French Revolution- The origins of the French Revolution
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- French Revolution- The origins of the French Revolution
- Long-term causes of the French Revolution
- French Society during the ancien regime
- Divided into three estates; the first two had many privileges that they frequently used against the three estate
- The first estate was made up of the clergy, 115,139
- The second estate consisted of the nobility, 350,000
- The third estate was everyone else, 24,500,000
- The taxation system
- It was both chaotic and inefficient
- Taxes
- Taille- Land tax
- Vingtieme- 5% tax on income
- Capitation- Tax on people
- Gabelle- Salt tax
- Aidas- Tax on food and drink
- Octrois- Tax on goods entering town
- Direct taxes
- Mainly paid by just the third estate
- The church did not pay any of them
- Indirect taxes
- Considerable burden on those on low incomes
- Great deal of income to the crown
- The Enlightenment
- The movement questioned and challenged a whole range of views and ideas that were widely accepted
- They were not prepared the accept tradition and revelation
- The main objects of their attack were the church and the government
- Although not revolutionary themselves, their ideas and approaches did influence many who would become revolutionaries
- Royal Government
- France before 1789 was an absolute monarchy ruled by the Bourbons
- This meant that the authority of the French crown was not limited by any representativebody
- The Kind was responsible only to God
- Limitations to power
- Although this power was absolute, the King was bound by the laws and customs of the Kingdom
- For example, there were many independent bodies such as the Assembly of the Clergy which had rights and privileges guaranteed by law
- The King also had to consult his council of ministers and advisers to make laws
- This meant considerable power was in the hands of a small number of men
- The most important of these was the Controller-General, who was in charge of royal finances
- This meant considerable power was in the hands of a small number of men
- Louis was well intentioned but never came to terms with the state's financial problems
- He was rather weak and indecisive
- Although this power was absolute, the King was bound by the laws and customs of the Kingdom
- France before 1789 was an absolute monarchy ruled by the Bourbons
- French Society during the ancien regime
- Short-term causes of the French Revolution
- The financial crisis
- The primary short-term cause of the French Revolution
- On the 20th August 1786, Calonne (the Controller-General) told Louis that the government was on the verge of bankruptcy
- The expenditure of the crown was more than the income
- Foreign policy
- The Seven Years War
- French forced in India and North America suffered a series of crushing defeats at the hands of the British
- Much of France's overseas territory was lost in 1763
- The American War of Independence
- The French wanted revenge
- It worsened the already weak financial situation of the crown
- The French soldiers were exposed to ideas such as liberty and democracy and demanded similar rights for the people of France
- The Seven Years War
- The economic crisis
- The economy was largely based on agriculture
- France had a series of bad harvests; 1778-9, 1781-2, 1795-6 and 1787
- France then experienced a food shortage due to the large population and bad harvests in a row
- Also led to unemployment rising
- The financial crisis
- The Key Debate
- More Revisionism
- J.H. Sherman
- Argues that long-term problems and resentments were brought to a head by events preceding 1789
- Revisionist view
- Alfred Cobban and Francois Furet
- In the 60s they challenged existing views by saying that the revolution was driven by social and cultural factors
- The driving force was the enlightenment
- Post-Revisionist
- Gwynne Lewis- tries to put both debates together
- Combination of all the factors
- Marxist view
- Georges Lefebvre and Albert sobul
- Revolution lead by the Bourgeoisie who had been growing in importance economically
- Essentially a class war
- More Revisionism
- Long-term causes of the French Revolution
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