Thus the conditions were fertile for outright revolt, spurred on by the hard economic circumstances and misery of the peasants.
However, another theory of the causes of the French Revolution was that France essentially imploded from within its most privileged classes, namely that of the monarchy, nobility, and clergy. Although the French Catholic Church was one of the a privileged Estates, holding tax-free land that amounted to 10% of the total acreage of France, and many bishops and abbots lived in Paris or at Versailles, "members of the lower clergy were usually humble, poorly-paid and overworked village priests" (Kreis 2000). The supposedly unified First Estate was thus become stratified from within, which created weaknesses within the Estate.
Like the clergy, the nobility or Second Estate was torn between two tiers, the upper and lower nobility. The Nobility of the Sword was made up of members of ancient lineage with family history that could be traced back hundreds of years, while the Nobility of the Robe has much less power than did the Nobility of the Sword. This is why "some of the lesser nobility were partial to the philosophes of the Enlightenment and during the early days of the Revolution would be considered 'liberal nobles.' They wished to see an end to royal absolutism but not necessarily the end of the monarchy. These liberal nobles tended to look to France's traditional enemy, England, as a model for what France ought to become, a limited or constitutional monarchy" (Kreis 2000).
A third theory regarding the causes of the French Revolution suggests that the nationalism and reasoned democracy advocated by the Enlightenment caused the revolution. Steven Kreis is somewhat skeptical of this idea, noting that many of the philosophers we associate with the revolution such as Voltaire and Rousseau did not advocate violent overthrow of the existing monarchy. Voltaire actually had close relations with the monarchy during his...
French Revolution and its Enlightenment ideas about nationalism, universal rights and equal citizenship for all was extremely influential at the time it occurred, and was widely studied and imitated afterwards. Liberals and radicals in Europe, and increasingly the rest of the world, always recognized that the French Revolution was somehow uniquely theirs, especially in its attempt to end feudalism, state-supported churches, and the entrenched privileges of monarchs and aristocracies. It
French Revolution For many people, the French Revolution was the single most important event in modern world history. In a manner of speaking, it's a unique turning point for the ailing French society of the time and Europe. But, the events transpiring in Bastille Fortress in July 1789 are still discussed. The storming is discussed often. Peter Mcphee is an Australian born academic author specializing in modern French history and French
The Analysis However, it is the not past this point that this study needs to go, rather it is at this point that we need to stop and take into analyze the information that is cited here, and to see if that analysis takes us in other directions. There is really very little detailed information about the discussions and debate that might have surrounded the creation of the Civil Constitution of
French Revolution was the greatest revolution of the 18th century. It was the revolution that started the modern era of politics and had its origins in the financial problems of the government. In the 1770s and 1780s, a protracted war with England left the government of France depleted of money. France's national debt was high and bankruptcy and increased tax rates became inevitable. "The government's yearly income from taxation and other
The King was stripped of his power, the clergy was required to swear an oath of loyalty to the constitution and church property was confiscated and used for security on the issues of assignats, or paper money. After the overthrow of the Monarchy Napoleon came into power in France and ruled as a dictator however, the people in France had learned that this type of ruler did not have
The dominant religion of France at the time (as now) was Roman Catholicism. Aston begins his book by discussing the special, privileged role of the First Estate, as well as different theological debates raging at the time, such as the Jansenism controversy. He also gives attention to other faiths, including Protestantism and Judaism, which were present in France at the time. Protestants and Jews were some of the Revolution's
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