Causes of French revolution
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The most important cause of the French Revolution was the social cause. As said by a historian, "The Revolution of 1789 was much less a rebellion against despotism than a rebellion against inequality'.
French society was divided into Three Estates, The First and Second Estates consisted of clergy and nobility. Though smaller in size, they excelled all others in the matter of rank possession and privileges. They were exempted from almost all the taxes and controlled most of the administrative and high ranking posts. About forty per cent of the land was owned by these two classes.
The Third Estate: The rest of the people in France, which formed about ninety-five per cent of population, were the common people. This was known as the Third Estate. This was an unprivileged class. There were glaring differences in their way of living.
Peasants: The majority of the population consisted of the peasants. The life of this class was wretched. Most of them were landless or had small land holdings, and could hardly earn enough for their living.
In the 18th century, the changes in agriculture worsened the condition of the peasants. They could not take wood from the forests and they had to pay the grazing tax. There was forced labour, but the privileges were enjoyed by the feudal lords. The common people had to pay various kinds of taxes, like Tithe from the peasants; another tax was called Taille and innumerable direct and indirect taxes on the articles used in everyday consumption, like salt and tobacco to the state. The burden of these taxes was borne by the Third Estate alone. The growth of population of France in 1789 led to the increasing demand for grains which could not keep pace with the land, and the wages could not keep pace with the rise in prices, which widened the gap between the rich and the poor. Failure of caused by drought and hail reduced the harvest which further worsened the condition of the people. France was ruled by absolute monarchy. Louis XVI, in whose time the Revolution occurred, was a man of mediocre intelligence. He was indifferent to the works of government. It is said that brain work depressed him. He was 20 years old when he married an Austrian Princess, Marie Antoinette, a beautiful but 'empty headed' wife. She was extravagant and interfered too much in state affairs and appointments in order to promote her favourites. The state was always in financial crisis. The long years of war, the cost of maintaining an army, cost of maintaining the Palace of Versailles, running the government offices had drained the wealth of France, and the government was forced to increase the taxes, but they were not sufficient because they were paid only by the Third Estate and the were exempted from the taxes. crops classes upperforced labour, but the privileges were enjoyed by the feudal lords. The common people had to pay various kinds of taxes, like Tithe from the peasants; another tax was called Taille and innumerable direct and indirect taxes on the articles used in everyday consumption, like salt and tobacco to the state. The burden of these taxes was borne by the Third Estate alone.
The growth of population of France in 1789 led to the increasing demand for grains which could not keep pace with the land, and the wages could not keep pace with the rise in prices, which widened the gap between the rich and the poor. Failure of caused by drought and hail reduced the harvest which further worsened the condition of the people.
France was ruled by absolute monarchy. Louis XVI, in whose time the Revolution occurred, was a man of mediocre intelligence. He was indifferent to the works of government. It is said that brain work depressed him. He was 20 years old when he married an Austrian Princess, Marie Antoinette, a beautiful but 'empty headed' wife. She was extravagant and interfered too much in state affairs and appointments in order to promote her favourites.
The state was always in financial crisis. The long years of war, the cost of maintaining an army, cost of maintaining the Palace of Versailles, running the government offices had drained the wealth of France, and the government was forced to increase the taxes, but they were not sufficient because they were paid only by the Third Estate and the upper classes were exempted from the taxes.