What were the underlying causes of the French Revolution?
The French revolution was caused by various different factors. One of the major factors that caused the revolution was the economic crisis. There had been many wars that had been fought during the time when the revolution was about to take place. In the wars, France had also been in participation to it thus hurt the economy of the country. They were involved in the Seven Years of War. They were also involved in the American Revolution War. The reason why the treasury for France was losing a lot of their money was because they spent a lot in the wartime, making sure the army was well maintained by ensuring they were fully equipped with weapons and financed in helping the allies.
The other factor for the revolution was because, of the division of classes or the social inequality. This fact means that the gap between the rich who were the nobility and the other people was huge. This inequality caused a lot of anger and resentment with the people of France. France at that time is claimed to have had over twenty million people. Many of this people did not own any land, therefore, they depended on their jobs as labourers (Neely). They were paid poorly in the fields. The poverty in the region was high, and it was increased by the payment of tax imposed on the peasants.
The tithes being paid to the churches was also unfair because the people were fully aware that it did not go to the priests but instead went to the abbots and the aristocrats. The people knew that the churches were very rich, but the problem that existed was the fact that they imposed taxes on the peasants and not the churches, abbots and the bishops of the churches. Famine was another factor that led to the revolution. This is because in the 1780s it is claimed that there was a great famine that caused the shortage of food. This shortage of food caused a number of people in the land to starve. The famine was brought on by harsh weathers in which, there was an El Nino cycle.
The King Louis XVI and the kings court lived lavish lifestyles. Therefore, the money spent by them was too much thus made it difficult for the money to continue being sustained. The government was becoming bankrupt, and any money that could be borrowed was merely spent on them. The debt situation was also cause of concern, which began with the former king Louis XV. The financed it in the wars but lost the war (Neely).
What stages did the revolution undergo?
The revolution had undergone four major stages before it passed in 1799. These stages are the age of napoleon, the national assembly or the moderate phase, the directory and the national assembly or the radical phase.
The national assembly or the moderate phase occurred from 1789 to 1791 (Sullivan). There were a number of events that occurred in 1789. One of the events was that the third estate made themselves the communes by stating that they are the national assembly. This Assembly was made on behalf of the people who were suffering. Storming of the Bastille occurred when the king fired a financing advisor of the king named as Necker because he leaked information to the people about the real situation of the dept that the government had, this caused anger to the people thus they started rebelling by causing chaos and rioting. The violence caused the king to return Necker to office. The national assembly formed the declaration of the rights of man in 1789. The assembly sold most of the land that belonged to the churches to the people. The assembly made it possible for the Catholic Church to be not the one in control but the under the state. The legislative assembly was formulated in 1791 thereby the constitution made it possible for the monarchy government to lose some of its powers. The women’s march on Versailles was caused by a shortage of food and the pressure the monarchy government was giving the national assembly (Neely).
The national assembly or the radical phase occurred from 1791 to 1794. The legislative assembly that was formulated in the moderate phase was taken over by the radicals and another legislature under the name of National Convention. The national convention was the one that stated the monarchy government was no longer important because the state was declared to be a republic. The declaration of the nation to be a republic caused the execution of the king Louis XVI and his wife Marie Antoinette. Their son was prison where he died due to injuries he suffered while been beaten and mistreated. Their daughter was the only one who survived and sought refuge in Vienna. During the radical Phase, over 40,000 people were killed due o the fact they were Christians under Maximilian Robespierre (Neely).
The directory stage occurred from 1795 to 1799. During this stage in 1795, the moderate constitution was formulated. The rampant riots that used to occur in the nation were suppressed under this new leadership. The chaos that existed at that time was also stopped, and anyone who wanted to start chaos was threatened. This stage also had the formation of the five-man directory (Sullivan).
The age of napoleon stage occurred from 1799 to 1815. Napoleon was very instrumental in bringing peace in France. He was among the people who helped in stopping the stage of directory. He claimed himself to be the consul of the nation (Sullivan). Later on, he was stated to be the emperor of France. Under his leadership, he was able to accomplish a lot especially in wars. He caused the reformation of the churches and increased the economy of the nation. The defeat of napoleon came when he lost the battle the nations.
WORK CITED
Documentaries, Several. The French Revolution [Documentary] [History Channel]. 13 January 2014. <www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEq_lAx3ssE#t=21&hd=1>. Web
Neely, Sylvia. A Concise History of the French Revolution. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2008. Print
Sullivan, Thomas Carlyle and Edmund J. The French Revolution: A Hisory. BiblioBazaar, 2010. Print
