Question

DISUESS THE MAIN FRENCH REVOLUTION

Answer 1

Causes of the French Revolution
1. International: struggle for hegemony and
Empire outstrips the fiscal resources of
the state
2. Political conflict: conflict between the
Monarchy and the nobility over the
“reform” of the tax system led to
paralysis and bankruptcy.
3. The Enlightenment: impulse for reform
intensifies political conflicts; reinforces
traditional aristocratic constitutionalism,
one variant of which was laid out in
Montequieu’s Spirit of the Laws ;
introduces new notions of good
government, the most radical being
popular sovereignty, as in Rousseau’s
Social Contract [1762]; the attack on the
regime and privileged class by the
Literary Underground of “Grub Street;”
the broadening influence of public
opinion.
4. Social antagonisms between two rising
groups: the aristocracy and the
bourgeoisie
5. Ineffective ruler: Louis XVI
6. Economic hardship, especially the agrarian
crisis of 1788-89 generates popular
discontent and disorders caused by food
shortages.

Answer 2

search at Wikipedia there is a brief description