The Cause of the French Revolution - History Essay Sample

The French revolution was a historical event in the history of France that shaped the country to and shaped the history of the world to some extent. It was a time when the nation experienced far-reaching political and social unrest which took place between the years 1789 to 1799. Von Guttner explains it as a turning point in the leadership of the country and other nations that had similar ruling systems. He states It is one of the great turning points of the modern era because never before had the society of a powerful country been transformed to give political representation to its entire population by the principle of popular sovereignty (von Guttner 21). The revolution was then carried on partially by Napoleon during the expansion that was in the French Empire in later times. Several issues took place during the revolution including overthrowing of the monarchy, the establishment of a republic, several experiences of periods of political turmoil and finally ended with the dictatorship of Napoleon which rapidly introduced and enforced some of its principles to Western Europe and other parts of the world.

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The beginning and rise of the revolution acquired its inspiration from ideas that were liberal and radical. It presented a source of alterations to the course of modern history through the impact it left. It was due to the revolution that there occurred a significant decline of absolute monarchies globally allowing for the rise of republics and liberal democracies. The uprising was through revolutionary wars that were the cause of a wave of conflicts which were global and which extended from the Middle East to the Caribbean. Historians from around the world view the event to be one of the most significant happenings in the history of human beings.

Economic causes of the revolution

Various financial reasons led to the revolution including taxation and debt. France would not rely entirely on tariffs for generation of income like other trading nations. The people of France were experiencing a higher burden regarding taxes compared to Britain whose taxation was high but not as those in France. The tax in France depended on a collection of taxes from a system that was in various regions in the country. It, therefore, meant that there was the prevention of unified marketing developing in the region. The country exposed its citizens to extreme taxes including the gabelle whose collection was by the tax farmers. McPhee states First and foremost, the most common complaint in the parish cahiers was the theme of surplus extraction either from the state (in the form of taxation). There were seigneurs (in the form of dues, produce, or labor), or the church (in the shape of the tithe and the dime) (McPhee 214). There were no regulations on how the tax farmers collected these taxes from the people and therefore they would collect so much more than the government asked required.

The tax farmers and the system they used caused a different and arbitrary collection of massive consumption taxes in France. There were also other forms of taxes including the seigneurial and high taxes which were a kind of compulsory labor. There were also various individuals in the government who were not paying taxes. As Schwartz explains, they had privileges that the peasants did not access. She state Nobles and the clergy had many privileges. They owned land but did not pay taxes (Schwartz 6). These included the clergy and nobles. There was evidence of unfair treatment of a majority of the citizens of France where only the nobles and clergy were allowed into positions of more power in the countrys regime. The rest of the population including the wage earners, peasants, the business class and the professionals had to bear the entire burden of the extreme taxes.

The French monarchy had always worked with no influence of a legislature. Therefore financing for various monarchical activities was solely on the unfair taxation system which placed an immense burden on the people of France. The country also survived through other means of acquiring money including debts. It was so bad to a point where the country was bankrupt. The monarchy also did no justice for the countrys economy. Most kings in France would spend extravagantly and the money they were spending was either borrowed or from taxpayers. A precise example was King Louis the XIV. He spent resources extravagantly on luxuries like the Versailles which took a hefty chunk of the countrys revenue and left it in debt. These and more economic issues were some of the main reasons why many citizens in the country decided that they had had enough and therefore resorted to the revolution.

Political causes of the revolution

France had an autocratic monarchy during the 18th century, and this monarchy had limitless power over the citizens. They viewed themselves as representatives of God. Louis XIV was the holder of this thought. All the monarchs would spend their entire time in the Versailles living luxuriously and spending the peoples taxes extravagantly they did not care about the rest of the citizens. The Letter de Catchet gave the monarch the power to arrest any person and imprison him/her at any time. Louis XIV though hardworking and fighting in numerous wars, held the concept of unlimited power and often referred to himself as the state. Louis XV came to power after Louis XIV. He was the butterfly monarch and caused a weakening of the countrys economy through foreign policies that were defective. He fought in the Seven years war against England, but France did not benefit from it in any way. Expenditure went to war and luxury in the monarch which led to bankruptcy in the nation.

Then there was Louis XVI to head a country that was now economically failing and bankrupt. At this time he was still young and had to bear the burden of ruling such a big country. Johnson quotes the young king as he expresses his frustration I feel as though the universe is going to fall upon me (Johnson 5). During his leadership, the economy became weaker due to the influence of his wife, Queen Marie Antoinette. The king was straightforward and innocent, but his queen always interfered in the affairs of the state. Being a daughter to the Austrian Empress Maria Theresa, she was often proud and spent the countrys resources extravagantly. The poor leadership in the country was, therefore, one of the leading causes of the revolution.

Enlightenment

A growing number of French citizens got exposure to ideas from revolutionary philosophers and social theorists especially concerning equality and their freedom. Some of these experts included Denis Diderot, Voltaire, Jean-Jacques Rousseau and others who were of the age of enlightenment. The American Revolution also had a significant impact of the French where the French troops that served in North America came into contact with American revolutionaries who spread the ideas to the soldiers, and they were ready to liberate their country from a few individuals who did not care about the rest of the citizenry. There were also American diplomats who had stayed in Paris including Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin. They consorted on how a government needed to be organized and the citizens were ready to make a change in their country.

Conclusion

The impacts of the revolution were felt not only in France but also around the world. The citizens and especially those who were against the revolution moved from the country into other neighboring nations. Others became immigrants in the United States. It led to a spread of the French culture to different areas of the world. There were, however, other impacts that took place which shaped the politics, religion society and ideas of the country and other nations that had a similar governing system. The revolution resulted at the end of many feudal or traditional ruling systems around the world and introduced the idea of liberalism to some of these nations as Forrest states The French Revolution became the point of departure for global ideologies like liberalism and conservatism (Forrest 26).

Before the revolution, all the power in France was in the hands of the nobility and they did not help develop their home areas but stayed in the Versailles. However, the revolution stripped this power from them, and the people had a voice in what went on in the country. All the wealth the nobles had was no more, and the people now elected influential individuals in society including the judges, magistrates, and bishops.

Works cited

Forrest, Alan I and Matthias Middell. The Routledge Companion To The French Revolution In World History. 1st ed. 2015. Print.

Johnson, Alison. Louis Xvi and the French Revolution. , (2013). Print. 1-215

McPhee, Peter. A Companion to the French Revolution. Chichester, West Sussex, UK: John Wiley & Sons, 2015. Print.

Schwartz, Heather E. The French Revolution: Terror and Triumph. Huntington Beach, CA: Teacher Created Materials, 2013. Print.

von Guttner, Darius. The French Revolution. Ed. Tony Taylor. (2015). 1-60