the population. The third Estate took up ninety seven percent of the population, but only held thirty three percent of the representation. If the Third Estate tried to implement a policy that would benefit the majority of the French population, it could easily be shot down by the vote of the three percent. This unbalance of power was one of the key factors that led to the revolution. Another instance of the separation between the Estates was the aftermath of the American Revolution. France had sent guns, ships, and troops to help America fight against Great Britain, one of France’s enemies. These materials needed to be paid for, so France raised taxes on its people. However, the law stated that the upper two classes, the nobility and the clergy, were exempt from taxation. This meant the entire cost of helping America gain its independence was paid for by the lower class. Taxes for them were already high, and raising these taxes caused a lot of problems. The price of grain rose, and after a series of bad harvests, bread became scarce, causing riots to break out over food. One of these riots started as simply a bread riot, but turned into people swarming the Bastille on June 14,
One of the bloodiest revolutions in history was that of the French. There were multiple reasons that caused the people of France to overthrow their monarchy. The French Revolution was the product of the rule of an unprepared monarch, a massive gap between the upper and lower class, and the new way of thinking in France. A key factor that caused the French Revolution was the rule of an unprepared monarch. The monarchs who held power leading up to and during the French Revolution were King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. King Louis XVI was not at all prepared for the throne, nor was he ever meant for the throne. He had an older brother, Louis duc de Bourgogne, who died of tuberculosis when he was nine. When his grandfather passed …show more content…
There were three main classes, or estates, in French society. The First Estate was the nobility, the Second Estate was the clergy, and the Third Estate were the remainder of the French people. Each class had a third of the representation in the Assembly of Notables. This may sound equal and fair, but when one looks at the split of the population between the Estates, this is clearly not the case. Together, the upper two Estates, the nobility and the clergy, only took up three percent of the population. The third Estate took up ninety seven percent of the population, but only held thirty three percent of the representation. If the Third Estate tried to implement a policy that would benefit the majority of the French population, it could easily be shot down by the vote of the three percent. This unbalance of power was one of the key factors that led to the revolution. Another instance of the separation between the Estates was the aftermath of the American Revolution. France had sent guns, ships, and troops to help America fight against Great Britain, one of France’s enemies. These materials needed to be paid for, so France raised taxes on its people. However, the law stated that the upper two classes, the nobility and the clergy, were exempt from taxation. This meant the entire cost of helping America gain its independence was paid for by the lower class. Taxes for them were already high, and raising these taxes caused a lot of problems. The price of grain rose, and after a series of bad harvests, bread became scarce, causing riots to break out over food. One of these riots started as simply a bread riot, but turned into people swarming the Bastille on June 14,