Brief overview of the events that took place in the French Revolution

Feudalism and unfair taxes

Feudalism - A social system which the nobility held lands from the crown in exchange for military service while peasants were obliged to live on their lord's land and give him homage, labour and a share of the produce.

France's finances were continuing to decline, especially after their involvment in the Seven Year's War. King Louis XVI tried to solve the problem and brought in a number of different ministers. Each of these ministers realised the same problem which was France's taxation problem on how it taxed the public. Each advisor was kicked out in turn once they blamed taxes and tried to change them.

Louis XVI finally understood the problem with the taxation which needed to be addressed, so he appointed Chalres de Calonne as controller general of finance in 1783. Calonne suggested that people in the nobility should start paying taxes but they all refused as most had bought their position/title to avoid taxes. Calonne pleased with them in during the Assembly of Notables in 1787 but was still refused.

The Estates-General

In an attempt to solve the financial issue Louis decided to call the Estates-General in 1789. This was a ancient assembly made up of three different estates that each represented a portion of the French population. If they could agree on a solution for the taxation problem it was be implemented. However two of these estates, the clergy and nobility, were exempt from taxes, so they were unlikely to vote for any new kind of tax.

Due to the outdated rules of the estate generals, the third estate which made up more a much larger quantity of the population, only got a single vote. Feuds broke out over this and once the third estate got locked out of the court room they met on a tennis court and made the Tennis Court Oath on 14th of July 1789. They vowed not to separate, and to reassemble wherever circumstances require, until the constitution of the kingdom is established. The third estate declared itself as the National Assembly and within days of the announcement many members from the other two estates had switched allegiances to this new assembly.

The Bastille and The Great Fear

The national assembly's revolutuionary spirit was feld all over France. In Paris, citizens stormed the Bastille on 14th July 1789 and stole 28,000 muskets and gun powder. In the countryside peasants and farmers revolted against their feudal contracts by attacking the manors and estates of their landlords.

This was known as The Great Fear and these rural attacks continued until early August with the issuing of the …