Please write a 2-page paper discussing social economical or political issues of that particular period emphasis on a newly agreed conclusion reached by the pupil with evidence. Please pick ONLY ONE of these topics listed below.
– The French Revolution
– The Great War, The Russian Revolution
– Napoleon’s Rise
Name
Subject
2 June 2022
The French Revolution
It began in 1789 and continued until the late 1790s when the bloody French Revolution
ended. The purpose of the revolution was to provide equality, liberty, and fraternity to all people.
The French Revolution resulted from weak economic policies, ineffective leadership, and
exploitative political and social structures.
The autocratic monarchy, bankruptcy, and excessive spending by the royals were not the
only political grounds for the French Revolution. To understand the causes of the French
Revolution, one must first know France’s political structure before the revolution. Consequently,
France was ruled by an all-powerful king who was supposed to have been given divine
permission to govern by God (Murphy, 2015). Because these monarchs were hereditary, the next
king would be descended from the monarch’s son or daughter. Many people did not question
their rulers’ orders because they saw them as “representatives of God.” However, the monarchs’
unlimited power resulted in abuses. All monarchs had the authority to arrest and jail anybody as
long as the Letter de Cachet remained in place. Because the monarchs might arrest and jail even
the innocent at any time, their people had no rights. This jolted France to its core.
Louis XIV reigned as King of France from 1643 until 1713. King Louis XV, his
great-grandson, was just five years old when King Louis XIV died. The reign of the next
monarch, Louis XVI (1774–1793), set in motion a revolution. Although his wife, Marie
Antoinette, lived in luxury, King Louis XVI was renowned as a modest man due to his poverty.
When Louis XVI was anointed king, he assumed control of the kingdom and all of France’s debt
(Desan, 2019). He was unable to resolve the financial concerns. The French people were
outraged by Marie Antoinette’s lavish spending and the hefty upkeep expenses of her home.
Nobles were exempt from paying taxes, but the populace had to pay for the royals’ luxurious
lifestyles. As early as 1786, the general of finances, Charles de Calonne, warned against raising
taxes on the poor, fearing insurgency. Because King Louis XVI did not want to tax the
aristocrats, De Calonne was compelled to seek loans from European banks. While King Louis
could not address France’s financial problems, his wife continued to enjoy a sumptuous lifestyle.
Marie-attitude Antoinette toward the impoverished is shown by quotes like “Let them eat cake.”
Despite the absence of evidence, the famous phrase appropriately depicts the monarchy’s
worldview. In the middle of the hunger, the monarchy opted to remain silent. This term reflects
their apathy for their people’s suffering.
Successive monarchs’ terrible administration had built the framework for the French
Revolution. The destitute no longer felt bound to support the monarchy due to its extravagant
lifestyle and ill-advised foreign policies. People started to doubt their monarch’s authority and
wisdom as “divine rule” was questioned.
The second motivation for the French Revolution was the country’s socioeconomic
structure. There were three classes based on the Estate System in French society. Under the
Estate System, people’s rank and privileges were determined by the size of their estates. The
three estates were the church, the nobility, and the peasants. The clergy was divided into two
groups in the first estate: higher and lower clergy. The clergy at the top had all the authority in
French society, while the clergy at the bottom were impoverished. Aristocratic pastors lived
extravagantly, taking advantage of others and without paying taxes. Lower clergy were involved
in the church, monasteries, and educational institutions, but not as much as top clergy.
The opulent lifestyles of the first and second estates shocked the poor. They were also fed
up with the fact that just 2% of the population had veto power over their rights and unequal
representation in the courts while constituting 98 percent of the French population. The rise of
the third estate in opposition to the Estate System and the imbalance in representation caused by
the class system triggered the French Revolution.
The economic condition in France also a role in the French Revolution. The “Seven Years
War” of King Louis XIV bankrupted France. His foreign policy judgments led to expensive
confrontations that destroyed the royal budget. Following his death, Louis XVI succeeded as
king. On the other hand, the king was a modest guy, but his wife continued to overspend. King
Louis XVI likewise disregarded financial advice, resulting in the exclusion of significant
economic changes.
Louis XVI appointed Turgot as Minister of Finance in 1774. Turgot was first and foremost
entrusted with reducing France’s debt. His idea was to cut royal court expenses and charge taxes
on each of the three aristocratic estates to appease the peasants while also fixing France’s
financial situation (Desan & Nelson, 2013). Although French banks were hesitant to lend money,
Calonne was successful. Everything went wrong with Calonne’s solution. France’s debt has
increased from $300 million to $600 million in three years after accepting a loan. After
recognizing that his scheme was impossible, Calonne begged the queen to impose taxes on all
three social strata. Calonne was the last to go.
Finally, the economic measures of King Louis XVI set the stage for the French Revolution
to take root. No changes on taxes on any of the three estates were to be imposed as long as the
monarchy remained in force and the royals continued to live lavishly. As a consequence of these
measures, France’s economy suffered. The peasants were outraged because they had to maintain
the wealth standard of living while they went hungry. As a consequence of the country’s
precarious economic condition, the French Revolution erupted. A combination of three causes
prompted the French Revolution. The fatal revolution started by the Estate System, economic
policies, and dictatorial monarchy resulted in France’s equality, liberty, and brotherhood.
References
Chappey, J. L., & Vincent, J. (2019). A republican ecology? Citizenship, nature and the
French revolution (1795–1799). Past & Present, 243(1), 109-140.
Desan, S., Hunt, L., & Nelson, W. M. (Eds.). (2013). The French Revolution in Global
Perspective. Cornell University Press.
Desan, S. (2019). Recent Historiography on the French Revolution and Gender. Journal of
Social History, 52(3), 566-574.
Murphy, C. (2015). “The Stormy Sea of Politics”: The French Revolution and Frances
Burney’s the Wanderer. Women’s Writing, 22(4), 485-504.